Torch 9800 Phone, White (AT&T)

I have had the white BB 9800 Torch since late last year here are a few of my own personal pros and cons PROS Nice slick OS great reception adequate app store physical and touch keyboard great E mail and 5MP camera built in CONS app store doesn't offer as many apps as Android or Apple Slow/freezes at times (faster processor needed) design looks and feels 2008 if you have big finger while using the physical keyboard you may end up with misspelled words keys are somewhat small Battery life could be better (an argument I'm sure goes for most smartphones) recently dealt with the repeated Blackberry screen of death (blackberry logo shows but only keeps rebooting itself) which was fixed after a OS restore these pros and cons are by no means complete and will be periodically updated as warranted. I am mildly disappointed if RIM thought this could seriously complete with the likes of Android and Apple OS platforms. My contract is up next year and if RIM don't pick up the slack I'll be checking out other options.

Personally I have found this phone to meet and exceed my needs out of a phone and a mobile media device. I couldn't believe that this phone only cost me a penny. I will defiantly tell all my friends about amazon wireless. Back to the phone itself shall we? I thought at first that the keyboard was awkward at first but after having the phone for a full day, I got use to the key board. The cell reception is crystal clear on both sides of any phone conversations. I love the new web browser, its an actual browser this time. The touch screen works great regardless if the full key board is slid out or not. Also you can actually watch Youtube vidoes without them rebuffing every 2 minutes. When I got the phone there were no cosmetic deformities like what the review before this one stated, her phone must be a solo incident. The only cons would be maybe the size of the screen and not a ton of apps like Android has. In my humble Blackberry user's opinion, Blackberry would be in between Android and Apple iPhone when it comes to apps. As said before Android has a ton of apps while Apple iPhone does not. However BlackBerry will allow you to use third party apps. I had a Blackberry Curve 9330 before but since having the Torch I will never go back to a Curve or a Bold nor would I go back to Android. Yes I was a Android user once, what can I say? I was confused. lol This link helped me make my decision on buying the Blackerry Torch 9800, so enjoy. Thank you crackberry crew. [...]

I've struggled with how to review this phone. I've decided to give it 4 stars as a phone, its intended purpose, to receive and send phone calls, it's reception is phenomenal. Quite simply, the best reception I've ever had. I have reception in places that nobody has reception in. I've heard the same from many other Blackberry users. BB has the best cell phone reception, period, and the race isn't even close. Time for my complaints: 1. Very few instructions on a single sheet, no booklet, and no idea where to go to find out how to set this phone up. The abbreviated setup instructions do not even tell you how to load the battery. I had to Google it. If you get one of these phones, go to the Blackberry website and they have videos for how to do everything on this phone. I question why there wasn't any supporting paperwork in the box telling me to go there. They made all of those nice videos, but nobody would know they were there on the Blackberry website. 2. The battery cover on the back is a nightmare to pry off and you will have to pry it off just to put the battery in place. The directions on the BB website show using your thumb in the middle and that just won't work. The battery cover on the white phone is a flexible plastic. Pressing in the center just collapses the cover into an unseen cavity within the phone. Instead, you will have to use a tool, like a nail file, and take your time prying it from the top edges, not the middle, and be careful not to slip and scratch your camera lens. 3. As far as functioning as a smartphone, I have to say that I hate the touchscreen. Thank goodness it also has the little trackpad at the bottom or I'd never be able to maneuver around the screens on this phone. The touchscreen is not sensitive enough. I often find myself having to click the screen 3-5 times with my fingertips to get a button, like "Save" to acknowledge my intentions, very frustrating! 4. The screens often pixelate and are slow to load. 5. The quality control on these phones is horrible. My phone arrived with much of the white paint around the screen looking smudged with gray steel showing through. Upon further inspection, I realized that it had been smudged and then clear-coated over the top, sealing in the defect forever. I should have sent it back, but after reading many other Torch reviews that complained of the same thing, I realized that I might get one in worse shape and I couldn't wait to receive another one because this is a business phone for me, so I bought a snap-on case to put on the phone so I don't have to look at it. Problem solved. There are a lot of nice things about the phone, too: 1. Decent selection of apps and pre-loaded with apps for Facebook and Twitter, along with several others. 2. Great handling of email and text messages, as is expected from Blackberry. 3. Great camera quality for a cell phone. 4. Heavyweight phone, which I prefer to the ones that feel like a child's toy phone. 5. Slide out keyboard, which is a must for me. The keyboard is a little smaller than those on a regular BB and some may find the keys to be too close together, but I've already become used to it. 6. Did I mention the reception? Bottom Line: If you need a phone that won't drop calls every 5 seconds, this is the phone for you. As a phone, you won't find a better one and that's why this phone gets 4 stars from me. I had to ding it a star for the other things I've mentioned. Keep this in mind, it's very unprofessional to be out in the field with business calls dropping constantly. People get very irate and it could cost me business, so BB gets a 4-star rating, mostly due to its phenomenal reception. By the way, I purchased this from Amazon Wireless. Best of luck to you on choosing a cell phone. I researched for two days before buying this one and I'm very happy to have a phone that actually has a signal!