BlackBerry Torch 9800 Review: Keeping RIM's Flame Alive
by Brian Klug on September 1, 2010 7:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Torch
- BlackBerry
- Mobile
Camera Quality Analysis
So how does actual quality fare then? Well, we took the Torch to our usual testbench locations and snapped photos and videos. However, a number of you have requested a bit more testing uniformity and control. Thus far I’ve been very careful to take photos in the same locations and positions at the same time of day and weather, so that lighting is the same, but you can’t control everything. In addition, I hadn’t been testing LED flash brightness or quality at all.
First up, video recording quality:
BlackBerry Torch 9800
Motorola Droid X
HTC EVO 4G
Nexus One
iPhone 4
HTC Droid Incredible
Motorola Droid
Nokia N900
It's kind of a huge misfortune that the Torch lacks 720P video recording when so much of the competition is moving forward with not just higher resolution but better codecs and bitrates. The Torch isn't really impressive here, looking rather undersaturated as well.
Next, our usual bench location photos at the various test locations:
Regular thunderstorms in the evening when I time the light to be the same made taking shots with the Torch that were lit the same way challenging. Plus, you've asked for something a bit more controlled. To that effect, I’m doing something new. I’ll test smartphones at those locations and include their photos, but I’ll also include photos taken of a simple scene inside a lightbox. Devices are held in the exact same position on a stand - the differences are entirely the different focal lengths of the smartphone cameras themselves. I grabbed all the devices on hand for this - as we get more it’ll start to be as comprehensive as the other bench.
I like this test so much more already. You'll note I included the Droid 2 and Palm Pre Plus - expect those reviews very soon.
Honestly, the Torch’s camera isn’t anything extraordinary, but does a fairly decent job, and is a welcome step up from the 3 MP fixed focus system on older BBs. My only criticism remains the lack of direct autofocus control that I’ve grown accustomed to on virtually every platform, and lack of 720P HD video recording.
Browsing Media
Under media from the launcher you can navigate to the camera and video camera launchers, and the videos and pictures applications. Android and iOS choose to keep videos and photos under one roof, usually called gallery or, in the case of iOS, photos (which is curiously still somewhat misleading). How do these fare? Not bad.
You can view by date, list, thumbnails, and search. Geotagged photos have the city name in the filename, which is clever and useful, but also throws a wrench into sorting your photos by name properly. You can play a slideshow in the photos application which has some Ken Burns effect goodness, but other than that it’s pretty simple. Pinch to zoom multitouch gestures are present, and relatively snappy.
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Gallery - Stills and Video
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Video playback feels a tad choppier than I’d like it to, and bringing up the UI controls while video is playing back noticeably decreases FPS. Also, playback only takes place in landscape mode, not portrait.
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s44 - Wednesday, September 1, 2010 - link
RIM's release of this at price parity with the much more advanced Samsung phone indicates that they're more interested in gouging their captive user base than advancing their platform.Sivan - Wednesday, September 1, 2010 - link
I don't full agree with the dichotomy of business vs. consumer mapping onto keyboard vs. touch form factors.Even Brian notes how easy it is to use the keyboard and trackpad instead of the touchscreen. A lot of users value this ease of use especially for messaging or interacting with the device efficiently. Those are not necessarily business users. A touchscreen is not a requirement for a fun BlackBerry, I'd argue that just making BlackBerry 6 available on the venerable Bold line would make most BlackBerry users very happy.
That form factor is also much more battery efficient, the smaller screen (no need for touch) as well as more internal space for a battery, and the immediately availability of the keyboard the trackpad are the small details that make the traditional BlackBerry appealing regardless of whether one is a business user or not.
jah1subs - Wednesday, September 1, 2010 - link
What are the other devices promised for BB OS 6 upgrades?deputc26 - Wednesday, September 1, 2010 - link
I believe the OS version should read 2.2 not 2.1King Krapp - Thursday, September 2, 2010 - link
I spy Hyperbole and a Half in the background... nice.7Enigma - Thursday, September 2, 2010 - link
Suck it Trebek!Makaveli - Thursday, September 2, 2010 - link
Anand,Why didn't you install the Youtube player off the app world.
i'm on a 9700 Bold And I never open youtube links directly in the browser its all done by the app.
Also it would be cool if you could do a browser test with Opera Mini since most people use this over the default browser.
ibex333 - Thursday, September 2, 2010 - link
This new blackberry phone really doesnt sound like much of an improvement over older BB phones...With phones avaialble like the Droid G1 or the Droid X I dont understand why anyone would want to own a Blackberry unless security is the main concern. I got my Bold 9000 because back then, it was one of the very few phones that had such a nice keyboard and looked so professional and pleasing.
Now, Droid phones are so much better in just about every way IMHO. The #1 reason for this, is hacks.... What can possibly beat playing GBA, SEGA, SNES and other older console games on your phone with perfect speed, sound and great controls via a full featured keyboard and WASD buttons? And if that's not enough, you can install thousand of other nifty apps, where the number of these apps will only increase becuase developing for Droid will in the near future be as easy as developing for Linux if it isnt that way already!
Android is every geeks dream, and I cant see Apple or Blackberry RIM even touching this wonderful platform when it comes to sheer fun factor and the multitude of possiblities. Yes, I am an Android fanboy, and iPhone and Blackberry should just go in a quiet dark corner, curl up in a fetal position and just.....die....
wolrah - Thursday, September 2, 2010 - link
You had a complaint about a lack of easy 2G/3G switch on the CDMA Android devices. I don't think this is a real issue due to how CDMA 3G works. It's the same radio in a similar operation mode, so it's not like GSM where there's an entire different radio being fired up when you use 3G. The battery savings are not likely to be notable.strikeback03 - Friday, September 3, 2010 - link
In looking for ways to improve the battery life of my HTC Diamond, I found lots of people saying that the constant switching between 3G and 1x is what caused the excessive battery usage. Though in admittedly limited testing I didn't see a difference.I would imagine you can get a widget for Android to lock the device in 2G mode, should you need that functionality.