What is it?
Research in Motion's second attempt at a full-touch screen, no physical buttons smartphone, the BlackBerry Torch 9860.
What happened to the first one?
About three years ago, a phone known as the iPhone began to look increasingly like it was going to shake up the smartphone market. It did. The all-touch, all singing and dancing phone soon became a cultural, technological icon and Research In Motion wanted in. So they made a phone called the BlackBerry Storm, with a touch screen minus the physical keyboard, something it had become well known for. The cherry RIM thought it added to its cake, a patented technology called SurePress, soon backfired as critics found it difficult to use. Met with mixed reviews, RIM went back to the drawing board and launched the Storm 2 the next year in 2009, and corrected some of its predecessor's flaws.
So what's special about the 9860?
Well, firstly, the 9860 comes from a completely different lineage — that of the dual identity touch plus physical QWERTY BlackBerry Torch. The 9860 is like the torch, without the physical keyboard, just all touch.
Its 3.7-inch screen is one of the largest ever on a Blackberry and, thanks to its smooth touch interface, initial reviews have said all memories of the Storm(s) is/are banished. The 9860's introduction this week comes with four other devices soon to be made available, including the eagerly-awaited Bold Touch 9900 nicknamed the Dakota.
All new devices will come with the brand new Blackberry 7 operating system.
So when is the 9860 it available in the UAE and for how much?
RIM says all five new devices should be available later this month. No word on price as yet but the latest Torch 9880 costs approximately Dh1,900.
