BlackBerry Torch 9810 review: Buttoned-up

Introduction

A fresh dose of oxygen or a new torchbearer? It doesn’t matter which one you think RIM needed to keep the flame alive. They got both in the new BlackBerry Torch 9810. Double the processing power, the new sped-up and brushed-up BlackBerry OS 7 and higher resolution displays, RIM know giving users what they need is no longer enough.

The new BlackBerry generation is encouraging users to want more. It’s not about suddenly waking the typical BlackBerry customer up to the business benefits of HD video. Nor is a bump in screen resolution and processing power enough to convince the masses to ditch their droids and iPhones and come flocking to BlackBerry.

It’s a step though.

BlackBerry Torch 9810 official shots

We ended our review of the original BlackBerry Torch 9800 by calling it a step in the right direction. Good to see, RIM have not lost momentum or changed direction. Quite the contrary. The BlackBerry Torch 9810 may as well be a manual on how to make a good sequel.

Key features:

• Enhanced email and data security
• 3.2" 16M-color TFT touchscreen of VGA resolution (480 x 640 pixels)
• QWERTY slider
• Quad-band GSM support and tri-band 3G with HSDPA
• Wi-Fi b/g/n connectivity
• GPS receiver and BlackBerry maps preloaded, digital compass
• 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and a LED flash
• HD video recording, 720p@30fps
• Single-core 1.2GHz processor
• 768MB RAM
• 8GB of inbuilt storage
• BlackBerry OS v7
• Fast boot functionality (if you don't remove the battery)
• Optical trackpad
• Hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
• DivX and Xvid video support
• Office document editor
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Smart dialing

Main disadvantages:

• BlackBerry Internet Service account is a must to enjoy all phone features
• No Flash support for the web browser
• No NFC
• No video-call camera
• No FM radio
• No haptic feedback
• All-plastic body
• Poor loudspeaker performance

There’s almost nothing on the outside to suggest the amount of progress made inside. It’s the same phone, down to the last millimeter and gram. But it’s a major leap forward to a 1GHz+ CPU, a VGA screen, HD video and a more compelling touchscreen experience.

Things look good for the BlackBerry Torch 9810 and some of it is down to the fact that, out of all the new generation Berries, it has the most comfortable starting position. The Torch 9860 drew the shortest straw we guess, no keyboard and all. What’s the point of a BlackBerry phone that can’t give you the blackberry thumb? The Bold Touch 9900, being the flagship, will inevitably be held to higher standards.

BlackBerry Torch 9810 live photos

The strength of the Torch 9810 on the other hand is in its power to surprise without being unpredictable. It may keep a low profile but won’t escape the attention of anyone after a solid smart messenger. And we don’t mean the brand-loyal only. It’s the right phone to offer to long-term customers, no doubt about that. Hopefully, the added speed and skill puts it on the radar for a wider range of users too.

OK, then. What we have here is a minor facelilft and a major software upgrade. There’s supposed to be a better phone on the other end of the equation and we’re about to start discovering it. Join us after the break for the hardware examination.

Check out the Apple iPhone 4S and iCloud promo videos

As usual when Apple announces major addition to its portfolio, the Cupertino-based company released cool promo videos dedicated to each of them. With the Apple iPhone 4S and iCloud being the stars of the show tonight, it was only a matter of time before two videos popped app at the company’s official website. So here they are for your viewing pleasure. If you haven’t followed the Tim Cook keynote, those videos will do a good job of summing up the best parts of the iPhone 4S and the iCloud service for you.

iPhone 4 duo compared, how does the new iPhone 4S stack up? [TABLE]

So, whether you like it or not, the iPhone 4 is a fact and now it’s time to answer the question that everybody is asking themselves. Should I get the new iPhone and why? Well, we’re here to help and we are going to do it by giving you this sweet table comparing the old-gen iPhone 4 against the new-gen iPhone 4S.So give the table below a quick look and answer us the big one – will you be getting the new iPhone 4S?

Watch the the Apple iPhone 4S announcement right now [VIDEO]

The Apple keynote speeches have become arguably the most important events in the cell phone industry. The unveiling of the next iPhone has always been closely watched by both Apple lovers and haters, as it tends to shape the smartphone race for months in advance.

This time it was Apple’s newly appointed CEO Tim Cook Jobs that led the show, rather than Steve, but that didn’t take anything away from the spectacle (okay, just a little bit perhaps). You can see about that by watching the whole thing on video, kindly provided to us by Apple.

All you need to do to watch the keynote video is follow this link and install QuickTime player (if you don’t have it already). Just a quick heads up if you don’t feel like watching the whole thing: the iPhone 4S dramatic appearance comes about 52 minutes into the video.

Google updates Docs for Android tablets

Several months after releasing a standalone application of Google Docs for Android, the company has now launched a special update for Honeycomb tablets, which should make document browsing a breeze.

Thanks to its entirely refreshed design, the Google docs app now features the three-panel view, typical for Honeycomb. As the screenshot of the application above shows now there are three panels allowing you to view list of collections, list of documents in a particular collection and a document’s details.

The updated app also allows you to do the usual Google Docs operations like sharing, creating, editing and deleting documents, but it also comes with autocomplete and support for 46 languages. Head straight to the Android Market to download it.

Will the Nokia Ace Windows Phone be called ‘Lumia 800′?

We just found out that the Nokia Sea Ray, the first Windows Phone handset from the Finnish manufacturer, will supposedly be called ‘Sun’. There are at least a couple of other WP7 Nokia phones in the rumor mill and one of them might be called ‘Lumia’.

Occasional Gamer, who develop games for Windows Phone, have a stats page with a long list of phones. One of them is the Sea Ray, but there’s also the Nokia Lumia 800.

It’s actually listed twice – once as ‘Lumia 800′ and once as ’800′ only. Interestingly, there’s also a ‘Nokia XXX’.

Of the codenames we’ve heard so far, Sea Ray was the first but there’s also Ace and Sabre. Sabre is the lower-end device of the three, so it’s unlikely to have a model number as high as 800 (it’s probably 703).

That means the Nokia Ace is the likely candidate to be named Lumia and the Sabre is yet to find its official name.

By the way, ‘lumia’ means art created with light. Lumia, Sun… is there a trend starting here? Sidenote: Sabre, Lightsabre? Very unlikely, but still.

Nokia World is taking place on October 26-27 and we’ll get an official confirmation of the names and specs of these devices, though maybe not all of them.

Nokia Meltemi Episode 3: It’s a Linux-based S40 replacement after all

OK, I admit the Meltemi case has become awkward. First it was the good news about Nokia working on a Linux-based project called Meltemi to replace the S40 platform. Then all of a sudden we found out The Register has already revealed months ago that the Meltemi is actually the codename for Nokia’s Windows Phone project

Yesterday, The Register controverted its April news and confirmed that Meltemi is indeed a Linux-based replacement for the S40 platform.

It seems the earlier information was wrong and we might be getting a Linux-based cheap Nokia phones for real.

Nokia recently completed the transition of the entire Symbian workforce to Accenture. With the Symbian weight off their shoulders now, it will be easier for Nokia to focus on these other projects.

.