BlackBerry Torch 9850 (Sprint)

The BlackBerry Torch 9850 is a sharp-looking, dual-mode world phone with a good camera and offering 720p HD video playback.With its full touch screen and fair price tag, the BlackBerry Torch 9850 shows that RIM is ready to compete with others in Sprint's lineup, although it's not without its flaws. Just when we were wondering when BlackBerry would end its smartphone dry spell, RIM announced not one, but four new smartphones for U.S. release, including the BlackBerry Bold 9930 and the full touch-screen cousin to the Torch, the BlackBerry Torch 9850. (AT&T has a version of the latter called the Torch 9860.)

RIM's history with all-touch handsets that don't carry its trademark keyboard has been spotty; it flew by the mark with its inaugural effort, the BlackBerry Storm, which turned us off with its lack of Wi-Fi and its awkward

The Torch 9850 sports a 3.7-inch, WVGA (480 x 800) touchscreen that puts it right up there with mid-range, touchscreen Android smartphones on the market today. Gone is the SurePress touchscreen found on the older Storm 9530 and 9550 models, as it has been replaced by a traditional, fixed touchscreen. This is not a bad thing, as I always found the SurePress screen clunky and difficult to use. The new touchscreen is responsive and bright, and it flows all the way to the edges of the Torch 9850 in what RIM calls a "waterfall" effect. The curved bezel makes it easy to swipe across the screen, too. The rest of the hardware feels pretty substantial and well-built, and the metal battery door adds a bit of quality that the average smartphone is lacking these days. The Torch 9850 isn't the heaviest phone at 135g, but it feels solid when in your hand.