Summary: RIM just announced their latest device that combines the best of their QWERTY keyboard history with a capacitive touchscreen experience in the Torch 9800. AT&T customers can pick one up for $200 next week.
I don’t write about RIM products here as much as I probably should, primarily because I don’t own one since my SIM has to be provisioned for it. However, with today’s announcement of the RIM BlackBerry Torch 9800 I may have found a BlackBerry device for me to purchase when it comes to T-Mobile. Starting next week, 12 August, lucky AT&T customers will be able to purchase the new Torch 9800 for $199.99 with 2-year service plan. The BB Torch 9800 brings the best of the QWERTY world and touch world together in one device that also runs the latest BlackBerry 6 operating system. I will try to get a review unit soon so I can post my experiences with it here for you all to read about.
The key specifications of the Torch 9800 include:
Slide down QWERTY keyboard (reminds me of my old HTC MDA II Pocket PC Phone device)
3.2 inch 360×480 capacitive touch display
RIM BlackBerry 6 operating system
5 megapixel camera with flash
512MB Flash memory, 4GB integrated memory, and microSD card slot
802.11 b/g/n WiFi
Bluetooth and GPS
The new BB 6 OS includes a new WebKit-based browser, universal search, context-sensitive pop-up menus, and much more. I imagine we will see this roll out soon on other carriers and I may just be adding a BlackBerry device to my collection when T-Mobile gets one.
Matthew is a professional naval architect by day and a mobile gadget freak at all other times. He purchases his own devices and then sells them on eBay or Craigslist to buy more. Many other devices are sent for review on a 30-day loaner basis and then returned to the carrier or manufacturer. If any are provided as “long term loaner units” this will be clearly disclosed in his reviews.
Biography
Matthew Miller
Matthew Miller started using a mobile devices in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since. He is a co-host with GigaOM's Kevin Tofel on the MobileTechRoundup podcast and an author of three Wiley Companion series books. Matthew started using mobile devices with a US Robotics Pilot 1000 and has owned over 125 different devices running Palm, Linux, Symbian, Newton, BlackBerry, iOS, Android, webOS, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone operating systems. His current collection includes an HTC Radar 4G, Dell Venue Pro, Apple iPad 2, HTC Flyer, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nokia N9, Apple iPhone 4S, MacBook Pro, and many more, along with tons of accessories and classic devices like the Apple Newton MessagePad 2100 and Sony CLIE UX50. Matthew can be found on various discussion forums under the user name of "palmsolo".
@dheady@... i dnt think its called playing catch up..rim has the largest smartphone market in the us 2date..I think they're just extending the lead with this product
I'm interested in seeing one in person. I'm currently in the market for a new one. Plus with the new one coming out the prices of the existing ones may come down more.
Thx for you blogs Matthew. I always read them. I'm an old time Blackberry user, shocking friends with my old 8703e. I've been researching Androids but I love the qwerty keyboard style with firm keys so I'm holding off for a better Blackberry, or the Droid X, whichever proves as best. I look forward to your test results.
I wonder if it is possible to disable the touch screen? I like the slider design for the larger screen, but the touchpad is still there, so, other than pinch/zoom type of functionality, I see no reason why it is strictly necessary to use the touchscreen.
I am a long time Blackberry user and would love to get into the touch screen capabilities of the new Blackberrys. But I cant use the small QWERTY keypad and love the 1/2 QWERTY Pearl style. Now a Pearl with a touch screen would be a winner for me!
