BlackBerry Torch 9860 appears in new hands-on video

By Bla1ze on 9 Jul 2011 04:35 pm

Yesterday we saw images of the BlackBerry Torch 9860 and now, a new video of the device has popped up online. Now, for those folks who like to say "That's not a torch". Yes, it is. It's been noted as being a Torch on numerous occasions through carrier documentation and even retail packaging of screen protectors. What was once referred to as the "BlackBerry Touch", "Monza", "Storm 3" or whatever other code names you may have seen it referred to as, is now a Torch. With that said and now out of the way, enjoy the video -- it's pretty sexy!

Source: MacBerry Youtube; via: N4BB

Thanks for the new video @dwdsquared2!

Topics: BlackBerry 7 BlackBerry Torch 9860 News & Rumors Devices

Bla1ze 3029 (articles) 6919 (forum posts)

94 comments

Five50What Jul 9, 2011 at 4:44 pm

...First

I think its a sign that I'll for sure be gettin one of these

VeryCrackedBerry Jul 10, 2011 at 8:49 am

the video is gone...anyone know of a link?

Gamesdmc3 Jul 10, 2011 at 12:12 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y78BHFsupdE

drmike Jul 10, 2011 at 10:11 am

This might have been asked a few times before but why does everyone want to be the first to comment? Are we 12?

VeryCrackedBerry Jul 10, 2011 at 12:10 pm

It hadn't been asked as of when I posted...I looked. So, I thought going to the top would get a response. So, back to the question, do you know of a good link?

shooptek Jul 9, 2011 at 4:42 pm

What the hell is with the soundtrack?

Bla1ze Jul 9, 2011 at 4:44 pm

Sounds like they're hoping new devices will bring RIM back to life, lol. /sarcasm

drakesaliasonline Jul 10, 2011 at 12:52 am

MaxPayne79 Jul 9, 2011 at 8:50 pm

Guess ur not a big fan of Evancescence from like '03? Lol. That's terrible. Playing a track from 2003 while debuing the new bb touch, Chris. ;) Only in the eu. I'd play some Tron Legacy sh*t fo sho lol.

captainbdsc Jul 9, 2011 at 4:46 pm

Would surely have to try it before I'd commit to losing a physical keyboard...

But it does look great! :)

buckwild Jul 9, 2011 at 4:47 pm

Yeeeees!
I can't wait for this device to drop!

mangcool Jul 9, 2011 at 6:32 pm

Me too!

Cleanton Jul 9, 2011 at 4:48 pm

The language was German

Jake Storm Jul 10, 2011 at 12:55 pm

That explains the Euro disco techno dance track.

koool1 Jul 9, 2011 at 4:49 pm

Until RIM actually releases this thing it's nothing.

I love my Blackberry but it's frustrating seeing all these videos and seeing no product.

Vaporware!

JFTeran Jul 9, 2011 at 4:51 pm

When the phone comes out and it turns out it's not called the Torch I'm gonna laugh... just saying... it still just says BlackBerry 9860 in the About screen and until an official announcement is made it's never for sure.

Bla1ze Jul 9, 2011 at 4:55 pm

You said it yourself.."until an official announcement is made it's never for sure." Nobody ever said it would go to market as a Torch just that that is what it is being referred to for now. That was noted on previous posts as well.

max7049 Jul 9, 2011 at 9:07 pm

I had the opportunity to play with this phone last week from a guy who works for RIM in Dallas. This was his personal phone that he uses. It even had the "tester" sticker still on the back. He said it hasn't been given a name yet. Shooting for Aug release but he was thinking more like Sept. He said they were waiting on vendors to "ok" the device. Whatever that means. Awesome device.

asd6845 Jul 10, 2011 at 1:34 pm

This "was" the phone I was waiting for, but I got tired of these supposed release dates being pushed back. So my contract was up for renewal and still no sign of release of this phone. I went to the dark side and gone Android.

Farewell, RIM. You got a lot of catching up to do to win back the many who went Android or iPhone.

Abrante Jul 9, 2011 at 4:51 pm

Though I am leaning towards the Bold Touch, this video is much appreciated. RIM might be able to capitalize if this model is released prior to the iPhone5. BIG maybe!!!

curvezzz Jul 9, 2011 at 4:51 pm

I liked the soundtrack lol but how this device lead to be a "torch" it has no qwerty key board. It should keep the storm name :-/

Bla1ze Jul 9, 2011 at 4:54 pm

The Storm line was the worst line of devices to ever be put out by RIM..keeping that name would ruin the device even before it came to market.

00stryder Jul 9, 2011 at 10:49 pm

Thankfully I wasn't reading the comments on my Storm2 when I saw this... I'm sure it would have a pretty serious identity crisis if it did!

RevyRah Jul 9, 2011 at 11:39 pm

I only don't like you when you say bad things about my Storm, Bla1ze. Other than that, you're am upstanding dude.

birdman_36 Jul 10, 2011 at 9:39 am

Agreed. Bla1ze, there are a lot of people who still own the Storm and don't know how to install the latest software version. By this time, they'll be eligible to upgrade to this new touchscreen device. Please don't knock them and use a little more tact.

RevyRah Jul 10, 2011 at 4:39 pm

...If someone still doesn't know how to update an OS, they probably shouldn't have a smartphone. It's really not difficult at all.

I love the Storm. It could obviously be better (when referring to specs), but it does everything that the other models do. This new touch/torch is for all intents and purposes the Storm successor.

birdman_36 Jul 11, 2011 at 11:06 am

Sorry, I meant the very latest OS (not specific to their carrier, deleting the vendor.xml file, etc).

And, I estimate at least 80% of subscribers don't know how to upgrade their phones with their own carrier's software.

mtmjr90 Jul 9, 2011 at 4:59 pm

I really don't understand why the headphone jack is on the side rather than the top/bottom. Like, I REALLY don't understand.

big_time2 Jul 9, 2011 at 6:31 pm

I would prefer that it's on the top than being on the side too.

the955iman Jul 9, 2011 at 5:02 pm

Still no front camera. I'm on my third BB, this one being a Torch, I may be making a change with the next phone I get.

chiefbroski Jul 9, 2011 at 5:29 pm

Awesome!! My next phone for suuuuure!

rgm#cb Jul 9, 2011 at 5:33 pm

RIM will get hammered in the reviews for does physical buttons. The critics will say the UI looks smoother and faster than the storm but the hareware looks dated. I just don't get it, does RIM not want to at least look like they have A clue. Not intergrating the buttons into the screen is a big mistake. RIM should let HTC make all the touch screen phones for the QNX superphones. Lucky for RIM and BlackBerry fans they have the Bold 9900 coming out. Now that phone can hold out some fans until next year.

Gawain Jul 9, 2011 at 5:44 pm

I remember reading somewhere that the buttons were a concession by RIM for their corporate customers...something like that. I don't recall the circumstances though - likely something akin to avoiding accidental command execution that occurs with capacitive touch buttons.

What I'm curious about is if the device will have some type of haptic feedback now that SurePress/TrueType/Click-screen is gone. I also wonder about power management and expected battery performance as well.

big_time2 Jul 9, 2011 at 6:33 pm

I think those buttons are great, keyword "I think." Those buttons look a lot like buttons on LG Optimus (android phone on tmobile). A co worker of mine has one and I've used it a few times and I liked the buttons.

MaxPayne79 Jul 9, 2011 at 9:07 pm

Well this phone will not be compared to the storm because the storm, out side of it's grear name, is dead. Gone. No one owns the storm anymore and the poeple who do, I don't think depend on their devices on a daily basis like us nerds who need a fast ass phone that's easy to use and type on. The physical buttons need to be on the phone for ease-of-use purposes. Ties into what buddy said above me about corporate users something a-rather. If u wanna use a phone super fast, uy have to feel buttons. There's no way around it. The torch buttons are a desaster because they sqeek and are harder to press as time goes by. I don't know how u see thew specs being out dated. They're cometative with that's aout there currantly. It's the sfotware that's outdated especially when u look at wp7 Mango. Compared to that this looks like it was put together by kids, unfortunatelly. The bold 9900 is a fabolous phone but it's not for everybody. I don't want tiny screens on my phones anymore. It's not 2007. I'm old and I can't see. At 32 I want a giant screen that runs bb os super fast. Welcome the bb touch, Chris. AND I don't care what noone says but the small curve touch will be awesome. Same size as my torch but not keayboard...what? Yup. Bring it! Now!! Lol. Sorry for the typos I'm taking a...dump and my legs are numb already lol. I'm gonna have to call the fire dept to help me up, haha..

jelp2 Jul 9, 2011 at 9:39 pm

I still have the original Storm. I use it everyday for my business. I have to make/receive phone calls, use the camera constantly for my design work, use it as a mp3 player and the calendar has all my appointments scheduled on it and send and receive emails. It works. I'm not saying I won't be getting the new Torch/Monaco/Touch when it comes out... I WILL Be!

00stryder Jul 9, 2011 at 10:58 pm

I have a Storm2, I use it every single day (email, BBM, productivity apps, etc.), and I like to think of myself as a nerd.

I've been known to surprise many people with my ability to type quickly (and extensively) on my phone without the use of any actual physical buttons. It all depends on the person, really. The Storm2 was my first "touchscreen" phone and the only one I can use to type extremely quickly (I also have an iPod Touch and hate typing on that thing), so I respectfully disagree with that point of your argument.

I'm not going to say that it was the greatest phone RIM has ever made (I'm a proud Storm2 owner, not a delusional one) but I have to say that I would have liked for the buttons to have been flattened and integrated into the face of the phone, if not like the Storm2 then at least like the Storm1 (which did have physical buttons). They just weren't raised so much.

RevyRah Jul 10, 2011 at 12:18 am

8830, Pearl 8130, Storm 1, Storm2, and Torch owner and user here, Max. I love the Storm2 better than them all. The UI is obviously gonna be faster on the new touchscreen BlackBerry, seeing how the Storms are still stuck on OS 5, and the hardware is significantly more powerful. You're not making a logical comparison.

The Storm2 is a damn good phone. I use this phone every day, and I can do anything that any other BlackBerry can do, and dare I say faster texting than any physical keyboard. So really, let's stop bashing on this phone because it doesn't sound like you have given any significant amount of time with it to evaluate the pros and cons. The SurePress tech works wonderfully and accurately. It would really make this new all touch BlackBerry kick ass since it has the hardware to properly support SurePress.

MaxPayne79 Jul 10, 2011 at 2:50 am

wow, i got the storm nation against me. to be honest with all of you, i have not once seen the phone in public. and i myself only used it once when i asked for it at at&t or wherever it was. i don't remember now but i do remember it was in the states and after using it for about a minute i gave it back lol. So, i apologize if someone got upset because i truly honestly believed that no one used that phone and definitely not for business or heavy use as you guys describe. i guess i just had a BlackBerry Epiphany.

mr_biscuit Jul 10, 2011 at 9:41 am

I don't think we're against you, per se... It's kind of like owning a Playbook and reading articles and comments on BGR (I know, I know) about how crappy it is and about how nobody really owns one.

Prey521 Jul 10, 2011 at 12:39 am

You're 32 and consider yourself old? Lmao

MaxPayne79 Jul 10, 2011 at 2:42 am

well you know, i have to have a sense of humor about this gray hair that's popping up here and there. it's frightening actually...lol

mr_biscuit Jul 10, 2011 at 9:38 am

Both my wife and I own a Storm 2 and count on them on a daily basis to run our business. I actually see Storms out in public more often than you might think.

As others have said, that's not to say that I wouldn't like to have something newer and better, but the S2 is a decent phone and does everything we need it to do. That being said, I have grown to kind of dislike Surepress over time, and would probably prefer to move to another touch screen phone in the near future.

falconeight Jul 9, 2011 at 5:34 pm

Looks really good. Hope they release it yesterday.

jacknewp Jul 9, 2011 at 5:40 pm

No physical keyboard, no likie.....will go with the Bold 9900 & retire my current Torch.

Jimcmf Jul 9, 2011 at 5:47 pm

Well, that looks pretty fast.
I never saw the hour glass or timer once.
The guy should have charged the phone before filming. It would have ran even faster.

big_time2 Jul 9, 2011 at 6:35 pm

I was thinking the same thing, no hourglass at all. At least not with what that guy was doing. I hope that the hourglass never shows up again once I get this phone.

kevinnugent Jul 9, 2011 at 5:55 pm

Looks like a Storm. With ugly buttons.

Wiredin Jul 9, 2011 at 5:59 pm

I love the looks and some of the changes that were done, but not all.

I really hope that this is not a torch replacemennt as I love the slide keyboard/touch screen combo. Ill probably get this if a skinnier faster better battery life QNX torch don't come out.

DJBS4LIFE Jul 9, 2011 at 6:09 pm

Seriously.. Are all these people making these teaser videos just plain old STUPID??!! We keep on seeing the same old sh!t in almost every one of them! All we see is them going through the options etc. How about maybe show something else this time? Maybe all the damn apps that are on the phone that we already love to use etc. I love my BB and all but this is getting old already with the same old BS over and over.

zensen Jul 9, 2011 at 6:14 pm

Looks great! can't wait for official publicity shots etc.

technique-1 Jul 9, 2011 at 6:17 pm

looks nice....the part when he was moving side to side but the screen wasn't changing was a lil embarasing....cool design tho

TurboTiger Jul 9, 2011 at 11:25 pm

I noticed that as well.
My Storm2 doesn't have that much of a lag changing from landscape to portrat.
Still gonna get it.

Gamesdmc3 Jul 10, 2011 at 12:25 pm

all phones will do that,thats why most people tilt the phone a little,to act as nitrous for the accelerometer

Emu the Foo Jul 9, 2011 at 6:23 pm

This this seems to be as sleek, smooth and fast as can be. All that being said, do not want

jfs101 Jul 9, 2011 at 8:50 pm

In my torch experience, that happens when the screen is in a horizontal position, had it been vertical that would had not occured.

big_time2 Jul 9, 2011 at 6:24 pm

I love how you explained the name issue. Thanks for a laugh.

MACKSnare519 Jul 9, 2011 at 6:29 pm

I hope they don't call it a Torch. They really should give it a different name. If they don't want to give it negative cognitive association by dubbing it "Storm", they should think of something else.

I really didn't like how the "Tour" became a "Bold"... This seems like a similar situation.

Anyway, I wish the Torch 2 looked more like the 9860. Will it even have the light-up track pad?

Aluminum54 Jul 9, 2011 at 6:32 pm

video is private? how do i view it?

Marc_Paradise Jul 9, 2011 at 7:48 pm

I thougjt it was just me- it seems some people are able to see it, but I only get "private"

mangcool Jul 9, 2011 at 6:34 pm

Grrrrrr! I hate private videos!

big_time2 Jul 9, 2011 at 6:39 pm

Please let this come to T-Mobile.

MACKSnare519 Jul 9, 2011 at 6:41 pm

The video wasn't private at first...

Jimcmf Jul 9, 2011 at 7:31 pm

Die kommende BlackBerry Appworld 3.0 wird hier im Screenshot gezeigt. So wird sie in Zukunft am BlackBerry Smartphone aussehen. Sie ähnelt sehr der überarbeiteteten browserbasieren Appworld, die seit einigen Tagen online ist.

paolomusic Jul 9, 2011 at 7:35 pm

Aw man every time I think I've decided to go for 9900 I see more of this phone..

Michelle Haag Jul 9, 2011 at 7:52 pm

Video is fixed :)

jakrip Jul 9, 2011 at 8:12 pm

As many others have said I think the name "storm" is dead so it being called a torch would make sense. I would still like to see another slider phone like the original torch and I think there will be one. This goes with RIM trying to cut down on fancy names for their phones so I only see them going with Bold, Curve and Torch from here on out.

ndsouza Jul 9, 2011 at 8:51 pm

Interesting song choice... I like the idea of the phone, seems like there is still work needed because there was a long lag between landscape to protrait everything else looked fast! My only issues are the buttons! I wish there were none or at least make them flat with touch capabilities... Either way good to see new phones on the way!

StreetDocRN Jul 9, 2011 at 9:23 pm

Hi, all,
I guess after owning a Tour and now a Bold 9650 I have become dependant on using a physical keyboard. This is why the 9900/9930 appeals to me. This is a step in the right direction for RIM, losing the Storm identity. That was a fiasco they want to forget. I believe RIM will impress us with some good stuff in the last half of this year.

Doc

jlb21 Jul 9, 2011 at 9:48 pm

I know it's a tester, but 10 seconds to change orientation.......they are going to need to improve on that.....

Rainforrest Jul 9, 2011 at 9:53 pm

This phone is going to get trashed by the Mobile Tech Community because of those physical buttons, no FF camera, and the ancient looking UI of BB OS. RIM needs to develop a new UI of it's own for QNX (not a WebOS clone) to impress the mobile tech world and attract new buyers. If they can't, then they should just adopt Meego...

steviebigv Jul 9, 2011 at 11:36 pm

I hate to say this because I've always been and still am a Blackberry fan but I totally agree with Rainforrest comment above. This device will get so hammered by all the tech blogs...big mistake on the physical buttons and not a big enough departure from the Storm line. Sad but true.

Culex316 Jul 9, 2011 at 10:09 pm

I don't get it, why not show off the web browser and how fast it renders pages? I mean, it's nice to give us a tour of the apps and stuff but most of it is crap similar to what we already have on in-market OS6 devices..

SPACE-AGE-INC Jul 9, 2011 at 11:03 pm

Had the Storm 1 and 2 for 3 1/2 years, this device doesn't look that much diff. at all from my storm now. The Bold 9900 WILL be my next device.

henryg23 Jul 9, 2011 at 11:06 pm

Mental note: download video and post it on Vimeo.

csmith954 Jul 9, 2011 at 11:25 pm

I can't wait for this phone to come out !!

TurboTiger Jul 9, 2011 at 11:29 pm

I have to admit that the buttons don't look as bad as I've seen in other pictures.
I would still rather the buttons be part of the screen, but I'm feeling better about it.

Good Luck

travaz Jul 9, 2011 at 11:44 pm

Hmm all these nice videos are all from the EU. I hope US gets the phones at the same time. I have a bad feeling that big red is going to drag thier feet. I am waiting for the 9930 but that phone looks very nice. I loved the kick A$$ music!

Just Me Jul 10, 2011 at 12:17 am

I'm not sure why RIM doesn't sell a few hundred advance telephones directly. They can artificially Inflate the demand by marking the phone just slightly more attainable than the hot prom queen.

D_Town Jul 10, 2011 at 12:27 am

I would have preferred to see him scrolling through the screens and a little browser action. This is where we will see the improvements.

I also would have preferred them to call it any of the other names we heard earlier, instead of a Torch. The Torch line should have been the sliders only IMO.

Gonna be heated if I can't get this on TMO.

rage763 Jul 10, 2011 at 12:37 am

had storm. liked it until nothing worked properly anymore (6 months) and it finally quit all together after a year. now i have 9800 and love the thing. big touchscreen AND physical keyboard without being ridiculously huge is a win anytime for me.

DravenX Jul 10, 2011 at 12:59 am

Looks like this will be my 8th BB.

tyler_zyco Jul 10, 2011 at 1:13 am

It's weird that the home screen seems to stay on the same panel, yet the icon arrangement switches for 6 in a row to 4 in a row (And the icons seem to change order!)

With my Torch, there are 4 icons in a row always and they just space out a little more in landscape mode. It would drive me crazy if the icons lost their specific organization when spaced for 4 slots to 6....

hyunjin126 Jul 10, 2011 at 1:24 am

tch tch I don't think this device will be a success... I love my BlackBerry and all but without that physical keyboard... Remember what happened to both storms?? ...

abolds4397 Jul 10, 2011 at 3:20 am

Hopefully this device is light years better than the failed Storm line; I did love the Storm too (it just had so many problems). RIM had a great example (the Storm, other successful touch devices out there) to make the 9860 much better so we shall see if they took advantage of it. Also a more "educational" video needs to be released showing what this device can really do (especially the web browser) and what it is powered by. If all goes well, I hope T-Mobile will get this device too!

jome Jul 10, 2011 at 5:24 am

Does anyone know if it's coming to ATT?

dariuscuh Jul 10, 2011 at 5:56 am

BB is dead, that device sucks ass. I still got the BB S2 waiting for the Droid Bionic yes i said it "DROID BIONIC" read it up, go to droidlife or androidcentral that phone is a BEAST more then a BEAST more like a TITAN like BestBuy ad said "UNSTOPPABLE DEVICE", dont get me wrong i was a big BB fan then RIM seem to be RIP... just saying ... once the Droid Bionic land on Aug. 8th nothing matters no more, open your eyes and think about it, you locking for 2 years and you have to stuck with this crappy phone damn that's sucks i been thru it with the BB S2, but to spike what i said i still like BB and bring all the haters i know yall gonna reply to my comment. =)

djkmann Jul 10, 2011 at 7:13 am

Same old interface and O/S. Come on RIM, move forward. There are large screens on the market, we want a more out of the software. Listen to what we are telling you.

mrbquick Jul 10, 2011 at 9:50 am

where is the video. What happened to the link, why is it removed?

birdman_36 Jul 10, 2011 at 9:51 am

Research in Motion has much bigger fish to fry right now than worrying about negative connotations by naming this device a "Storm 3".

In fact, if this is dubbed a Storm 3, customers would probably think "what an improvement from the previous two" and be more inclined to buy it.

lawclerk114 Jul 10, 2011 at 10:04 am

Anyone know the release date?

Yvon Hawke Jul 10, 2011 at 2:55 pm

Not a Torch. No slideout.

Jimcmf Jul 10, 2011 at 9:38 pm

No exact date.
Any time between August 15 and September 15, 2011

johnnymac Jul 12, 2011 at 10:21 am

Haven't we seen this same dude with the nasty chewed-off fingernails from some earlier device video reviews? OK it's mean and petty but really - if you're going to a video closely focused on your HANDS, let those damn fingernails grow to what people consider normal length. At least this time they were clean, compared to those garage mechanic things from before. I still have nightmares about that previous review - like last year or some time.

OK rant done; off the soapbox.

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