Before the new devices got announced I was under the impression that a
lot of users would be holding off and waiting for the QNX-based
BlackBerry devices.
I thought that RIM would be in transition and release something only
slightly better than last year’s offerings, leaving BlackBerry fans to
be sentenced to exile or to wait patiently for the second coming of
BlackBerry.
Being shipped a new device that looked nearly identical to my current
Torch 9800 only worsened my fears. The body of the phone seems to be
cut from the same mold. It’s such a mirror image of the Torch 9800 that
only Torch owners will know you even got a new device. If you’re one of
those people who feels the need to show off your new phone you’ll
probably feel unfulfilled with the new Torch.
For those who care more about actual performance, this is the device
for you. The new Torch is nearly twice the phone that the old Torch was.
This has to be the most significant update with the smallest jump in
model number I have ever seen. After a week of using the new Torch, I
found myself eating my words because my faith in team BlackBerry had
been restored.
Better processor and more multitasking functions
I was a big fan of the Torch 9800 but I found it a little
underwhelming when it came to battery life and multitasking. The
processor on the Torch 2 runs quite a bit faster than the old Torch
9800’s. Clocking in at 1.2GHz, it’s almost double the rate of the Torch
9800’s 624MHz processor while maintaining some pretty decent battery
life. Counting Megahertz is somewhat futile when comparing smartphones;
one chip’s 624MHz can potentially outperform another’s 800 MHz. It’s
more about how the chip works in conjunction with all the other
engineering elements.
I’m not sure if I’m able to say that the new Torch is twice as fast
but I am willing to put myself on the line for saying that it’s at least
50% faster than it’s predecessor.
Keep in mind that the Torch 9810 is still new and has yet to be fully optimized. When I first got the 9800, there was an OS update
that came a month after launch that optimized battery, cut boot times
in half and made navigation a bit smoother and more responsive. Right
now my Torch 9810 has what seems to be a 3-minute boot time that I hope
will be cured in the first update.
Best Liquid Graphics:- OS lag reduced to acceptable levels
My biggest criticism of the Torch 9800 was that the extra flair put
into the animated navigation was laggy. Users could really tell that
they were causing a delay because actions were carried out about a
second after you made them. I noticed the delay most when I wanted to
mark my messages as read, I would have to wait for the OS animation to
complete or the message will still be marked unread after exiting back
into the messages list. Small stuff I know, but waiting for a computer
for the sole reason of “seeing a pretty fade” is just bad design.
I know that all this OS glitter is something that consumers
apparently demand. Why bother animate a smooth transition between two
screens if you can just cut there? If I could turn off all the swipes
and fades in favor of a less resource-intense cut, I would.
All this to say that Liquid Graphics has corrected the noticeable lag
between OS transitions, and improved response time for swipe-based
navigation, as well as pinch to zoom navigation.
Design - exactly same as the Torch 9800
I’m very pleased that they didn’t change the design. The upside is
all the advantages of the old Torch remain: a well-balanced, large
touch-screened, keyboard-driven super-phone. Your old Torch 9800’s
cases, skins, battery doors, Micro SD cards, batteries, data cables and
chargers are all compatible with the Torch 9810.
A couple of things they have improved are the lightweight metallic
body and the new and improved slider hinge. The new Torch is now a bit
lighter, more rigid and it takes a lot less coordination to open.
The white space represents the Torch 9800 screen resolution
Display: 3.2 inch diagonal touch screen display with more pixel density
The New torch has a 640×480 display, up from the 9800’s 480×360
display. The display is about as bright and you probably won’t be able
to tell too much of a difference between the two models until you
realize that your font is a couple of points bigger than what is was on
the old Torch.
If you love tiny fonts and packing as much detail as you can on to a
mobile screen, you’ll be thrilled about the new Torch’s increased pixel
density. There are close to 80 percent more pixels on the 9810 and I
didn’t consider the 9800 to be lacking in this department at all.
Optical trackpad:- still awesome
There is nothing to report here except for that since the dawn of
smartphones, RIM has continually developed some of the best controls
schemes designed specifically for mobile. Some users still feel
nostalgia for the old scroll wheel, and I think everyone can agree that
the new trackpad was an incredible upgrade to the
sometimes-temperamental multi-directional scroll ball.
More app memory and more on-board storage
The Torch 9800 had 512MB of application ROM while the Torch 9810
boasts 768MB. With 50% more installed app memory, you can install a few
more apps and games before noticing those extra-long boot times. The
on-board drive space has been doubled too with 8GB for photos, music and
other files. The Torch 9810 has a MicroSD slot that can accept a big
32GB card, bringing the total storage up to 40GB. While this is an
improvement, it seems like storage is fast becoming a cloud-based
service and we’re no longer concerned with RIM’s choice of SD Cards.
Read more at http://www.blackberrycool.com
03:20
Aru2012
