We see how RIM’s BlackBerry Torch 9810 stacks up against the Torch 9800.
Form:
BlackBerry Torch 9800 - 111 x 62 x 14.5mm, 161g
BlackBerry Torch 9810 - 111 x 62 x 14.5mm, 161g
Visually there’s virtually no difference between the 9800 and the new 9810. It’s pretty much exactly the same shell stuffed with new internal hardware.
That's fine by us - we love the looks of the Torch as it’s very sleek, very modern and a bit different from the status quo.
It’s quite a sharp, angular design overall but the top and bottom of the device have a sort of tapered, chiselled curvature to them which we feel works very well.
Both models hide a portrait-oriented slide-out Qwerty keyboard, a nice touch in our view as, where possible, we’ll take keys over touchscreen for any serious texting.
Winner - Draw
Display:
The 9800 has a 3.2-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with a resolution at 360x480 pixels and a pixel density of 187 pixels-per-inch (PPI).
In terms of control features there’s multi-touch input and an optical track-pad.
The overall scale of the 9810 hasn’t changed drastically from the 9800 the screen size is and identical 3.2-inches.
The resolution has been cranked up a notch though and now comes in at 480x640 pixels. Pixel density has also received a significant boost to a hefty 250ppi.
The rest of the display features remain more or less the same as its predecessor.
There may only be a couple of changes to the 9800’s starting point but they’re substantial enough to make a world of difference.
You’re getting a much sharper and clearer image on the 9810’s updated display which easily makes it our preferred choice here.
Winner - BlackBerry Torch 9810
Storage:
With 4GB of internal space the 9800 always seemed adequate More would be nice, sure, but we find it difficult to complain as this is a perfectly usable quantity.
However, the 9810 has only gone and doubled this to 8GB, which makes us very happy indeed.
RAM has also seen an increase. The 9800 could quite happily boast not only 512MB of RAM but the same again in
The 9810 has ditched the additional ROM, instead opting for 768MB of RAM and this is a much better setup.
Both phones offer the same support for
The 9810 takes this one home easily.
Winner - BlackBerry Torch 9810
Processor:
We were fans of the Torch 9800’s performance. It may not have moved mountains but the relatively dinky 624MHz power plant was actually something of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
RIM had carefully optimised the 9800 with the BlackBerry 6 OS meaning it punched well above its weight.
Subtle tricks like that aren’t really necessary on the 9810, which packs much more of a wallop straight off the bat.
Inside its familiar shell is a single core Qualcomm 1.2GHz processor on the Snapdragon chipset with an Adreno 205 graphics processing unit (GPU) bolted on for good measure.
We’ll take the 9810’s rapid 1.2GHz over a 624MHz unit any day of the week.
Winner - BlackBerry Torch 9810
Operating System:
The Torch 9800 uses BlackBerry OS 6 while the updated 9810 packs the much more comprehensive version 7.
Version 6 runs really well on the Torch 9800 and it has a bunch of improvements over earlier versions such as an Android-inspired pop-up notifications bar, complete with menu tabs. Also, the additon of a search from home screen feature is rather nice.
HTML5 and Javascript support give a substantial boost to the system’s diversity and alongside this RIM has re-written many native apps to take full advantage. The in-built Webkit based browser with tabbed functionality is one good example of this.
The newer version 7 on the 9810 has all this and more but on the surface it looks very similar.
Underneath, however, things have been significantly tuned up.
Performance is a big step forward and will be particularly zippy on that 1.2 GHz CPU.
The native browser is also speedier and now features pinch-zoom and a voice activated search tool. All this is topped off by a purpose-built Javascript compiler.
Lastly, there’s the BlackBerry Balance suite designed to let users separate their personal data from their work life and vice versa while maintaining easy access to either sphere.
With BlackBerry OS 7’s improvements we can’t really imagine going back to version 6 as the changes are far reaching enough to really revitalise the experience.
It’s a lot more responsive and a lot more functional in virtually all areas.
Winner - BlackBerry Torch 9810
Camera:
Both handsets are running 5-megapixel primaries at 2592х1944 pixels. Each also shares continuous autofocus, LED flash, geo-tagging and image stabilisation.
Video capture for the 9800 is VGA while the 9810 is bumped up to 720p HD and both feature video share functions.
The 9810 also has face detection and multi-shot.
Better video capture and a few bonus features wins this round for the Torch 9810.
Winner - BlackBerry Torch 9810
Final Thoughts:
We can't help but like the Torch 9800. It’s a neat little phone with decent performance and plenty of nifty features. The downside is that compared with much of the competition it’s still a little underpowered, even if it is well optimised.
The 9810 has solved this problem by ramping up the hardware to a much more competitive level, while still keeping all that is charming about the 9800.
The processor and operating system are excellent and there’s a good deal more storage space, the display is improved and there are a few nice changes to the camera.
The 9810 is therefore great in our view.
