The Blackberry Troch 9800 was a huge release for Blackberry. It was to be the first Blackberry device to offer both a touch screen in addition to the QWERTY keyboard that these devices are known for. If one were to think of a Blackberry as a device with a touchscreen, the Torch would be exactly what people would expect.

The device comes in both red and black. The phone is 4.4 inches in height, 2.4 inches in width and 0.57 inches thick. It weighs approximately 5.7 ounces, which is average for Blackberry devices. The layout of the phone is typical Blackberry, with its optical track pad and what not. It is a slider, which is new for this company, but definitely works for this device. Like most sliders, the phone allows you to make the most out of its touch screen abilities, but the QWERTY keyboard is always just a slide away.

The screen is a 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touch screen with a resolution of 360 x 480 pixels. The display screen is much larger than it’s Blackberry predecessors, however the image content is similar to all the devices running the most recent upgrade of Blackberry operating system. Blackberry OS 6.0 is known for its updated notification bar that allows you quick access to things such as wi-fi and your alarm. Other than that the layout is relatively similar among all recent Blackberry devices. The application tray remains on the bottom of the screen; however, instead of having to use the optical track pad, you can now use your finger.

The Blackberry Torch 9800 is also known as a social media device. The new system has a Social Feeds app that collects the input from every Social Network that you have activated on the device. With this device also comes an easier web browser to use. The device allows for pinch to zoom, which is so much better than the glitch-prone optical track.

While texting the device has a virtual keyboard that can be used. Most reviewers have deemed the QWERTY keyboard so much more practical than the virtual one. However, it is not uncommon for QWERTY keyboards to be preferred among all smartphones considering they are less likely to produce typos on the physical keyboard.

The Torch is also equipped with an impeccable camera. It is a 5 megapixel camera so it can produce images that have a resolution of 2592 x 1944, which is common among Blackberry phones. It also has auto-focus and is equipped with an LED flash. Some of the features of the camera are geo-tagging, continuous auto-focus, and image stabilization. The best being the continuous auto-focus, considering most phone companies have not produced phones with a continuous auto-focus.

The Blackberry Torch 9800 comes with a 1270 mAH lithium-ion battery, which is surprising considering it’s the same power of battery that other Blackberry’s have that do not have touch screen abilities. However, reviews deemed the battery life highly acceptable. Most said they could get a few days out of the battery with casual use. As we all know, battery life depends on what you are using. Data extensive programs will drain the battery on your phone quickly.