[vx1]

Alright I got it on Friday before the Thanks Giving weekend, picked up at Costco in the area .. I was already familiar with the Torch, Since I had the AT&T version on the Launch Aug 12th. But I wanted the Rogers one, since I know they usually change the colour ... I sold the other one to a buddy.

Initial Impression.

Nicer Colour its darker and more rogers style .. there is no logo on the bottom of the device, where the At&T one did. There is actually no Rogers markings at all on the device.

It comes with no case, why I thought was weird .. same with AT&T one. The Charger is a USB multi Charger .. I am not a big fan of it, because you have to disconnect it to do data transfers.

They should have sent an extra cable.

9800 OS is nice but not completed. In some cases its buggy, the BB app world is not fully populated. And well This gives the initial user a so so experience. I am sure there will be more apps in the future but with all this hype about the device .. they should have been ready.

the keys are a bit cramped for the QWERTY keyboard. but still works well, the touch screen takes some getting used to because the accelerometer does not have a lock it easily flips ... If you are coming from a 9700 which I did you will sorta feel cramped on the keyboard looking for a way to hold the device properly

If you are coming from a Iphone 4, then you will be looking for your equivalent apps which you won't find.

The Slider mechanism is nice and smooth
The device has new ring tones
Its very nice looking
You do get used to the keys and the touch screen
Battery is good lasts 2 days
OS 6 is nice and there is a lot of room
Social Feeds is nice, but Viigo is better where is it!
Pictures are nice Video is ok
Signal is good but .. I am still testing it
9800 fits perfectly in a 8300 Case and does sleep

I will be doing a Vid and full review .. check out the site

[Chief Hill]

Nice review. Thanks for posting.

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Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[andrewmcwhirter]

If you are coming from a Iphone 4, then you will be looking for your equivalent apps which you won't find.

Besides games, which apps do you feel are missing from the Torch, or Blackberry in general? Curious as I never used the iPhone, but I have an app on the Torch for all my needs.

[vx1]

alright, well I have used IP 4

its the variety of polished apps, most of the BB apps are very low quality
and not up to par with IP 4. Side by side a Facebook or what ever app Iphone vs BB
you will see a ten fold difference in the quality and functionality.

games are non existent on BB *****
useful apps like Text Plus which allows text messaging
on WIFI when you have no Cell Signal

Astronomy apps, Web Admin Apps, Drawing apps, Good FTP Apps
nice polished news readers, with good looking text not 8 bit pixelated
text and images.

Nice Card Games
Educational Games and Tutorials, or Language apps

The problem here really is the limitation of the BB OS, not allowing development for good innovative apps. THe quality of apps has not
changed since 1990's. and Graphics are non existent .. accept on some
higher end themes .. from pro designers ..

but having said that .. BB has come a long way .. and there are far more BB apps now that have ever existed before. But I have noticed that many of the good apps are Limited ! to a certain country which is completely ridiculous !!! if you goto app world online and search for something , there is a chance that when you try and download it the app world on your phone it will say its not available in your country or from your ISP! SERIOUS ISSUE!

BB Torch is a very nice device .. and there are nice features that will suite most people - but the market has changed and options have become such that allows many new developers where it was never possible before. Apple is a Software / hardware company .. and well the cell phone makers are not used to going head to head with a professional company like that .. its the same as saying here is your pay as you go computer with OS abc vs windows 7, Microsoft Windows 7 will win hands down because that is their core industry ... does that make sense.

[Masahiro]

No it does not make sense. RIM is a "hardware/software" company as well, and they've been making smartphones for a lot longer than apple. Apple was the "newcomer" that had to deal with the "windows 7"s of the industry (Nokia, RIM, Microsoft). While they've established themselves in the market, people buy iPhones for different reasons than why people buy Blackberrys.
Me personally, I don't really care about apps. Some are useful everyday, while most others just take up space until I have the need to use it once a month or so. Besides, tabbed browsing allows me to do whatever most apps can do through the browser instead.

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[anon(3370495)]

My perspective on apps and the OP's review of the Torch ...

I owned an iPhone 3G for 2+ years. I had a number of apps, some of which were free, some I bought.

After switching to the Torch, I have to say that I don't miss any of the apps I've left behind. Most of the ones important to me are available for the Torch, and the functionality of those that aren't is available through the browser, as the previous poster pointed out.

As for the review, I agree about the cable--although another one is not that expensive to buy, and about the screen flip--it is inconvenient at times. There really should be a way to lock the screen orientation. Also, I'm new to hardware QWERTY keyboards on cell phones, but for me, I don't feel cramped at all. In fact, I'm amazed at how fast AND accurately I can type, and I've found that I can almost touch-type. Amazing!

One more thing: RIM has been taken to task for the shortcomings of OS6, and certainly there are some things about the OS that make you go "hmmm," but really, it IS a new operating system. It's bound to have bugs, missing features, etc. I have to wonder how many people remember that it took Apple a number of years until it added cut-and-paste to the iPhone OS....

[papped]

Facebook app for iphone was developed by Facebook.

I would imagine that is why it's better... Also games aren't non-existent. But for anyone who prioritizes games and went BB, I have a feeling they did not do their homework even a little bit in the first place...

And as to the line that the apps have not changed visually since 1990, I think you have not actually seen those apps... You are making a blanket statement for dramatic effect.

[Masahiro]

Sliding out the keyboard will lock the screen in portrait mode. It's a very handy feature.

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[papped]

ShaoSoft's 6tools app also allows you to lock the screen in portrait.

[vx1]

No it does not make sense. RIM is a "hardware/software" company as well, and they've been making smartphones for a lot longer than apple. Apple was the "newcomer" that had to deal with the "windows 7"s of the industry (Nokia, RIM, Microsoft). While they've established themselves in the market, people buy iPhones for different reasons than why people buy Blackberrys.
Me personally, I don't really care about apps. Some are useful everyday, while most others just take up space until I have the need to use it once a month or so. Besides, tabbed browsing allows me to do whatever most apps can do through the browser instead.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

RIM is a "hardware/software" company as well, and they've been making smartphones for a lot longer than apple Apple has existed in the software hardware industry since 1976, RIM has come into existence in 1984

RIM was first to the cell phone market .. but apple has been developing as a software and hardware company much longer.

what ever you use your device for , is your own business .. but the fact is .. iphone has a larger dev team and many more people making money off their apps. Not to mention the Open GL support. I am not siding with one side or another .. simply providing the facts as they are. I like both platforms ..

RIM is a great company with a strong .. drive to catch up .. but answer this "apple aside" - if they are so advanced .. why has android past them with applications and features, with in number of months. And all the other manufactures excelled due to its features.

- This is not a Trash RIM thread .. simple examination of the differences ..

I run a Torch and its great .. but I do miss the Graphics and Media End that other platforms provide.

I will prolly get a ipad .. to restore what I need from that platform ..

[papped]

Apple development is better because of lack of hardware/software fragmentation. That's why apple has more development, because there's essentially one device.

It has nothing to do with opengl support, 80% of their user base probably has no clue what this is and people would still buy non-3d games in a heartbeat. Phone games don't sell like crazy because of "advanced graphics", unless you think Angry Birds is a visual masterpiece...

[vx1]

ShaoSoft's 6tools app also allows you to lock the screen in portrait.

Thanks! I'll give that a whirl

[vx1]

Apple development is better because of lack of hardware/software fragmentation. That's why apple has more development, because there's essentially one device.

It has nothing to do with opengl support, 80% of their user base probably has no clue what this is and people would still buy non-3d games in a heartbeat. Phone games don't sell like crazy because of "advanced graphics", unless you think Angry Birds is a visual masterpiece...

well they have a single direction - and a dev kit that has been developing quite a while. Unix FREE BSD/COCOA vs Java .. basically java is not a good language for what rim is trying to morph it into... maybe QNX will be better I hope so..

It really does not matter what the user base understands .. as long as they buy the product and are satisfied .. 3d games and apps are more pleasing to the consumer if they are available they will buy over non 3D

[papped]

Check most of the top selling lists for games for the iphone store...

[vx1]

3D is a new option .. all things are going that way its only a matter of time, iphone display has the resources to offer it, as does samsung galaxy and others ... besides RIM has no means to produce resources currently to support apps like starmap HD,starwalk or

[papped]

It's not new though... opengl is very old and the iphone has been supporting opengl since the original 3g release.

Catchy simple gameplay trumps graphics, which is why stuff like Tetris, solitare, word puzzles, (insert a bunch of Popcap games here), etc win out in overall sales, not to mention usually lower prices due to less development costs.

[vx1]

yea but you can't deny that the bar has been raised and people are going to want better stuff going forward

[Swamp_Donkey]

Thanks for the reviews. Very happy with mine after 1+ weeks

[vx1]

awesome congrats its a very nice device