Blackberry Torch 9800

Blackberry 9800 (Torch) 

The new BlackBerry smartphone offers a 3.2-in., 480-by-360-resolution touch display. While it's clear and fairly sharp, the display isn't really comparable to the leading consumer smartphones -- for example, the iPhone 4's 3.5-in. display boasts a 960 by 640 resolution, while the Droid X has an even larger 4.3-in. display with a resolution of 854 by 480.

On the other hand, the unit weighs 5.7 oz., about the same weight as the Droid X, and is, at 2.4 by .57 by 4.4 in., about the same size as the iPhone 4. I found it very comfortable to handle and use, and it is small enough to drop into a shirt pocket without a second thought.

The phone features a slide-out vertical keyboard -- bringing it to a length of 5.8 in. when open -- that still has the rounded look and small but well-engineered keys typical of BlackBerry devices. Personally, I found the keys a little too tiny for comfort, but I was able to "thumb-type" short messages with relative ease, as is typical with BlackBerries. Current BlackBerry users should be pleased.

The phone also includes four hard keys, including one to begin and one to end a call -- which, as a Droid user who has access only to virtual buttons, I've often wished for.

Other features include a 5-megapixel camera, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi along with 3G broadband, a 4GB microSD flash card, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of built-in storage.

For business users who want something that is lightweight and practical but includes the multimedia and apps featured in the newest generation of mobile devices, the BlackBerry Torch 9800 could be their next smartphone. The emphasis here is on access to information; because the display is smaller and the resolution less powerful than most consumer devices out there, this can't compete with the more multimedia-centric consumer smartphones. But it should offer enough flexibility and ease of use to keep most BlackBerry users from leaving the fold.