After releasing the BlackBerry 9700 “Curve” RIM (Research in Motion) seemed like they had themselves a sold phone which had BlackBerry users pleased and content, but the competition did not let up. Apple released the iPhone 4, HTC the Sprint EVO, and Samsung the Galaxy S which is slowly taking BlackBerry users in a new direction. These three new full touch screen devices didn’t leave RIM with a good position in the touch screen market. The BlackBerry Storm and Storm 2 didn’t leave a big impression in the touch screen market.

RIM still learning the touch screen market decided to give its users the best of both worlds with the launch of the new BlackBerry Torch a touch screen mobile device with a bottom sliding full QWERTY keyboard giving you the feel of the BlackBerry and a touch screen for users who have made the jump to touch.

With the new member of the BlackBerry line-up I do believe the Torch is going to hold up fairly well with the BlackBerry faithful.

User reviews have been mixed and diehard BlackBerry users seem to like the design and OS 6 even with a lack of compatible applications at launch. Hard core touch screen users seem to not like the lag that has come to be the dated BlackBerry OS.

Torch Specs:

-          Touchscreen- 3.2″ High Resolution 480×360 pixel color display with slide-out QWERTY keyboard and optical trackpad

-          Web Browser- Full HTML tabbed browser for “PC-like” Web browsing with tabbed browsing for access to multiple web pages at the same time and pinch-to-zoom capability

-          Email and IM-BlackBerry Enterprise Servicer for corporate email, BlackBerry Internet Service for personal email, and Mobile Instant Messaging

-          Messaging- Next-generation messaging including group messaging for up to 10 people and locations

-          Social Networking- One view of all your favorite sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace

-          Operating System- BlackBerry 6 OS with integrated search and new UI

-          BLUETOOTH  2.1- with A2DP Stereo

-          Wi-Fi- 802.11b/g/n and AT&T Hot Spots for Wi-Fi access at over 20,000 locations

-          3G- Broadband data speeds on the nation’s fastest 3G network

-          Camera- 5 MP autofocus flash camera with video and scenes

-          Music and Video- AT&T Music, PrimeTime2Go video-on-demand application, YouTube podcast, video capture, playback and streaming, 3.5 mm headset jack

-          Media Synch- iTunes, Windows Media® Player DRM-Free music, photos and videos on the go from your computer to your BlackBerry. Sync from your home computer music library to your BlackBerry wirelessly over Wi-Fi.

-          Wireless Technology- UMTS: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (Bands 1,2,5/6) GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900MHz

-          Memory- 512 MB RAM + 512 MB Flash + 4 GB Flash + 4 GB MicroSD

-          Dimensions Weight- 161.1 g. (H X W X D) 111 x 62 x 14.6 mm

-          Battery- 1300 mAHr Lithium cell

-          Talk Time- GSM: 5.5 hrs UMTS: 5.8 hrs

-          Standby time- GSM: 17 days UMTS: 13 days

All in all the BlackBerry Torch is a good device with the all BlackBerry features we have come to know. The OS is still outdated by today’s standards but provides the enterprise solution so many people are looking for. I hope RIM takes a hard look at the consumer market and develops a device geared around that market and less for the enterprise to continue to compete.

You can purchase the BlackBerry Torch for $199.99 with a two year contact on AT&T, via this link.