Blackberry Torch 9800

After waiting for a long time, tempted many times to buy an AP phone at a local phone shop.. CELCOM is finally launching the BB torch end of this month.

Saw at Nuffnag’s blog it will be at the 29th October 2010.. I cant hardly wait.. I even did a pre-registered for the phone on celcom.

Now, everyone knows there is a subscription for the blackberry internet service (BIS), which I will touch on it further later using my own account for example (I am on Celcom Executive 50 plan with Blackberry Advance package)

Now.. more about the phone.. What is the blackberry torch 9800? AND WHY I REALLY REALLY WANT THE BLACKBERRY TORCH 9800..

OKAAAY.. so the phone looks nice.. but whats so great about it?

 

To answer that, lets ‘virtually’ review the phone.. Here’s some of the pictures I took from RIM’s website, hope they don’t mind, as I have not got my hands on my own torch to write a proper review.. But all I can say, these photographs, looks exactly the same as the actual product.. tried it out at a local phone shop..

 

  

 Features

   Multimedia.. Video and still shot camera.. one thing worth mentioning, on my BB Storm 9500, the camera has an ‘Image Stabilizer’ feature.. not bad.. first time I see such a function on a smart phone, or any phones with an integrated camera.. I wonder why it was not publicized..

 

 

Integrated Social feeds such as Facebook, tweeter, windows live messaging, yahoo messenger etc.. Alright.. so other smart phones can do that.. what so special with blackberry?

The answer lies with the word: INTEGRATED.. it is integrated with the phone’s system.. you can link your contacts in the social networks to your contacts in your phone’s phonebook. So, for example, I want to send a message to my girlfriend.. all I have to do, is search for her name in my phonebook, select send message, and I am presented by a list of ways I can message her, via Facebook, Windows Live, Yahoo Messenger, Email, SMS, MMS.. Oh, and RIM’s own Blackberry Messenger. It is simply something unique in Blackberry.. and no other smartphones can do this.

Other Specifications

Connectivity
Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n, WPA / WPA 2 Personal & Enterprise, Cisco CCX Certified
3G: Tri-band 3G UMTS Networks: 2100 / 1900 / 850 / 800 MHz
2G: Quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE networks: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
GPS & Blackberry Maps

Size & Weight
Closed- 111mm X 62mm X 14.6mm, 161.1g
Opened- 148mm X 62mm X 14.6mm, 161.1g

 

 

 

 

Display
3.2” HVGA+ touch screen ( 480 x 360 )
User Selectable Font Size
Light-sensing and proximity detecting screen

 

Battery & Battery Life
1300mAHr Removable / Rechargeable Lithium-ion Cell
Standby Time: GSM- 18 days, UMTS- 14 days
Talk Time: GSM- 5.5 hours, UMTS- 5.8 hours
Music Playback: 30 hours
Video Playback: 6 hours

 

Data Input & Navigation
Trackpad at front face of device, ESC key on the right and Menu Key on the left.
Touch Screen with On-Screen Keyboard: Portrait SureType®, QWERTY and multi-tap, landscape QWERTY.
Slide-out QWERTY Keyboard with Backlighting

Voice Input & Output
3.5mm Stereo Headset Capable
Integrated speaker and microphone
Handsfree Headset Capable
Bluetooth Headset Capable
Integrated hands-free speaker phone

Media Player
Windows Media DRM 10 for Music & Video
Video Format supports: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV3
Audio Format supports: MP3, AMR-NB, AAC-LC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMV, Flac, Ogg Vorbis

MEMORY
512mb Flash Memory
4GB eMMC + 4GB Media Card (Included)

ALRIGHT.. if you are still with me, you will be thinking.. how much will it cost? Well, visits to several local phone shops in PJ area yields: RM2299 (cheapest I can get, from AT&T). Local telco have yet to reveal their prices, perhaps I will update this blog then.. when the prices is out.

How about hidden charges? Well, there is some cost involved but some irresponsible sellers do not tell you that.. but it is not hidden..

This is what Celcom charges me for my blackberry storm 9500 (didn’t get my storm from celcom, but rather 2nd hand from a friend which upgraded to Bold 2)

Here is the breakdown of my Bill.

I am on Celcom Exec 50 with Blackberry Personal Advance and Celcom Broadband 3G Unlimited Package..
So my monthly bills is: RM30 (BB BIS) + RM68 (3G Unlimited) + RM50 (Exec 50) = RM148.00

and of course, there is a 5% service charge.

NOW DO YOU SEE WHY I LOVE TO HAVE THE BLACKBERRY TORCH 9800? I AM ALREADY SOOOO HOOKED ON THE STORM 9500, CANT WAIT TO GET MY PAWS ON THE TORCH 9800

Why celcom? well, previously I was on maxis, and I was VERY VERY frustrated with their network. At that time, I worked in Shah Alam and stayed in PJ. My phone is set to 3G as I use the data often ( I have a unlimited data package then too ). 2 things kept happening.

1. I will suddenly get a call from an angry client saying he tried calling me for 1/2 hour and cant get through, sent me sms and I never replied, causing me to loose my account.. And normally, after receiving that call, I will get the tonnes of SMS from friends and clients saying they cant get me, and also an SMS from maxis saying I have 20+ missed calls.. And the whole while I am at the office, at my desk, with my Maxis showing 3.5G at full bar signal strength.. of course I called maxis and they said they will look into it and call me back. THEY never call me back. I then suspected it could just be my phone.. so I ditched my N95 and upgraded to Nokia 5800.. end result- same.

2. This is the last straw. Towards the last few months I was with Maxis, VERY often when I look at my phone, full signal strength. But I can make any calls (keep saying ‘Error in Connection’) and I cant call my own phone from the office. When  I called Maxis, maxis just said they are sorry for the inconvenience as they are ‘upgrading’ their 3G network and ask me to switch to 2G.. I told the customer service that it would be nice if they would notify the users of any upgrade.. but sadly they still don’t. This happened 5 TIMES!! I kept track.

Finally, the government launched the MNP (Mobile Number Portability) which I believe I am among the first to deport to another network.

Celcom is not perfect either, their customer service cannot seem to do anything and requires you to physically GO to celcom branch/centre. Most of the time blue cube cant do anything as well. However, it is indisputable that Celcom has the best network, and I seldom need to call their customer service.

OH, and another thing worth mentioning, twice I receive a sms from Celcom asking me to switch to 2G as they are upgrading their 3G network at XXX area. FUIYOOOH.. This is what I want and expect from a cellular network. Upgrades of networks are PLANNED.. the least you can do is inform your subscribers at that area to switch to 2G network..

Cellular Pricing
Ok, this may look like a hard-core advertising, but it is true. A lot of people say celcom is expensive.. but honestly it is not.. I did some research before switching, and until today, my phonebill is still lower then my bill when I was with maxis with the same usage..

lets look at the pricing and comparison. Celcom is cheaper with its ‘up to 30% discounts’

Next, if you look at my phone bill, my total bill is RM148. Lets look at Maxis.

SOOO.. the unlimited data package for Blackberry is RM120/month (including blackberry subscription) while for Celcom, is only RM98/month.

Add this with RM50, I will have to pay RM120 + RM50 =RM170/month for Maxis.
Add this with RM50, I will have to pay RM68 + RM30 + 50 =RM148/month for Celcom.

 

Now you see what I mean, celcom is cheaper? and perhaps better..

Note 1: I will not consider Digi, it may be the cheapest, but honestly, their coverage area is too small. I travel often and thus Digi just isn’t suitable for me.

Note 2:  I am not doing any hardcore or any advertising of any kind, this is my past experience and my personal views. If you feel differently or had a different more pleasant experience with Maxis, your really lucky then.