Apr 17, 2012 13:00 BST Is the Blackberry Torch 9810 Just Another Blackberry?

No one complains when Apple launches another that is barely any different-looking to the last or that the Galaxy range is so similar, but when it comes to Blackberry phones there are some that feel every new model is too similar to the last. However, in the case of the Blackberry Torch 9810, that’s not the case. OK, so it has the familiar QWERTY keypad and the above it, but there is so much more to this Blackberry that it’s more of a consumer phone than just a throw-away business mobile that your employer hands out.

First of all, it has a sliding screen that lifts to reveal the QWERTY keypad. So, you can still have a sexy-looking touchscreen smartphone but when you want to email or text someone, you have proper buttons to click away at rather than have to delicately tap the touchscreen and delete all of your mistakes. This is one feature that all other smartphone makers should really look into as it only makes the Torch 9810 slightly fatter than other models.

Performance wise it lives up to the latest standards set by other phone makers. It has a 3.2” touchscreen that is fully functional as it has an optical track pad. The QWERTY keypad is nicely angled in an ergonomic fashion to suit your typing needs. That means that emails are a breeze and you rarely catch the wrong button – you just need to look online for iPhone text message bloopers to see how embarrassing it is when the predictive text picks up on your mis-placed typing!

There are plenty of functions that are fully usable and welcomed for both the business and social user. There is a 3.5mm jack for your headphones so you can listen to your favourite music or you can have a high-quality headset for business calls when you’re on the move. There is a mini USB jack too, which is handy for uploading and downloading files. The screen might feel a little small compared to a Samsung Galaxy Note, but its VGA display running at 480 x 640 pixels is still very good.

Onto the hardware that’s behind the scenes. There is a stunning 5-megapixel camera that is more than capable of handling your low light photos and it comes with an LED flash for dark situations as well as an autofocus feature that is perfect for getting the images clearer and finer. There is a 720p HD video camera, which is really amazing considering this isn’t what you’d expect from a Blackberry. Thanks to 8GB of internal memory and 768MB RAM it’s superbly fast and you also have the option of upping the on board storage to 32GB thanks to the microSD slot.

It runs on Blackberry OS 7, which is the very latest in operating systems and it has at least 6 hours of battery life so you can truly enjoy your time on your phone without being hampered by the cable. Overall, it’s a really smart smartphone that is superbly functional and is pitched at a great price point on UK networks.

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