BlackBerry Torch 9800 preview

BlackBerry Torch 9800The BlackBerry Torch 9800, shown off in the USA yesterday, will be here soon according to the local branch of Research in Motion, makers of the BlackBerry smartphones.

And soon – the coming months to be quote the press release – is about as much information as there is regarding the price or release date of the BlackBerry Torch 9800. Oh, and that it will be sold at all the big telcos – Optus, Telstra, Vodafone and 3.



The phone is something of a departure for BlackBerry. The BlackBerry Torch 9800 is both a touchscreen phone, with an onscreen keyboard, and it has a QWERTY keyboard, accessed via sliding it out from under the screen. And this is the first BlackBerry to have onboard the new BlackBerry 6 operating system.

BlackBerry Torch 9800 video demonstration

In lieu of much in the way of local information, here’s a video of the BlackBerry Torch 9800, shot by CrackBerry.com at the phone’s New York press event.

BlackBerry Torch 9800 specifications

BlackBerry Torch 9800

The specs listed below are taken from the US BlackBerry site:

  • Network: Tri-band 3G UMTS networks: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz; Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
  • Operating system: BlackBerry 6
  • Screen: 3.2” HVGA+ touchscreen (480×360)
  • Interface: Touchscreen with on-screen keyboard, plus slide-out QWERTY keyboard with backlighting and trackpad located on front face of device
  • Battery: 1300 mAHr removable/rechargeable lithium-ion cell
  • Talk time: GSM – up to 5.5 hours; UMTS – up to 5.8 hours
  • Standby time: GSM – up to 18 days; UMTS – up to 14 days
  • Camera: 5 megapixel, continuous autofocus, image stabilisation, flash, 2x digital zoom, geotagging, VGA (640×480) video recording
  • Mapping: Built-in GPS functionality, BlackBerry maps included
  • Memory: 512 MB flash memory / 512 MB SDRAM; Expandable memory – support for microSD card up to 32 GB
  • WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n, WPA / WPA2 Personal and Enterprise

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