BlackBerry Torch 9850 /Review

Starting at: $199.99

The good: The RIM BlackBerry Torch 9850's svelte design and sharp screen give it consumer-level appeal. Features like 720p HD video capture, world phone capabilities, and an enhanced operating system are welcome. Call quality is good as well.

The bad: The Torch 9850 suffers from the occasional sluggishness, and there are times when the touch screen isn't as responsive as we would like.

The bottom line: The RIM BlackBerry Torch 9850 for Verizon Wireless is a laudable midrange smartphone, but it faces stiff competition

RIM is once again making the rounds with its latest line of BlackBerry smartphones, with the Torch 9850 heading to Verizon Wireless after its initial launch with Sprint. The BlackBerry Torch 9850 marked a milestone for BlackBerry as the first-ever full touch-screen handset after the rather embarrassing mistakes of the Storm and the Storm 2. And we have to say, RIM made a decent effort here. The 3.7-inch display is sharp, and the 1.2GHz processor does a good job at improving overall performance. The Torch 9850 also ships with OS 7, which brings a number of under-the-hood enhancements like 720p HD video capture, voice-activated search, HTML 5 support, and more. The Torch 9850 is also a dual-mode CDMA/GSM phone, which makes it fit for globe-trotters.

As the Torch 9850 for Verizon Wireless has the same design and features as the one for Sprint, we'll focus more on slight software and performance differences that the Verizon version offers.

Software

One of the main differences between the Sprint and Verizon Wireless versions of the Torch 9850 is the bundled software. As you might expect, the Verizon version of the phone comes preinstalled with Verizon apps and services. They include VZ Navigator, Backup Assistant, V Cast Music, V Cast Videos, V Cast Song ID, VZWTones, and Bing search. Many of these can't be uninstalled. Aside from these apps, the rest of the phone's software is the same as the Torch 9850 for Sprint and other OS 7 handsets.

Performance

Clear call quality  although  a tiny bit of static is encountered occasionally. Otherwise, callers had plenty of volume and sounded quite natural.  Callers reported similar call quality, though  voice quality was not quite as natural and rich as that of a regular landline call. They could still tell we were on a cell phone due to slight distortions. On the whole, call quality was quite impressive. Speakerphone calls sounded good too, though it did have heavy echo effect at times.

The Torch 9850's battery has a rated talk time of up to 6.8 hours and a rated standby time of up to 13.4 days. According to FCC radiation tests, the Torch 9850 has a digital SAR of 0.9 watt per kilogram.

Conclusion

RIM finally made a full touch-screen phone that works. It makes for a great midrange handset with good multimedia features and performance. We welcome the speedy boost that the new processor provides as well as the new camera and browser technologies. Yet, it doesn't quite compete with the big leagues with its lack of a front-facing camera, no 4G support, and no dual-core processor. That's forgivable since this is a midrange device, but Verizon has priced this phone as if it were a premium product at $199.99 with a two-year contract. We do think the BlackBerry Torch 9850 represents one of RIM's better efforts to capture the non-RIM crowd, but we feel it needs to be more aggressive with pricing to really do so.