Review of GSM/UMTS Smartphone BlackBerry 9800 Torch
BB Torch is the first RIM smartphone running the newest, 6th version of the proprietary BB OS. Many things changed in it, making it more on par with the competing OS, from Google and Apple in particular, but many things stayed the same, just the way BlackBerry users are used to. The question is whether these changes are enough to keep and add to the existing customer base.
The phone was released on AT&T Wireless network and thus immediately run into some fierce competition from iPhone 4 and Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S), not even taking into consideration other Android based handsets and older RIM devices offered by the carrier. Importantly, many of the competitors, including the iPhone and Captivate, are priced at the same level - $199 with a two year contract, making a much dimmer Torch a difficult choice for anybody who is not looking specifically for BlackBerry.
BB Torch comes in a black carton box and on the screen of the pictured phone we can see young, sporty people, who, if I understand correctly, should represent the Torch customers as they are seen by RIM marketing folks. A good looking girl is riding a wakeboard (talking on a Torch at the same time?), another, casually dressed, sits on the shoulders of a similarly casually good looking (it's an assumption ;)) young man against some European looking building on the background. If this is the market positioning envisioned for the Torch (young, mobile people with disposable income), it pegs the handset squirrely against the Android and iPhone – the positioning, where RIM may have a little chance to win even with BB OS6. The initial reports from the field are proving it – news are not good for RIM as the sales of the devices over the first few days are estimated to reach only 150,000 units – to compare, BlackBerry 9700 Tour, released on Verizon last year, sold 275,000 phones in the first day. This obviously does not mean the phone will be a failure – the customer base for BlackBerry is corporate, where the phones are purchased at a specified time period and many at once, so over time the sales should be good. Nonetheless it is already clear that there was no penetration of a consumer market as RIM had hoped.
A great alternative to Android and iOS4, BlackBerry OS6 will suffer from the stigma associated with BlackBerry phones – corporate grade solutions for the guys wearing ties. This makes the phone unattractive to an average user who these days can get the same real time email functionality from a free messenger phone, but at the same time will keep RIM the loyalty of its main audience. As OS6 appears on more BlackBerry devices, we can expect the RIM smartphone OS market share to grow a little in a short run, however in the medium run it will be shrinking. Not because the OS is bad or because BlackBerry are making outdated or bad solutions – just because the competitive advantage BlackBerry had over the competition is gone and the competitors are able to offer brighter, cooler looking, more hip (it is a perception, but perception is everything) phones in many more sizes, form factors and price ranges than RIM, inevitably taking up the majority of consumers switching from regular phones to smartphones.
As for the Torch itself, the phone proved to be a bit of a disappointment. If initially it was a fast, smooth device, with time it began to lag to the point of frustration. I do not know if the reason is the software (then it will no doubt be fixed) or the hardware, I do know that in the past RIM was always using very good hardware and judging from the way the phone feels and from iSupply analysis of the parts there are little grounds to doubt no corners were cut. At the same time, the competition is fierce, the demands from carriers vary and only the RIM higher ups know the full truth. I would be very curious to test more of the BB OS6 devices running on different platforms to compare the experience with Torch.
A couple of major advantages Torch has over Android and iPhone are the battery life and the display behavior under the direct sun. If this is what you need from the phone – look no further. Even taking into the account the drawbacks the phone has, you will not be disappointed. If you are looking for the coolest device on the market you can flash around – look the other way.
The phone was released on AT&T Wireless network and thus immediately run into some fierce competition from iPhone 4 and Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S), not even taking into consideration other Android based handsets and older RIM devices offered by the carrier. Importantly, many of the competitors, including the iPhone and Captivate, are priced at the same level - $199 with a two year contract, making a much dimmer Torch a difficult choice for anybody who is not looking specifically for BlackBerry.
BB Torch comes in a black carton box and on the screen of the pictured phone we can see young, sporty people, who, if I understand correctly, should represent the Torch customers as they are seen by RIM marketing folks. A good looking girl is riding a wakeboard (talking on a Torch at the same time?), another, casually dressed, sits on the shoulders of a similarly casually good looking (it's an assumption ;)) young man against some European looking building on the background. If this is the market positioning envisioned for the Torch (young, mobile people with disposable income), it pegs the handset squirrely against the Android and iPhone – the positioning, where RIM may have a little chance to win even with BB OS6. The initial reports from the field are proving it – news are not good for RIM as the sales of the devices over the first few days are estimated to reach only 150,000 units – to compare, BlackBerry 9700 Tour, released on Verizon last year, sold 275,000 phones in the first day. This obviously does not mean the phone will be a failure – the customer base for BlackBerry is corporate, where the phones are purchased at a specified time period and many at once, so over time the sales should be good. Nonetheless it is already clear that there was no penetration of a consumer market as RIM had hoped.
A great alternative to Android and iOS4, BlackBerry OS6 will suffer from the stigma associated with BlackBerry phones – corporate grade solutions for the guys wearing ties. This makes the phone unattractive to an average user who these days can get the same real time email functionality from a free messenger phone, but at the same time will keep RIM the loyalty of its main audience. As OS6 appears on more BlackBerry devices, we can expect the RIM smartphone OS market share to grow a little in a short run, however in the medium run it will be shrinking. Not because the OS is bad or because BlackBerry are making outdated or bad solutions – just because the competitive advantage BlackBerry had over the competition is gone and the competitors are able to offer brighter, cooler looking, more hip (it is a perception, but perception is everything) phones in many more sizes, form factors and price ranges than RIM, inevitably taking up the majority of consumers switching from regular phones to smartphones.
As for the Torch itself, the phone proved to be a bit of a disappointment. If initially it was a fast, smooth device, with time it began to lag to the point of frustration. I do not know if the reason is the software (then it will no doubt be fixed) or the hardware, I do know that in the past RIM was always using very good hardware and judging from the way the phone feels and from iSupply analysis of the parts there are little grounds to doubt no corners were cut. At the same time, the competition is fierce, the demands from carriers vary and only the RIM higher ups know the full truth. I would be very curious to test more of the BB OS6 devices running on different platforms to compare the experience with Torch.
A couple of major advantages Torch has over Android and iPhone are the battery life and the display behavior under the direct sun. If this is what you need from the phone – look no further. Even taking into the account the drawbacks the phone has, you will not be disappointed. If you are looking for the coolest device on the market you can flash around – look the other way.