[Omar Roure]

And what exactly does the Torch have to do with the new Slider? These are two completely different devices, with different operating systems and specs. More over, you're talking about a product that was first released five years ago; an eternity in the mobile tech world. How can people possibly expect the same build quality or ergonomics of the Torch in a brand new product, simply because they have a sliding keyboard in common? It's a ridiculous comparison.

[rkonert]

I loved my 9810. I never used the VKB except for very quick input. Anything more than a few letters, I used the real KB. I liked not losing screen real estate to a VKB when filling out forms or anything for that matter. I just switched to a Z30 from a Z10, so it's unlikely I will get one at launch, but whenever this phone needs replaced, I'm definitely going slider.

Posted via CB10

[Lawrence Steinbach]

At first I thought, well I'll just use it as an all touch device, since that's all I'm really after. But after getting an using the Passport from the Z30, I'm excited about a hybrid of the two devices. If you use the keyboard for nothing else than to use for shortcuts, I think it's worth it.

[doxa sub750T]

Only one thing I don't like about my 9810 was finding protective case. Due to form factor, it is very difficult to make a good solid case for the phone.

I am in provided that the Slider will be thin enough for my liking.

Cheers

Posted via CB10 with BlackBerry PP

[RyanGermann]

I have 2x q10 and use one all day long with 2 batteries. A Slider is a total waste of time. How many Torch did BlackBerry sell? Not many at all.

I'd take a new q10/9900 sized device which has a real keyboard (NO double typing flaws) which has a faster process & removable batteries.

But no thanks to a "slider"

Your assessment of the popularity of the torch is erroneous.

Posted via CB10

[CTU2fan]

Only one thing I don't like about my 9810 was finding protective case. Due to form factor, it is very difficult to make a good solid case for the phone.

I am in provided that the Slider will be thin enough for my liking.

Cheers

Posted via CB10 with BlackBerry PP

Yea the frame around the screen part always fell off/broke. Maybe a good solid case with a slot/flap to let the screen slide up?

Posted via CB10

[ATFC]

The Torch was good for the year it was sold in. The Storms were pure rubbish but not the Torch. The Torch was a sensible and practical design when screens were small and phones were chunky. It gave more screen area to keyboard device. There were minimal problems with the device, the user get what they saw and what they expected. The same can't be said of Q10, Passport, and Classic, at the very least their counterproductive keyboards.

However, having said that there is a photoshopped image of the slider in the slider forum with the keyboard hidden that shows the thickness of the device is quite substantial. If this is how thick the final product is then there's probably a problem with the slider as a 2015 phone, let alone a 2016 phone. Based on BlackBerry's past records, I would not remain optimistic that the final product deviates top much from the prototype.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[tufcustomer]

However, having said that there is a !!!!PHOTOSHOPPED!!!! image of the slider in the slider forum with the keyboard hidden that shows the thickness of the device is quite substantial.
Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

Made a slight tweak there. The photoshopped image is just that, a photoshopped image. To draw any conclusions based off of that really isn't sensible.

Posted via CB10

[currentodysseys]

Personally I loved the Torch and I stuck with it until bb10 came in town.
I did consciously want a BlackBerry as my phone, since I was heavily on email and had to be mobile for work. I had a 9000 which was a great phone at the time and really loved it. Then the Torch came along

The Pros of the Torch for me at the time it came out:


bigger screen compared to available BlackBerry phones
answer/drop calls using the sliding mechanism
having the kb protected when not in use
Really good balance whith slider open
Decent touch screen + phkb
better web browser compared to my 9000
battery life was great
Improvement on the camera was welcome
+ all the benefits and pros of a BlackBerry, which for me was the best option available for work.
Some how the sliding operation being so smooth, was addictive! this (I used to just play with the slider at some points.. hahaha)

and it is a robust phone! It has been with me in lots of different situations and has suffered unintentional maltreatment. Even though, the wear and tear sustained, the phone is still 100% usable today. My wife dropped her iphone to get hands on my Torch once I updated to bb10 and it was not until last year that I got the Q10 that she left it in order to inherit my Z10.

I still like the torch a lot: faithful, durable, phone with personality and really dependable! (excluding the long wait when it powered off... but this was a trade off for being able to leave the office worry free in reality).

I did get frustrated when some months later the new variation came along and I was left with an older OS version but the phone was still fulfilling its role beautifully, so, I kept it waiting for bb10.

If I had to call the three phones that have really made me jump with joy when purchased (not compared between them) it would bethe palm treo, The Torch, the and the Passport. (Z10 as well but more due to bb10 than the device itself).

I am obviously a BlackBerry guy by choice. But in a blackberry way, the Torch really was a hell of a phone imo.
here it is in its old age (photo taken just before I write this):





Posted via CB10 on my beloved Passport

[Deitzanova]

A couple of people in my group had a torch back then and I always wanted one but was stuck with my bold. Torch was a pretty neat device and would love to test out the new slider.

Posted via CB10

[ATFC]

Made a slight tweak there. The photoshopped image is just that, a photoshopped image. To draw any conclusions based off of that really isn't sensible.

Posted via CB10

The Photoshop image just cut and pasted the opened keyboard back into the back of the device. It was not an illustrated concept image. Please search for the relevant thread before commenting.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[CarGuy1368]

You aren't forced to use the physical keyboard. Just use the virtual one for quick messages.

Posted via the super amazing BlackBerry Q10

[tufcustomer]

The Photoshop image just cut and pasted the opened keyboard back into the back of the device. It was not an illustrated concept image. Please search for the relevant thread before commenting.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

I've seen them, and still I would not draw conclusions based off them. We don't even know if that's the final device. Remember the Z10 with silver bezels. Yeah that never materialized, so whose to say the device they showed will end up being the slider?




Posted via CB10

[Trauma Surgeon]

Your assessment of the popularity of the torch is erroneous.

Posted via CB10

How many Torch did BlackBerry sell compared to Bold and Curve? Case rests. No slider please.

Posted via CB10

[eddy_berry]

The Torch is what made me want a BlackBerry, but I never ended up getting one. Darn right I'm excited to get some slider. I like options and I've been left wanting for too long.

Posted via CB10

[tufcustomer]

How many Torch did BlackBerry sell compared to Bold and Curve? Case rests. No slider please.

Posted via CB10

While that may hold true for BBOS devices, whose to say a BB10 slider won't sell? Guess we won't know until they actually start selling them to the public until which point all other assessments or predictions, no matter how credible, don't mean much.

Just a side note, the all touch and PKB variants haven't exactly been a home run for BlackBerry in sales either. Why not explore the market and see what will be?

Posted via CB10

[Dave Bourque]

While that may hold true for BBOS devices, whose to say a BB10 slider won't sell? Guess we won't know until they actually start selling them to the public until which point all other assessments or predictions, no matter how credible, don't mean much.

Just a side note, the all touch and PKB variants haven't exactly been a home run for BlackBerry in sales either. Why not explore the market and see what will be?

Posted via CB10

It's all about marketing and perception. If they can market it they can be successful with it.

Posted via CB10

[tufcustomer]

It's all about marketing and perception. If they can market it they can be successful with it.

Posted via CB10

Yep I agree, that seems to be the most common pitfall with these devices. No one knows about them.

Posted via CB10

[RyanGermann]

How many Torch did BlackBerry sell compared to Bold and Curve? Case rests. No slider please.

...he says without providing data like it's obvious. There is plenty of anticlimactic 'the Torch didn't sell like gangbusters' commentary, but that's compared to the iPhone, not the other BBOS devices, so I really don't know where you have the idea that the Torch was 'a failure' relative to all other blackberry devices since the Bold 9000 / 9700 (which were like the last devices released before the iPhone hit... since then the success of ALL BlackBerry devices has been measured against iPhone sales, so basically the Torch is just as 'successful' as the other BBOS devices in a real sense.

Here is a quote from the Torch page on Wikipedia: "The BlackBerry Torch placed 6th place on Wirefly's annual top ten selling smart phones list for 2010, selling more than Motorola's Droid 2 and Samsung's Galaxy S Fascinate, but behind devices like the Evo 4G and Droid Incredible.[24]"

[CTU2fan]

Yes. Also recall that the Torch was GSM only, so here in the US Verizon customers couldn't get one, just like now with the Passport.

Posted via CB10

[sonicpix]

Why get excited about a Passport or Classic when we had the 8800 with a keyboard?

BB Proud

[henry007]

I don't get the excitement about a slider.

I had a Torch. It's annoying to have to slide out the keyboard to type. And, I type a lot, so I had it extended a lot... which was kinda cumbersome. Really did not like the Torch.

So, please explain. What am I missing? Because I am about to replace my Z10, and I'd like to know what the fuss is about re: a slider... and if I should wait.

Thanks!

Posted via BlackBerry Z10

I believe that 5.1 inch screen could accommodate an on screen keyboard when not in avatar state(slide out). But that curved screen shld be yummy to look at as well

Posted via CB10

[D3C0D3R]

The Torch was and is easily my most favourite BlackBerry to date, just had the hardware limitation compared to BlackBerry10 phones nowadays!

The fuss is that it's predecessor was an amazing phone, and assuming they can improve on that and not regress, this will be an amazing phone!

Praise be unto our Lord, Squircle | Passport SQW100-1/10.3.1.2708

[Grabber5.0]

I think I'm in the minority here when i say I'd have preferred an horizontal slider phone than a vertical one.

Having used both a landscape and portrait sliders, I prefer the portrait, because the landscape keyboard was nearly impossible for me to type on one-handed. I also got tired of having to rotate the phone to type. It did have a VKB also, but back then, it was a too-small, resistive display - horrible to type on.

[BoldPreza]

For me I am not excited about the slider per se however it seems that BlackBerry is intent on all of their phones coming with a physical keyboard. This just happens to be the only one right now planned with a proper screen as I don't like the square screen ratio. If it isn't too bulky it's the only BlackBerry I'd be interested in.

Posted via CB10