BlackBerry Torch 9800 - BlackBerry 6 OS delivers a touch of magic for the corporate crowd - Last Wednesday I took at look at the Torch 9800, running the slick BlackBerry 6 OS which has borrowed some of the best aspects of Android and iOS to bring the Volvo of smartphones into the modern age. Today I want to wrap up with a look at a few apps.
The browser has long been BlackBerry's Achilles' Heel so, as a fan of Android and iOS, naturally the new WebKit browser caught my attention. The Torch 9800 is not as fast to render pages at the iPhone 4 or high-end Android phones, but once pages load you've got the joys of flick to scroll, pinch to zoom and tap to zoom which focuses on columns of text. You can also open multiple windows and easily switch between them.
Complicated web pages, such as the full front page of the SMH, remain responsive - impressive since the Torch 9800 lacks the processing grunt of its high-end competitors. The developers have embraced technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3 to help BlackBerry 6 OS keep up with the times.
I still think that Mobile Safari is the best smartphone browser and the BlackBerry browser is rough around the edges. For example, if you click in a text box in Mobile Safari it automatically zooms in so you can see what you’re typing. Not so with the BlackBerry. Just like the early Android browser, the BlackBerry team really need to swallow their pride and turn more to the iPhone for inspiration when it comes to the little things that make the difference between a good and great mobile browsing experience.
A user tries out the new Blackberry Torch 9800 smartphone after it was unveiled at a news conference August 3, 2010 in New York City. The new device by Blackberry maker Research in Motion features a touch-screen and slide-out keyboard along with new 6.0 software in the companys ongoing battle with Apples iphone and other mobile devices
Those hoping for Flash-compatibility on the Torch 9800 are out of luck - although it’s reportedly on the roadmap (and has been for a long time). RIM announced this week that we won’t see Flash on the new Bold 9900 running BlackBerry 7 OS, which isn’t promising. I think people are more likely to tolerate the lack of Flash in a business-focused phone like a BlackBerry than a consumer-focused phone like the iPhone 4. Regardless of what Steve Jobs says, the high-end Android phones prove that you can get smooth Flash performance on a smartphone.
The Torch 9800's 3.2-inch 480x360 LCD screen is very impressive and stands up well to what I've dubbed the Costello test (see the image below). Viewed on the 9800 you get good viewing angles, great contrast and detail, excellent skin tones and very white whites.
It's up there with the iPhone 4, although the Torch 9800 betrays its lower pixel density when you look at pages with thumbnails of photos - they look pixelated on the Torch 9800’s 187 ppi screen compared to the iPhone 4’s razor sharp 329 ppi display.
The other new app I thought worth a look is Social Feeds, offering easier access to your various social media feeds. The Torch 9800 features standalone Facebook, Twitter and MySpace apps, but Social Feeds is compatible with AIM, BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook, Google Talk, MySpace, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and various RSS feeds. You can elect to receive notification of updates and integrate Social feeds with the Messages Application.
Logging into Facebook reveals some of the tight contact integration that I love about some Android devices. You’ve got the option to sync your phone with Facebook’s Messages, Calendar and Contacts apps, including the ability to update an existing contact's photo if they’re a Facebook friend. Notifications from services such as Facebook and Twitter show up in the home screen’s notification bar.
Social Feeds shows a combined timeline of all your social networking feeds, plus it’s easy to tap the top menu and narrow it down to one feed. You can also see notifications show up in your Messages inbox along with your email and text messages. Meanwhile if you tap on an entry in your contacts list, you’ll see recent activity including their social networking updates.
There are plenty of other great new features I’ve failed to mention, but the slick WebKit browser and beautiful execution of Social Feeds say to me that the BlackBerry team is paying more than lip service to its promises to make BlackBerry 6 OS a great tool for work and play.
Taking many of my favourite Android features, stirring in a pinch of iOS and baking it all into a solid, corporate-friendly, touch-enabled mobile OS has produced a very slick device in the Torch 9800. As the smartphone war hots up and some players fall by the wayside, it’s clear that BlackBerry still has a lot to offer and corporate users can have the best of both worlds. ( Sydney Morning Herald )
The browser has long been BlackBerry's Achilles' Heel so, as a fan of Android and iOS, naturally the new WebKit browser caught my attention. The Torch 9800 is not as fast to render pages at the iPhone 4 or high-end Android phones, but once pages load you've got the joys of flick to scroll, pinch to zoom and tap to zoom which focuses on columns of text. You can also open multiple windows and easily switch between them.
Complicated web pages, such as the full front page of the SMH, remain responsive - impressive since the Torch 9800 lacks the processing grunt of its high-end competitors. The developers have embraced technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3 to help BlackBerry 6 OS keep up with the times.
I still think that Mobile Safari is the best smartphone browser and the BlackBerry browser is rough around the edges. For example, if you click in a text box in Mobile Safari it automatically zooms in so you can see what you’re typing. Not so with the BlackBerry. Just like the early Android browser, the BlackBerry team really need to swallow their pride and turn more to the iPhone for inspiration when it comes to the little things that make the difference between a good and great mobile browsing experience.
A user tries out the new Blackberry Torch 9800 smartphone after it was unveiled at a news conference August 3, 2010 in New York City. The new device by Blackberry maker Research in Motion features a touch-screen and slide-out keyboard along with new 6.0 software in the companys ongoing battle with Apples iphone and other mobile devices
Those hoping for Flash-compatibility on the Torch 9800 are out of luck - although it’s reportedly on the roadmap (and has been for a long time). RIM announced this week that we won’t see Flash on the new Bold 9900 running BlackBerry 7 OS, which isn’t promising. I think people are more likely to tolerate the lack of Flash in a business-focused phone like a BlackBerry than a consumer-focused phone like the iPhone 4. Regardless of what Steve Jobs says, the high-end Android phones prove that you can get smooth Flash performance on a smartphone.
The Torch 9800's 3.2-inch 480x360 LCD screen is very impressive and stands up well to what I've dubbed the Costello test (see the image below). Viewed on the 9800 you get good viewing angles, great contrast and detail, excellent skin tones and very white whites.
It's up there with the iPhone 4, although the Torch 9800 betrays its lower pixel density when you look at pages with thumbnails of photos - they look pixelated on the Torch 9800’s 187 ppi screen compared to the iPhone 4’s razor sharp 329 ppi display.
The other new app I thought worth a look is Social Feeds, offering easier access to your various social media feeds. The Torch 9800 features standalone Facebook, Twitter and MySpace apps, but Social Feeds is compatible with AIM, BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook, Google Talk, MySpace, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and various RSS feeds. You can elect to receive notification of updates and integrate Social feeds with the Messages Application.
Logging into Facebook reveals some of the tight contact integration that I love about some Android devices. You’ve got the option to sync your phone with Facebook’s Messages, Calendar and Contacts apps, including the ability to update an existing contact's photo if they’re a Facebook friend. Notifications from services such as Facebook and Twitter show up in the home screen’s notification bar.
Social Feeds shows a combined timeline of all your social networking feeds, plus it’s easy to tap the top menu and narrow it down to one feed. You can also see notifications show up in your Messages inbox along with your email and text messages. Meanwhile if you tap on an entry in your contacts list, you’ll see recent activity including their social networking updates.
There are plenty of other great new features I’ve failed to mention, but the slick WebKit browser and beautiful execution of Social Feeds say to me that the BlackBerry team is paying more than lip service to its promises to make BlackBerry 6 OS a great tool for work and play.
Taking many of my favourite Android features, stirring in a pinch of iOS and baking it all into a solid, corporate-friendly, touch-enabled mobile OS has produced a very slick device in the Torch 9800. As the smartphone war hots up and some players fall by the wayside, it’s clear that BlackBerry still has a lot to offer and corporate users can have the best of both worlds. ( Sydney Morning Herald )
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