[Gunny5821]

Hello ALL,

Well back in Jan of this year I retired my iPhone (The Original 2007 release version) since it was just getting old and outdated. Nothing wrong with it, heck not even a scratch, but the OS was not what 2010 OS is. So I moved to Boost Mobile and got my first Blackberry the Curve 8330, with OS 5.0. I was very impressed, mainly due to how well it sync'd outlook and music from iTunes. The GPS was great, the keyboard good, the only real problem I had was barely any free memory. I think it would be 27MB after a boot and by days end it would normally be around 12MB. I attributed that to a memory leak somewhere, so every morning I would pull the battery until I found a program in the app store that did it for me (Free app). So this summer I decided to move over to AT&T since all of my family uses AT&T. On Aug 3rd I picked up the Samsung Captivate and it is an awesome phone, but it has new phone issues as all of them do. The big problems are the contacts and how it handles them, something very important to me.

It seems the Torch has its own new phone problems as did the Captivate, but the Torch's seem to be worse than the Captivates. So there in lays the rub, Sould I keep the Captivate or Buy the Torch?

Please back up the response... Thanks!

Gunny

[ChibiBlackSheep]

What new phone problems are you talking about??

[Gunny5821]

The ones listed in this forum. I pretty much count on the folks here as many are guru's and I know I will get an honest answer.

[ChibiBlackSheep]

I was just wondering in detail which ones you were worried about.

I do not have any of the issues that others are mentioning where my slider feels loose, or it moves when using the touchscreen while the keyboard is out. My talk/bb/return/end buttons are all fine.

The only problem that I have right now is the calendar in the notifications bar being annoying. Something I'll have to wait for RIM to fix apparently. I love the Torch and I would highly recommend it.

[Gunny5821]

Thanks for the quick and helpful reply. Here are the issues I have heard about the most from here:
1. The low volume
2. The speaker sounds like your in a tin can
3. Screen noise (A Clacking Sound)
4. Backlight bleeds
5. Keyboard keys acting up, when typing the wrong keys are coming up from what you have typed.
6. Touch screen freezes
etc...

See I am buying it through Wirefly.com and I don't want to get in a return cycle as some people are saying is happening to them. One person related he tried 4 different phones while at AT&T and all of them had the same or worse issues.

So would you recommend buyng it now, you feel that strongly about the phone or should I wait and see, however I can only wait 30 days. So it is a make or break deal at this point.

[ChibiBlackSheep]

The only issue on that list that I have experienced was the touch screen freezing once. I added all my contacts and then my facebook and address book started to sync themselves and it locked up my phone. After one battery pull my address book was synced with all my friends facebook information and pictures, etc. and I haven't had the problem since.

I prefer to purchase items in a store, so that I can see and hold it before I actually pay for it. Because I was lucky to never experience any of the problems, I can't say for sure the device is immune from it.

[ChibiBlackSheep]

*double post fail*

[qbnkelt]

Thanks for the quick and helpful reply. Here are the issues I have heard about the most from here:
1. The low volume
2. The speaker sounds like your in a tin can
3. Screen noise (A Clacking Sound)
4. Backlight bleeds
5. Keyboard keys acting up, when typing the wrong keys are coming up from what you have typed.
6. Touch screen freezes
etc...

See I am buying it through Wirefly.com and I don't want to get in a return cycle as some people are saying is happening to them. One person related he tried 4 different phones while at AT&T and all of them had the same or worse issues.

So would you recommend buyng it now, you feel that strongly about the phone or should I wait and see, however I can only wait 30 days. So it is a make or break deal at this point.

OK - I'd like first off to say that not everyone on the forum who is posting these complaints is a guru. Some are trolls, plain and simple. Their sole purpose in life is to bash. And remember that generally people who are happy don't come in to say how happy they are - they go live life.

I suggest that you go to the AT&T store and try out the device. Spend some quality time with it, be objective. As far as your questions -

1. On the fence on this one. I don't think it's lower. At least I don't notice it being lower.
2. No tin can sound for my device.
3. I haven't heard a clacking sound since I got the device on Thursday morning. Don't know when this sound is supposed to happen. I don't hear it.
4. No backlight bleeds.
5. No problems with keys/letters.
6. I had one reboot when I first got it. Like within a few seconds of using it.

As you can see, I have no problems with my device. My husband has not reported any such problems, either. Both our devices are solid and fluid. Couldn't be happier.
Oh!!! No one I know who has the phone (about a couple of dozen people so far) have complained about anything other than the first reboot that I had.

Only consistent problem I have is getting BerryBuzz working properly. For some reason the phone won't flash the Disco settings!

[voyager01]

So you dumped the original iPhone because it was outdated and now you have the captivate and want to get something that is outdated compared to the captivate? Am I correct?

[Gunny5821]

So you dumped the original iPhone because it was outdated and now you have the captivate and want to get something that is outdated compared to the captivate? Am I correct?

I picked up the Captivate since I was not going to spend $199.99 for another phone on a new 2 yr contract. The day I bought it the price had just dropped to $49.99 with free ground shipping and activation waived. On AT&T it is the best Android phone in my noob opinion. I had hoped that the Torch would be released prior to my, "30 day try and see if you like period", which it did. I was hoping it would be a drop kick, no brainer, go grab it and love at first sight, but I have found out that ity is and it isn't the case. So before I return my Captivate for the Torch, I just am trying to gather as much info as possible about the Torch, so I won't get burnt (no pun intended, lol)!

I just watched a review on YouTube and it was a mixed bag, watched another same deal. From what I can gather from the web reviews is the hardware isn't poppin like everyone was expecting it to..

So all of that to say, This is why I am here to get the straight, no crap, no fibbing advice. That is what I am hoping.......

[NoahFecks]

The big problems are the contacts and how it handles them, something very important to me.

What exactly do you mean by this? If this is important then maybe we can offer whether the Torch will do what you want it to or not.

As for all the other issues you've read about, many people have them, many people don't. Apparently it's just a matter of finding one in the store that doesn't have the issues. I still have the one I picked up Thursday. No tinny sounding phone calls or any of the other issues, I just have a very slight wiggle of the screen.

Honestly, I think no matter what, after time any slider mechanism is going to have some play eventually. I had an HTC Fuze, which if you aren't familiar, had a horizontal sliding keyboard. It was rock solid when I first got it, but after a month or 2 it became very wobbly. I don't think carrying it in my pocket did me any favors, but just the same I expect something like this to happen to any sliding device, nothing lasts forever.

And as Qbnkelt stated, try it out and see how it works for you. Ignore the trolls that try and sway you about the "outdated hardware". That shouldn't have anything to do with your decision as to whether the device does what you want it to do, not what everyone else expects it to do for you.

[ibcop]

I am in the same boat with Qbnkelt with this one, although I did burn through the battery today. Not sure if this was because I was tinkering with the phone - not a lot mind you. Several texts msgs (in and out), a few BBM chats, and several calls......took it off the charger at 5am and by 4:15pm I got the warning notification.

I'd have to say this battery drain would be an issue with me.

[ChibiBlackSheep]

I charged my phone Sunday morning (around 11) it lasted me until I got home from work Monday (6p) normal usage, plus playing around with things and manually adding my address book (so I can get used to the keyboards).

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[timbo22]

I spent at least 12 hours over the weekend working with and setting up my Torch. I had a number if issues and the ATT store couldn't figure out and Sat gave me a replacement. (Picked up first one Thur AM) it kept locking up in several different apps. Also apps kept disappearing when set to favorites screen. Lock button too sensitive after locking and put in pocket, it was always running something when I got it out of pocket. Low volume...it also switches much too easy too the landscape view. It was worth the $35 return fee and the hours over the weekend to determine 2 things: 1- there are some major issues to be fixed. 2- Torch is not for me. I would never have been able to use the virtual key board. I'll wait and maybe someday get Bold 9000 with a ton of memory.

[paintdrinkingpete]

As a previous Curve owner, at the very least you're familiar with the "BlackBerry experience", in that you know what to expect the device to be able to do. The Torch has some new bells and whistles for sure, but deep down it's still a BlackBerry (and I don't mean that in a positive OR negative way, it is what it is).

It also happens to be a VERY NEW device, in a form factor that hasn't ever been produced previously...so there are bound be some "bugs" for early adopters (at least that's what I'd expect).

Since you seem a bit unsure, unless you're in a real hurry, I'd give the Torch a few weeks to "settle in" to see what happens. If there are slight hardware issues, they may be corrected by the time a second or third batch comes out, plus there's a good chance that any software related issues will be remedied by OS updates, which I imagine will be coming out quickly given the newest of the device design and new OS 6 version.

I don't really know about AT&T policies...maybe you can get one to try out? I know Verizon offers a 30 day return policy -- couldn't hurt to make a judgment for yourself.

[paintdrinkingpete]

One other thing -- from my experience, people who are happy with their device are a lot less likely to come over here and talk about it than those who are having problems, so don't let the appearance of a lot of negative post scare you away too much.