I've had the Blackberry Torch 9800 since September and I have to say, it hasn't been the easiest phone to get on with.

Features:

Full touchscreen with a good size screen
Full qwerty keyboard (keys are very small though so if you have chubby fingers, you'll struggle)
Full email function
3G and wifi capability
Various apps available for purchase or download in App World
BBM (messenger feature that allows chat with people who have a BB pin)
5 megapixel camera
Option to use the keyboard or use the touch keyboard

Good points

The phone is great for communicating. You can text, email and have the added bonus of BBM. If you know a lot of people with a Blackberry this comes as an advantage.

On the whole, the touchscreen is well made and responsive (as the phone gets older it becomes less so and less accurate).

You can set up your email accounts on your phone and have them delivered in real time.


Bad points

The qwerty keyboard is very fiddly. The online keyboard is even worse and is horrendous to type on!

The camera is a decent quality but unless you have an incredibly steady hand you won't get the benefit of it as your pictures will come out with a slight blur. Video function is quite good.

While BBM is a plus, it really depends on how many people you know that have a Blackberry. Most contracts have the BB bolt on built into the price, but if you're on pay as you go in the UK you'll end up paying around £5 a month for the pleasure of using the messenger and the internet. That doesn't include your calls or texts!

As the phone is used more it becomes slow and at times freezes completely, with no option but to take out the battery. Sometimes when you touch an app or button on the screen it opens the one next to it and is incredibly frustrating.

There are some decent apps available, but the choice and quality is quite poor I feel, especially if you've ever seen the Apple App Store or used an iPhone etc. There really aren't many good free ones and I wouldn't pay for the rest!


Overall: it's a good phone if you're a talker or a texter, or even an emailer. It's definitely more aimed at the business market than Joe Public, with functions to open word documents etc. So if you're looking for a good touchscreen with lots of apps and nifty little tricks, you're better off looking elsewhere I'm afraid!