[bellero]

RIM BlackBerry Torch 9800 (AT&T) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews

4/5 Stars from CNET. Same as iPhone and a better review than many Android devices.

For comparison, The original Storm got 3/5 and Storm 2 got 3.5/5 and Bold 9700 got 4/5.

[JasW]

RIM BlackBerry Torch 9800 (AT&T) Smartphone reviews - CNET Reviews

4/5 Stars from CNET. Same as iPhone and a better review than many Android devices.

For comparison, The original Storm got 3/5 and Storm 2 got 3.5/5 and Bold 9700 got 4/5.

This probably won't get much of a response here because it's actually a reasonable review from a trusted source. Bonnie Cha is one of the few tech reviewers I know instantly by name. The only other one really would be David Pogue of the NY Times. It'll be interesting to see what he says.

[madlaw1071]

Sluggish with a bad display, great review.

[Najo]

Sluggish with a bad display, great review.

Go away troll.

[tack]

Sluggish with a bad display, great review.

Way to pick only the negative comments from an extensive review. Objective much? lol

[madlaw1071]

attack but don't dispute the facts. Brilliant.

[pkcable]

And the so called "bad reviews" had many good comments too.

[FineWolf]

attack but don't dispute the facts. Brilliant.

Facts:

• madlaw1071 joined a week ago
• madlaw1071's posts are majority about bashing the Torch
• madlaw1071 hasn't used a BlackBerry since the 7130c and does not understand that BlackBerry's strength is not in the hardware's "horsepower", but in the robustness and speed of its push services.
• BlackBerry never was and hopefully never will be "entertainment" (read: toy) devices.

Fact: madlaw1071 is a troll.

[nemo]

The good: The RIM BlackBerry Torch combines both a touch screen and full QWERTY keyboard. BlackBerry OS 6 brings such improvements as a better user interface, universal search, and an improved browser and multimedia experience.

The bad: The smartphone can be sluggish. The Torch has a lower-resolution screen. Applications can only be saved to the phone's main memory. Camera only shoots VGA video.

The bottom line: Though performance could be better and it could stand for some hardware upgrades, the RIM BlackBerry Torch 9800 and BlackBerry OS 6 offer much-needed improvements to stay in step with the competition, and keep BlackBerry enthusiasts happy.

Sounds exactly like what every other review has said, including those BIASED Blogs like Gizmodo and Engadget.

[mab4285]

I love how people on CNET are giving the Torch bad reviews already....and they haven't even gotten the phone yet...

[jd914]

As said by bonnie a review unit needs to be sent to cnet for proper review. I would wait to see what bonnie has to say then, she's very objective and I world take her word when she's gets her hands on a 9800.

Don't jump to conclusions cnet did NOT give the 9700 glowing reviews.

[md12]

Torch is definitely a step in the right direction - I'm going to wait for a device that isn't laggy, though.

My droid has become pretty laggy with some of the apps I've loaded (have about 50), but it was very snappy out of the box. My tour, on the other hand, has always been laggy which doesn't leave much room for improvement.

Big problem with blackberry is the app store.

[BBThemes]

I love how people on CNET are giving the Torch bad reviews already....and they haven't even gotten the phone yet...

very fair point, plus (i know its been said before) those devices that they all got to play with had them all playing with it, so if they left all the apps open then we already know whats gonna happen.

the unit i personally tried was totally fine (and far better than my videoing while using phone abliltys) and didnt lag.

there ya go, a comment from someone who HAS had some hands on with the phone.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

The bottom line: Though performance could be better and it could stand for some hardware upgrades, the RIM BlackBerry Torch 9800 and BlackBerry OS 6 offer much-needed improvements to stay in step with the competition, and keep BlackBerry enthusiasts happy.

Is that really all they want to do is keep the BlackBerry enthusiast happy??

If that is all they set out to do than I agree the 9800 will be a success, but maybe next time they'll set the bar a little higher...

[dLo GSR]

Facts:

• madlaw1071 joined a week ago
• madlaw1071's posts are majority about bashing the Torch
• madlaw1071 hasn't used a BlackBerry since the 7130c and does not understand that BlackBerry's strength is not in the hardware's "horsepower", but in the robustness and speed of its push services.
• BlackBerry never was and hopefully never will be "entertainment" (read: toy) devices.

Fact: madlaw1071 is a troll.

this is probably one of the stupidest posts i've seen in a while.

anyone who had a BB 7xxx series most likely had it EXCLUSIVELY for its "robustness and speed of its push services". join date, post count, location, age, sign, preference of cheese, and what topics you participate in do not make you less credible.

and like it or not, blackberry is TRYING to meld "entertainment" into its devices. that's half of what OS6 is about; ****, they make a huge fuss over the new media player and social network integration. and there are a **** of a lot of business people who use those "toy" devices as their primary phone.

[anydaynow]

Honestly I've had some pretty bad things to say about the Torch over the last 48 hours based on reviews, videos etc... Yesterday I finally played with one for about 30 mins in the att store (no, didnt have to do anything special, they are on dislplay in the NYC herald Sq store) I can say that it is well built and seems to move through screens at an acceptable pace, the build quality is great and the browser is phenomenal (compared to what ive been accustomed to as an bb user). Still the screen is very dissapointing as its got a lower pixel density than my current bold 9700. Things look noticeably worse on the device and I still find it unaccebtable to use the same screen from the 2 year old storm. They could have at very least kept the pixel density in line with the current Bolds/Tours.

All in all its not so bad, I will not be upgrading due to the $$ but It's a def step in the right direction and I think RIM will get it totally right in the next iteration of this Device.


Also, I think it's important to remember how different site rate BB's relative to competition. Engadget's rating was based on comparing this phone to other Consumer smartphones (not geared towards business users) Which I think is totally fair and accurate becase that is clearly who RIM is targeting with this device.(facebook, twitter integration, richer multimedea experience etc ... surely not targeted at big business). Cnet's rating of the bold 9700 was mainly as a utilitarian, function business/email device, and along those lines the bolds as good as it gets. That rating was NOT meant to say that it was just as good of a consumer product with an equal rating to the iPhone (4 stars). As far as giving this phone 4 stars, I'm not totally sure what realm they put it in... As a traditional BB device I guess this is the pinnacle... but as a consumer oriented device, not quite there.

Sorry for the long post, thanks for taking the time to read.

[dLo GSR]

Also, I think it's important to remember how different site rate BB's relative to competition. Engadget's rating was based on comparing this phone to other Consumer smartphones (not geared towards business users) Which I think is totally fair and accurate becase that is clearly who RIM is targeting with this device.(facebook, twitter integration, richer multimedea experience etc ... surely not targeted at big business). Cnet's rating of the bold 9700 was mainly as a utilitarian, function business/email device, and along those lines the bolds as good as it gets. That rating was NOT meant to say that it was just as good of a consumer product with an equal rating to the iPhone (4 stars). As far as giving this phone 4 stars, I'm not totally sure what realm they put it in... As a traditional BB device I guess this is the pinnacle... but as a consumer oriented device, not quite there.

Sorry for the long post, thanks for taking the time to read.

This is a very good assessment of the batch of reviews we've seen.

[JasW]

this is probably one of the stupidest posts i've seen in a while.

anyone who had a BB 7xxx series most likely had it EXCLUSIVELY for its "robustness and speed of its push services". join date, post count, location, age, sign, preference of cheese, and what topics you participate in do not make you less credible.

and like it or not, blackberry is TRYING to meld "entertainment" into its devices. that's half of what OS6 is about; ****, they make a huge fuss over the new media player and social network integration. and there are a **** of a lot of business people who use those "toy" devices as their primary phone.

What? His conclusion is sound -- the guy is a freakin' troll.

BTW, didn't you know you can't say "h�ll" here?

[kb5zht]

Sluggish with a bad display, great review.

I am finding every review I can to get a better perspective and those two descriptions seem to be common among all reviews; both positive and negative alike. "Better than previous blackberries, still not as good as the competition".... "same smaller display that the storms had"..... Laggy reponse despite webkit browser.....

Hey all I will say is that at least their improving but they need to step it up. Regardless of what we think in here, the overall synopsis seems to be "still missing the mark", and the public will read and hear this and spend their money appropriately. Quite frankly this device seems to be RIM saying "we are trying but we just can't keep up".

/ my .02

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Najo]

Quite frankly this device seems to be RIM saying "we are trying but we just can't keep up".

OR, it is RIM saying hey let's keep it simple! Let's upgrade the things our customers need and not all the BS that they don't! Let's take advantage of our strengths and superior platform and expand on that. Works for me!!

[JasW]

As said by bonnie a review unit needs to be sent to cnet for proper review. I would wait to see what bonnie has to say then, she's very objective and I world take her word when she's gets her hands on a 9800.

What are you talking about? She DID get her hands on one: "We actually got the smartphone a few days before the official unveiling to put it through its paces."

So now do you take her word?

[Calotag]

I think torch shouldn't have a 4/5 stars. A 3/5 stars would have been fair. Even if it had gotten a 3/5, I still want it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[jcp007]

The i4 got the same rating from cnet. It is all subjective. When the Torch is released, try it out. If it meets your needs, buy it and tell us your pros and cons. If it does not meet your needs, move on. At least your conclusions and feedback will be based upon experience rather than unrealistic expectations and conjecture. IMO, most of the reviews that I have read have had both good and not so good things to say but they, for the most part, agree that while RIM should take more risk and push the innovation envelope that they have done enough to keep the truly faithful content. Remember content not ecstatic. That too is subjective among BB owners.