ScoobyDoo555

Yes I know the Torch 2 is imminent but compared to the speed of her current phone, this thing is much faster.

And it was a great opportunity to have a play with it as a potential successor to my iphoney (much discussed that even as an Apple fan and heavy user, I can't stand the fookin thing!! Suffice to say, iphone= great mp3 player, sh1te phone imho)

And to the Torch. In sexy red - very nice-looking.

Even out of the box, the interface is much more grown up than iphone (and her old Android phone) - just looks more polished.
In *some* things it's not quite as fast as iphone, and the touchscreen, whilst good, I think still comes a *close* second to the simply sublime iphone experience.

What was nice was the integration with our existing services - Gmail, calendars and contacts. Seemless. Picked them up with minimal fuss and setup. Easy to keep up to date without having to constantly sync the phone.

So far, I've found the Internet experience to be a pleasant one, nothing untoward (yet), as has the mail client - great to have all your feeds coming to one place!
Also, I like the layout of the messaging - not as (imho) novelty-based as the iphone messaging.
What does seem cool, and I guess a MAJOR reason for going 'berry, is the BBM service. To have specific system that doesn't go through other networks to deliver you message is brilliant (and cheaper!) - no more holiday MMS being sent at extortionate prices (eg via Movistar/Vodafone etc)..... impressive.

Other novelties that I'd forgotten about - being able to copy stuff over to the internal card (upgrading it to a 32Gig job so she can kick her old ipod in to touch) WOW!!!

Bluetooth file transfer that worked well - the Android just never "felt" bolted together enough - even on 2.2.1. This was across the whole OS. Her phone was one of the Vodafone HTC Magics. Great little phone, but struggled when 2.2.1 was installed. But Android just doesn't seem "finished" - does that make sense?

The phone itself is a "big-un" - not too big, but you certainly know you've got it, despite being smaller than my iphone, but it is heavier.
Keyboard takes a bit of getting used to - especially the delete/return keys being SO close together!

I think as an overall package, it is WELL bolted together with some very good bits on it. The App store, whilst not as vast as Apple's or Android's, is pretty good, and more things seem to be coming to it.

I'd be happy with a Torch 2 (by the time my contract runs out, it should be nearly upon us) - and in the meantime, I get to play with it!!!

As you can see, a fairly unbiased (and quick) look at it - different and better in some ways, and worse in some ways than both Iphone and Android. It all boils down to what the user wants - and at present, Wifey tried both Android and (my) iphone...... still went Blackberry.

Ant

Make sure she backs it up!

My aunties randomly crashed and reset at the weekend and wiped everything

JackClark

Just you, your Wife and the Blackberry salesforce believe it's a good product. Enjoy.

ScoobyDoo555

Thank you - she's enjoying it so far.

No issues at all

And yes, it backs up anyway as everything on the phone is already on her Mac.

Doesn't take away the fact it's a polished device that despite being a lower-spec processor, handles everything so much better than the competition..... (her Magic, and my iphoney)
in the eyes of this particular user (my wife)

I'm sure there's better phones, and in some respects, I'll graciously include the iphone 4, but each to their own eh?

In this case, I'll speak as I find. Simple.

Peedee

iTrader: (4)

And the award for most boring thread on Scoobynet EVER goes to................................................ .....






This one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:luxhell o::luxhell o:




lol, just kidding mate.

ScoobyDoo555

Just gone down the Google searches on 9800 reviews....
Would seem that it's not as cr@p as you would make out Jack.
It's different to iphone... and for a lot of people, that's a good thing.

http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/blackberry-torch.htm

http://www.testfreaks.co.uk/mobile-p...ry-torch-9800/

http://www.mobilefonereviews.co.uk/p...rry-Torch.aspx

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobile-pho...view-50000206/

http://www.mobilechoiceuk.com/Phone-...rch+review/807

Tech radar weren't overly keen on it
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pho...-707877/review

http://www.yourmobilephonereviews.co...torch-9800.htm

There are other alternatives to Apple...
written on MacBook Pro

DAn

ScoobyDoo555

LOL!!! FWIW - trawl back over the last 10 years.... there's LOADS more boring than this.... and you'll find some regular names keep cropping up

Dan

Jamz3k

Jackclark you defo are in a league.of your own! Well not quite your own, its more a Jackclark, PSLewis & Matteeboy League.

JackClark

Easy now, just pulling the fella's leg and he's taking it the right way. If mine wasn't stolen I'd still have a blackberry as a back up device.

ScoobyDoo555

Now now, Jack's entitled to his opinion (the fact that nobody else's opinion matters is irrelevant )....

This wasn't a post to start a flame war - merely to post my findings with an alternative product. And more so from Wifey's perspective, who could give a flying **** about whether or not the phone has an apple (bearing in mind the house is FULL of them - 7 at the last count, excluding ipods), android or other fruit....

ScoobyDoo555

ScoobyDoo555

IN all seriousness, anybody got an idea when this BBM app is coming to iphone?

Keep reading rumours, but nothing concrete yet......

JackClark

>IN all seriousness, anybody got an idea when this BBM app is coming to iphone?

I doubt it will, for some reason people see BBM as offering something extra when in fact it has no real benefit, placebo effect maybe, but RIM would be wise to cash in on that feeling and keep it Blackberry only. Not that they've made many wise choices lately.

ScoobyDoo555

Good point - the play book being one classic example!
Shame though as the prospect of "free" international messaging would be interesting. Hey ho

WRXBOB

Daughter has the torch and thinks its great. Me and Wifey both have the desire hd and its loads better than the blackberry.

ScoobyDoo555

Out of interest, am I right with bbm? My understanding is that the hype is around the security.... But the interesting bit is the messenging aspect - not paying for multiple carriers for texts (eg vodafone & movistar in Spain).... This IS the main reason, yes?

I did play with the Desire. Great phone but just couldn't get to grips with the OS. Still can't get over the "unfinished" feel of the OS. Just a feeling I've got. Much preferred iPHone to it.Still, it works for a lot of people

JackClark

The international thing is a myth, it's not free to send *from* a different country but is free to send *to*. So that's the one benefit out the window.

urban

iTrader: (1)

I've been using the BB torch for several months now.
A bit fiddly to use at first, however when sending emails/texts I still prefer to use the keyboard instead of the touch screen as I find it much faster.

ScoobyDoo555

no need for the caustic tone Jack - besides the different country thing doesn't seem to be a myth:

http://communication.howstuffworks.c...messenger1.htm

http://www.blackberryforums.com/gene...aging-sms.html

There are other sites, but they pretty much copy/paste this.

Not saying you're wrong (yet!), but I would genuinely like to see your source - purely as I'm new to Blackberry and when I change from iphoney, it could be to 'berry. I like to research - anything you can provide would be very helpful

DAn

ScoobyDoo555

agreed Urban - the keyboard is a bit small, but already getting used to both the keyboard and the touchscreen.
The pinch/zoom isn't quite as sorted as iphoney, but still pretty good.

JackClark

No tone intended. Both of your links mention *sending* from your own country internationally, not sending via roaming.

My sources are the hundreds of BB users with me now in another country and Google.

ScoobyDoo555

Fair play I can't be using Google right then.

Will investigate further - crackberry, here I come!

Dan

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

I have a blackberry 8900 Curve at the moment that is ****e for browsing the internet.
It is no better than wap phones that I have had over the last 5 years.
Is the torch much better?
Think I have set my mind on either a HTC Desire S or Wildfire S, but the 9800 torch could be a curve ball option.

ScoobyDoo555

My *limited* understanding is that there's no Flash (so cant use things like TV catchup etc) - but IIRC that's still an issue with my iphoney (unless there's a new app to sort that out - I don't know)

Can't comment on the Curve as I haven't used it - sorry. But the web-browsing experience so far has been as good as Safari.

JackClark

TV Catchup has worked on the iPhone for years.

ScoobyDoo555

My MOST humble apologies!!!! I'm watching it now - for some reason, I always thought that it didn't work

But yes, it does work

Still not sure about Flash (FWIW and even if it's needed - this bit Jack & I are in agreement: bloatware!! )

ScoobyDoo555

Just confirmed over on Crackberry -

BBM does NOT charge for worldwide messaging.
Also an interesting function is that of sending voice notes...

"By FAR the best thing, is being able to send voice notes across the globe at no charge to you. You can "almost" have a voice conversation with your friend without using any long distance minutes. Menu - Send Voice note - Play friends voice note - repeat."

Interesting

JackClark

Un-confirmed on Blackberry.com

http://supportforums.blackberry.com/...ELP/m-p/544138

"BBM uses your BlackBerry Data plan to send the messages. Accordingly, if you travel out of your country and into another carrier's range, you will incur data roaming charges."

It's your money at the end of the day, all I know is there are 50/100 people here on tour that don't use BBM abroad as it costs money.

ScoobyDoo555

Thanks Jack

Seems that despite all of these Blackberry users, the amount of mis-information is quite high. The main pro of BBM is the unique PIN.... which I can't decide if it's worthwhile thing or not
Edited to add that reading into this, it wholly depends on your network provider as to if it's free or not.

Love doing all this stuff when looking into new toys!!

JackClark

There's no firm evidence I can show you either way, nothing on any UK providers web sites. You could be the Scoobynet tester.

I see no benefit to BBM, it's a bit like using an ISP's email address, one day you'll lose it. Only being able to talk to other BB users seems like another negative.