1. 09DannyH's Avatar
    I've been following the Blackberry Torch for many months now, ever since it was rumored their could be a Blackberry slider phone, so probably half a year +? Anyways, I'm Canadian and of course it's been pushed back and it's given me time to read a lot of threads on this site that put the Torch down. I really want to like the torch but I can't with all the negative feedback. I've gone from Storm, to Curve 8530, to Storm again, back to my Curve and now that's where I am. I loved my Storm, but it kept breaking, and I'm not a fan of the Curve either, I feel it's at the bottom of the blackberry world. Basically I need my blackberry for:

    -BBM - This is my first year of University, so I moved 2 hours away from my girlfriend of 4 1/2 years. I need my BBM, and I need it to be reliable.

    -Calendar Functions - Are they upgraded? I'm taking Pre-med and my schedule is crazy at the moment.

    -Mobile Internet - I use about 50MB of internet each bill period, not including streaming of messaging or anything. With the webkit browser I'm assuming it's a lot better but I need confirmation

    -SMS - Not as important, but I'm still a teenager and I text my friends. I heard they removed the 140 cap so you can type whatever you want and it will space it out into messages? Or will I have to download Crunch again?

    -Battery Life - There's a couple days of the week where I leave my house at 7am, and don't get home until nearly 1. Not all classes, but it's Friday and I like to go out. Will the battery last?


    Thanks for all of your help, and please don't be biased by my age or if you hate the phone. I'd just like to know before I invest in it.
    09-26-10 11:41 AM
  2. GG1's Avatar
    Maybe they had time to fix all the little quirks and bugs for launch day for us Canadians (hopefully). Also if battery is a priority, have you considered the 9700,which is king in the battery department or better yet, if you can wait little longer,we should be getting the 9780 soon. All that said, i would still give the Torch a shot. As much as there are unhappy users in here, i think there more users out there that are quite happy with it. Good luck with your decision.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    09-26-10 12:47 PM
  3. 09DannyH's Avatar
    Maybe they had time to fix all the little quirks and bugs for launch day for us Canadians (hopefully). Also if battery is a priority, have you considered the 9700,which is king in the battery department or better yet, if you can wait little longer,we should be getting the 9780 soon. All that said, i would still give the Torch a shot. As much as there are unhappy users in here, i think there more users out there that are quite happy with it. Good luck with your decision.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have thought about the bold but I want something fresh as well. I think the Torch offers that more than any other blackberry.
    09-26-10 01:20 PM
  4. Bob G's Avatar
    I've been following the Blackberry Torch for many months now, ever since it was rumored their could be a Blackberry slider phone, so probably half a year +? Anyways, I'm Canadian and of course it's been pushed back and it's given me time to read a lot of threads on this site that put the Torch down. I really want to like the torch but I can't with all the negative feedback. I've gone from Storm, to Curve 8530, to Storm again, back to my Curve and now that's where I am. I loved my Storm, but it kept breaking, and I'm not a fan of the Curve either, I feel it's at the bottom of the blackberry world. Basically I need my blackberry for:

    -BBM - This is my first year of University, so I moved 2 hours away from my girlfriend of 4 1/2 years. I need my BBM, and I need it to be reliable.

    -Calendar Functions - Are they upgraded? I'm taking Pre-med and my schedule is crazy at the moment.

    -Mobile Internet - I use about 50MB of internet each bill period, not including streaming of messaging or anything. With the webkit browser I'm assuming it's a lot better but I need confirmation

    -SMS - Not as important, but I'm still a teenager and I text my friends. I heard they removed the 140 cap so you can type whatever you want and it will space it out into messages? Or will I have to download Crunch again?

    -Battery Life - There's a couple days of the week where I leave my house at 7am, and don't get home until nearly 1. Not all classes, but it's Friday and I like to go out. Will the battery last?


    Thanks for all of your help, and please don't be biased by my age or if you hate the phone. I'd just like to know before I invest in it.
    I have had the Torch for over a month. Granted, I am older than you and I focus more on the business functions, but here are my experiences nevertheless:

    -BBM: I'm not a big user, but it is there and it works.

    - Calendar: Yes, it is upgraded - nicer graphics - maybe new features, but nothing jumps out at me.

    - Internet: The WebKit browser is faster and renders better. I really like the tabbed browsing feature. The browsing experience on the Torch is very similar to that on my friends' iPhones.

    - SMS: I don't know about the 140 character limit. I usually use e-mail for longer messages.

    - Battery: I'd call it "decent." (but I came from a Bold 9700, which is a camel). For a long 7 am to 1 am day, you might need a charger or a spare battery, but I have no problem getting through an average day with charge to spare.

    Raves
    ------
    - The ability to use the track pad, keyboard, and/or touch screen allows me to choose the easiest way to do each task, making the Torch a very productive device.

    - OS 6 has the drop down "Manage Connections," notifications, profiles, and universal search on the home screen, which are real time savers.

    - The big, bright display with the flick and pinch gestures and the accelerometer give it some of that iPhone fun factor.

    - Fast boot and snappy response (especially with the leaked OS upgrade). The "slower" processor is not a problem.


    Rants
    ------
    - The screen wobbles. It is especially annoying to have the screen slapping against the chassis when using the touch screen with the slider closed. It just feels cheap. I replaced my Torch on warranty and the new one is better, but still sloppy.

    - The screen has low resolution. Small fonts are blurry. You are probably accustomed to this with the Storm.

    - The keyboard is recessed and the travel of the keys is minimal, making it harder to type on than other BlackBerries.

    - The slider form factor requires opening the screen before the keyboard can be used and closing it before putting the BlackBerry away. This makes quick in-and-out access to information a little harder. I think a BlackBerry with an exposed keyboard *and* touch screen would be the ideal form factor.

    - It is heavy ... but then again, you have a Storm, so you know what a heavy device is like.
    09-26-10 02:59 PM
  5. sallenthornton's Avatar
    The torch was heavy, but not too heavy. I actually liked the weight. I wish I had held out for the 9780. Seems like the perfect bb for my needs.

    If there is no rush... Wait.
    09-26-10 03:14 PM
  6. spitothec's Avatar
    I came from a 9700..

    BBM - works perfectly.

    Calendar - Best BB Calendar yet.

    Browser - Slower but more user friendly than iOS or Android IMO, best BB browser yet by a mile (km?)

    SMS - AFAIK, if you're using a CDMA carrier, you'll still need to use Crunch. Here in the US, only GSM carriers allow (able?) multi-SMS chains.

    Battery - as long as you upgrade to a leaked OS, 7a-1a shouldn't be a problem as long as you keep media usage to a minimum. I usually have mine off the charger from 8-12 and unless I'm doing music/video, I have 30-40% at midnight.

    IMO, the Torch is the best Blackberry ever.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    09-26-10 07:24 PM
  7. colorbrandon's Avatar
    I will try to clear a few things up.

    BBM: works amazingly well
    Calendar:better than ever
    Browser: the same speed at loading webpages as my friend's droid x (take that with a grain of salt)
    Sms: it partitions the texts. First chunk is 160. Subsequent are 140.
    Battery: I have drained my battery once from 6 to 12 by listening to music all day(slacker radio) as well as heavy browser use

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    09-26-10 08:27 PM
  8. McNooberson's Avatar
    Just to add to what has already been said, the Torch is incredibly user friendly, especially to current blackberry users.

    As a student, im gonna assume you'll be typing and walking a lot like i do, and i know that I can't do that on my iphone without running into a poll or mistyping a million words.. the torch has the best physical keyboard of any blackberry yet (ive owned 7 blackberries, not including my s2).

    i type faster on the 9800 than any blackberry except my s2 on SurePress.
    09-26-10 09:52 PM
  9. PrimalYeti's Avatar
    I
    - The screen wobbles. It is especially annoying to have the screen slapping against the chassis when using the touch screen with the slider closed. It just feels cheap. I replaced my Torch on warranty and the new one is better, but still sloppy.
    I'm in a similar boat as DannyH and I too am planning to get the Torch on Wednesday. This wobble, is it seriously a problem? Or are you making it out to be worse than it is?
    09-26-10 10:18 PM
  10. spitothec's Avatar
    I've held nearly a dozen Torches and haven't noticed any "wobble", and Youtube doesn't bring anything up, so I'm guessing it's a very small problem, if it even is a problem. My two have been solid.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    09-26-10 10:38 PM
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