New BlackBerry Torch 9800

[Guest JHatmaker]

For the phone geeks like me; just found out from a former co-worker of mine at AT&T that the new BB Torch will be available on August 12th for $199 with a 2 year commitment through AT&T.

Excited about the new device, not about the carrier. Not sure how long it'll be before Verizon gets it. Maybe it'll be a dual release...

[KahrMan]

Here is a interesting review of the Torch:

By Dan Frommer

RIM's new BlackBerry Torch,unveiled today, may indeed be the company's best BlackBerry yet.

But it's not as good as the competition, such as Apple'siPhone and phones based on Google's Android software.

And it's not going to stop RIM's decline.

The biggest problem is that RIM has not been able to build a mobile operating system that feels nearly as modern and elegant as Android or Apple's iOS. As a result, even RIM's newest phone feels old next to a new iPhone or Android device.

Sure, the Torch's new BlackBerry 6 may have the same Webkit browser as the iPhone, Android, and Palm Pre. But getting to the browser still requires you sift through RIM's OS, which feels clunky and primitive.

The Torch's actual hardware is fine, and BlackBerry fans will appreciate its plastic keyboard. (We also appreciate that RIM dumped the click-touchscreen that it debuted with the BlackBerry Storm almost two years ago.)

But anyone who has a few minutes to use a Torch side-by-side an iPhone 4 or a new Android phone will realize that RIM's software is still last-generation. And in today's mobile industry, hardware is nice, but software is what really matters.

Why is this a problem for RIM?

Unless buyers have absolutely no regard for software quality, BlackBerry devices will be consumers' third or fourth choice. Don't forget that they're going to be seeing them in an AT&T store, right next to the iPhone 4 and possibly near some Android devices.

People who buy on price alone or because they like plastic keyboards may buy BlackBerry devices, but people who want to use the web, apps, games, multimedia, etc., will tend to buy iPhones or Android phones. RIM's app and OS experiences just don't compare yet.

Sure, corporations and the government will continue to buy BlackBerry devices, but Apple and Android are growing there, too. And anyway, the enterprise market just isn't nearly as big as the consumer market, and consumers have long represented a majority of RIM's new-subscriber sign-ups.

With room for only two or three huge consumer smartphone players per country, RIM will gravitate mostly toward the low end of the market, where the margins are likely going to be lower, too. This is not where RIM wants to be.

So, the biggest question remains: Is the BlackBerry brand strong enough for Microsoft to buy it?

RIM has proven itself capable of designing decent hardware, and Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 software actually doesn't look so bad. The two combined may be able to give Apple and Android a run for their money, and RIM's business of selling hardware, software, and services may give Microsoft theWindows Mobile revenue machine it needs.

But RIM is slipping on its own.

[Il Duce]

ive had the iphone, a bb, and now a droid and hands down the droid is the best OS with the bb coming in a very distant last

[LagerHead]

ive had the iphone, a bb, and now a droid and hands down the droid is the best OS with the bb coming in a very distant last

Same here on all counts. Just got the Droid X last Friday and I'm loving it. Blackberry is ok, iPhone is pretty darn cool, but the Droid kicks everybody's butt, in my not-so-humble opinion.