[TNCC97]

All my previous smartphone experience has been with S60 on Nokia phones (N82 and X6). Now I'm with a new employer and been issued a Blackberry Torch. I've only had it a week, and am still getting used to the new OS, but so far I've been very pleased with this phone. Since this is an employer-issued device, I'm still running the official v.141 OS build (not sure what they would say to loading a beta version).

Call quality/speaker volume has been excellent. As good as any of my previous Nokia phones.

It has a slight wobble in the slider when closed, but is solid when open. This isn't a problem for me at this point. I really like the feel of the phone (size, weight, balance) when handling it and on phone calls. I also like having the option between on-screen and physical keyboard.

I'm on BES and have had no issues with the data connection dropping, either with the AT&T network or on wifi.

I find the OS to be plenty quick and have not experienced any lag. The touchscreen works great and is quite responsive. I have no problems with the resolution and enjoy the larger screen for reading e-mails and attachments, viewing pics and videos, and browsing the web. I like the web browser and it works fine for my needs.

I haven't had any problem with the screen lock button at the top. I keep the phone in my left front pocket, oriented with the top of the phone facing up, and have yet to have it unlock accidentally in my pocket. Depending on how I grab it, I have accidentally unlocked it when picking it up off the desk, but that isn't a problem since I notice it right away.

The picture quality of the camera is good when I can manage to hold the phone steady. I find that the convenience button on the side requires too much pressure to activate the shutter, and I haven't gotten used to using the on-screen button without getting too much movement. I've had better results with my latest pics, so this should improve with practice.

The main thing I miss from Nokia is Ovi Maps. With this app, I can download all the map files I want onto the phone's memory so there is no need for a data connection when on the road. Nokia also offers free voice-guided navigation on their new phone models. I'm using BB Maps and Google Maps for now, but not quite the same.

Overall I am very happy with this phone and it has provided a great first experience with Blackberry. Maybe not the latest and greatest in technology, but very functional for my needs. I seem to have gotten a trouble-free unit, and hope it stays that way. I don't have many apps loaded yet, so that's the next step.

[Dvx67]

Good to hear that you are happy with it. I love mine, I think it is a very solid phone and it fits my needs perfectly.

[Fubaz]

Welcome to the club! Nokias do offer a bit of a different user experience.

It will take you another week or so to get used to typing on the torch, and the memory systems work a little different, in terms of maps. It sure would be nice to have all the maps stored on the sd card or something.

you might want to check out the garmin app and see if that can help you with your mapping issues.

[mark_rivers19]

i just love phones.. regardless of make.. and for Nokia, these 2 past models are my favorite
and this


and i'm not even surprised that nokia users love the blackberry experience.

[canusaybimmy]

.225 is a big diff from .141. If you can somehow get that on there ull be so much more pleased I suspect. Anyway glad you like the phone

[jstarett]

You can download Traffic for blackberry... RIM is currently working on adding more features so hopefully it gets better.

I would ask your BES Admin if you can upgrade to the .225 OS since it offers a LOT of improvements over .141

[anon3396357]

I jumped from Nokia myself too. The last one was Nokia E63 and it is a solid phone for sure!

[mark_rivers19]

I honestly believe that Nokia is the sleeping Giant in this phone game. They're no 1 in the World but they're not pushing so much in North America.
I think it's just a matter of time for Finland.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[TNCC97]

Thanks for the welcome, and all the comments and suggestions. The Crackberry site and forums have already helped me out immensely.

Nokia definitely had some creative designs. They're a power in the global phone market and I hope they can improve their position in the US with the new Symbian^3 and ^4 OS coming out soon. They also seem to be shaking up their upper mgt team.

I'll have to educate myself on the BB OS upgrade and see if our IT folks will let me do it. Our BES admin did all the initial setup before they sent me the phone, so I'm really inexperienced with that whole process. Can you downgrade BB's to earlier OS versions if necessary?

I checked into Garmin, but from the description on their website it seems they download the map files OTA as needed like the other options. It would provide voice navigation, but a bit steep at $99 and no way to transfer the license to a new phone in the future.

I'll look into Traffic, and hope RIM keeps improving the functionality of their Maps offering. In the meantime, I'll probably just toss my Nokia X6 in the travel bag/car and use it as a GPS unit. It's pretty quick at getting a satellite lock even without a SIM installed.

[jcp007]

I have been through Moto, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and RIM. RIM devices are by far the best devices that I have owned. I like the Torch more than my wife's i3Gs.

[Vurhan]

Windows Mobile was a very impractical mobile OS.
Symbian had many features but everything felt unpolished.
Ios4 way ahead ; ***** proof, feels like 2010.
Android, felt like it had the best ideas of several OSes, but again, unpolished, but not to the extent of Symbian.
BBOs, straight off the opposite of ios4, very useful features, but too much business model.

I hope the Torch will get updates that will increase performance as well, the CPU lags a bit TBH and bugs like this b on the cursor that just won't go away b

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[jcp007]

i just love phones.. regardless of make.. and for Nokia, these 2 past models are my favorite
and this


and i'm not even surprised that nokia users love the blackberry experience.

How about replacing the right-side convenience key with a trigger that pops the slider to answer the call on the Torch.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[gdavis2221]

Thanks for you nice review of the Torch.