Info Space Blog: BlackBerry Torch 9860 Review

What is BlackBerry?

The most exceedingly common observation about the Torch is that it's very much still a BlackBerry. Despite the gloss-speckled new BlackBerry 6 software, despite the retro-quirky slider anatomy, it's a BlackBerry. Well, what is a BlackBerry?

BlackBerry, in the beginning, was a glorified two-way pager. It's slowly evolved from that decade-old core into what it is today. Like Microsoft Office, a lot of people might use it at home, but it's mostly designed for its corporate base. What BlackBerry tends to be good at, and what BlackBerry users love about them clearly exposes those corporate-tinged roots: well-designed hardware keyboards, push email (routed through RIM's servers), BlackBerry Messenger (a robust, addictive BlackBerry-to-BlackBerry instant messaging service), communications security and encryption (see: Obama, Saudi Arabia, UAE). What it's not been good at: basically everything else. I mean, if you want to highlight the philosophical difference between RIM and say, Apple, consider that RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis brags about how carriers love BlackBerrys because they conserve bandwidth, while Apple told AT&T to screw itself when the carrier suggested making the YouTube app less awesome for users by eating less data.

Introduction to BlackBerry 9860

No QWERTY keyboard, no SurePress clickable screen gimmickry, the BlackBerry Torch 9860 is taking the plunge. Not the first time that RIM are venturing into touchscreen but they're past the point of no return with this one. The BlackBerry Torch 9860 will walk among deadly droids and iPhones - probably the most hostile of environments in smartphone land.

No wonder RIM are extra cautious. They had a couple of scouts in touchscreen territory that didn't return. The Storm phones were exposed despite their SurePress disguise. Now, this time RIM are not beating the drum. Their first real touch-only phone doesn't seem to warrant its own name. It's simply a regular team member. A keyboardless model in the Torch lineup.

We bet any of the Storms would kill to be in its place rather than a footnote in BlackBerry history. A history heading towards tablets, history in which the likes of the Torch 9860 will be playing an increasingly greater role.

The BlackBerry 9860 is a perfectly competent handset with a smart design, easy to use interface, and a healthy selection of features. However, when compared to the competition, it's hard to know exactly who the BlackBerry 9860 is going to appeal to. For your average man on the street, mid-range Android handsets beat it for price and features (if not build), and have a much better stocked app store. And it certainly doesn't have the might to take on the likes of the iPhone 4S or Samsung Galaxy S II. This only leaves the corporate market and BlackBerry fans. With regards the former, the touchscreen form factor may not sit well with the majority of users, particularly when the typing experience isn't quite good enough. Likewise, don't BlackBerry fans buy them primarily for the keyboard anyway? Whatever the case, this certainly isn't a bad phone, just not one we'd outright recommend.

BlackBerry's latest OS 7 and the real-deal touchscreen experience will help the Torch 9860 find a niche of its own. Not that BlackBerry purists will ever get over the lack of a physical keyboard, but the Torch 9860 is not looking at them.

Instead, it has plenty to offer to long-term BlackBerry users with a taste for experiment. The Torch 9860 is part of a new generation of 1.2GHz-powered phones running the latest OS 7. It promises a new touchscreen experience and better specs across the board.

In case you wonder though about QWERTY in the list of cons - it felt right to sound a warning to traditional BlackBerry users. It's too radical a change. So, the Torch 9860 will have a massive point to prove. You can take the QWERTY out of a messenger but never the messenger out of a BlackBerry. Coming up next is our pros and cons list, so let's get down to business