The tech-minded among us get caught up with raw specifications, but the experience is what sells to the general consumer. RIM misses the mark on both counts with the BlackBerry Torch 9850, and demonstrates once again that it has no idea where the mark is or where it will be in the future.
It's well chronicled how and why RIM has failed to stay competitive in the smartphone market. What's so shocking is that the BlackBerry Torch 9850 is basically little more than a Storm 9550 without the SurePress screen, which is nothing more than a lame, misguided attempt at trying to compete with Apple.
The reason I'm being so harsh -- and the reason my views on the BlackBerry Torch 9850 are so different than the BlackBerry Bold 9900, which I loved -- is because these are two different arenas. The Bold 9900 is what a BlackBerry is about, a keyboard-focused messaging machine. The Torch 9850 is a device RIM did not ever envision making, and it is manufactured to compete directly with the number-one and number-two touch smartphone platforms in the world. It doesn't compete. It feels like an ancient feature phone, compared to the Bionic and iPhone.
If for some reason I was forced to either use RIM's BlackBerry Torch 9850 or the first-generation 2007 iPhone as my daily phone, there's no question what I would choose: the iPhone. Don't forget that Apple's first smartphone included the iTunes App Store, Microsoft Exchange support, and many more features that RIM still can't compete with four years later.
If you're a BlackBerry fan on Verizon's network who just has to have an all-touch device, the $200 BlackBerry Torch 9850 is obviously your only choice, but it's a pretty terrible one. Do yourself a favor: Duct tape your busted old Curve back together and hold out for the BlackBerry Colt.
A cost-cutting trimmed 2,000 jobs as RIM shifts focus to its new operating systems.
