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.

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Sony Ericsson Nozomi and Aoba somewhat confirmed, HD screens and dual-core 1.5GHz CPUs inside

We already encountered with the Nozomi rumors twice and we are kind of familiar with its awesome specs – a 4.3-inch 720p screen, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 12 megapixel camera and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Today another leak sheds more light on the Nozomi, but also reveals another device called Aoba.

The two devices popped up into the Android’s Nenamark database (Nozomi, Aoba). It seems someone has tested the two gadgets and uploaded the results online. The info from the database once again confirms the Nozomi’s HD screen, the dual-core 1.5GHz processor but also tells us the GPU – Adreno 220 and the Android version inside – 2.3.5 Gingerbread.

We hear Aoba for the first time, but it has exactly the same specs as Nozomi – an HD display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, Adreno 220 graphics and currently Android 2.3.5 is ticking inside.

I bet both devices will run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but it makes sense the test units run an older version (although Sony Ericsson latest official Android version is 2.3.4) until Google releases the 4.0 to manufacturing. There is also a possibility both Nozomi and Aoba are different versions of one and the same device.

Anyway, both Nozomi and Aoba sounds awesome and I can’t wait to hear more.

Apple introduces Find My Friends, let’s you locate and share your location with others

One of the more interesting things announced at the ‘Let’s Talk iPhone’ event yesterday was Find My Friends for iOS devices. It’s basically an optional location tracking service that you can use on your iOS device.

What ‘Find My Friend’ does is let’s you share your location with your friends. People will ask you for your location and you can share it with them, provided you trust them enough. After that they will see your location as a dot on the map. It uses your contact information so you can keep track of multiple people. Find My Friend let’s you temporarily share your location and shuts down once the specified time runs out.

As long as you keep track of whom you share your location with, Find My Friend will be a useful tool to keep track of people you think are important. Find My Friend is a part of iCloud and works together with Find My iPhone, letting you track down your iOS device in case it gets lost.

Amazon Kindle Fire scores 250,000 pre-orders in 5 days, might turn out even bigger than expected

You might be surprised to hear that the Amazon Kindle Fire pre-orders are going really well. Actually, scratch that – a fully functional tablet for $199 was bound to go like hot cakes.

And even so, the number of orders that Amazon has recorded for its newly announced tablet stands at the quite impressive 250,000. That’s a quarter of a million orders in just five days, with the tablet itself being more than a month away from actually becoming available.

The information comes from a leaked screenshot of the Amazon inventory management system, so it should be quite trustworthy.

If the Amazon Kindle Fire maintains the same interest levels until its actual launch, it could become one of the biggest things in the industry. Of course, pre-orders do not equal actual sales and it will be interesting to see how many of those that booked their place in line will really fork out the cash.

Still, it’s certainly a good indication of the Kindle market prospects and it shows that Amazon has every chance of becoming a big player in the tablet game. We shouldn’t forget though that Amazon doesn’t earn any money by selling the Kindle Fire itself (in fact some analysts say the slate is selling for less than what it costs to build), so it will need users to embrace the whole ecosystem and start spending money there for the project to be successful.

We’ll be paying close attention to the development of this…experiment.

iPhone 4S has Bluetooth 4.0 support but not NFC – what’s the difference?

Yesterday’s event put an end to the rumors that the next iPhone will have NFC – it doesn’t. The iPhone 4S does have Bluetooth 4.0 however, does that replace it? Well, my guess is no. But it does open up the door for improvement in some categories of wireless gadgets popular with the iPhone crowd.
Bluetooth 4.0 features a Low Energy mode that uses less power, has lower latency and higher range, but doesn’t have the bandwidth for bulk data transfers.

So, something like the Nike+ can really benefit from BT4.0 – there’s barely any data to transfer but improving battery life is a huge plus. BT4.0 is also intended to work as electronic leash, wireless lock, various heart-rate sensors and such. Things like wireless keyboards will probably get in on the action too.

But NFC tries to do something completely different – it’s like a swipe card (e.g. credit card), only wireless. The higher range works against Bluetooth here (at least I would feel safer knowing my credit card doesn’t have a 50m range). Then there’s the question of pairing – an extra step that might prove to be a stumbling block.

On the up side, the new MacBook Airs and Minis support Bluetooth 4.0, so a good portion of the iPhone 4S buyers will already have a Bluetooth 4.0 enabled device.

Other than that, adoption of BT4.0 is pretty low. NFC isn’t moving very fast either, but Nokia has vowed to include it in all their phones (and they still have plenty of market share) and Samsung is including it in some of their devices, with some carriers eager to use it. Credit card companies are joining in too.

We’ll see how it goes, Apple certainly are trend-setters, but they’ll have to start from the ground up. I’m guessing Bluetooth 4.0 will be big with accessories, but won’t encroach on NFC’s territory.

Samsung moves to ban the new iPhone 4S in France and Italy

Samsung's lawyers have been after the next generation iPhone for weeks now and after yesterday's official announcement, they've upped the ante. They've filed preliminary injunction motions to stop the 4S from selling in France and Italy, claiming patent infringement.

The iPhone 4S is supposed to go on sale on October 18 in France and on October 28 in Italy. Not if Samsung has its way. They claim Apple violates two of their WCDMA patents regarding 3G, calling it essential for the functioning of Apple's new smartphone.

Here's a quote:

"The infringed technology is essential to the reliable functioning of telecom networks and devices and Samsung believes that Apple’s violation as being too severe and that the iPhone 4S should be barred from sales.

Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free ride on our technology. We believe it is now necessary to take legal action to protect our innovation."

Samsung will probably be filing more injunction motions in more countries, following some review (or maybe they're just holding off a bit to build up tension or something).

This is part of a long, long patent battle between Apple and Samsung, which covers pretty much the entire world. It's been tablets mostly so far, but the two companies are really getting at each other's throats.