All three major Australian carriers will offer Research In Motion’s new touchscreen Blackberry Torch 9800, which was launched in the USA this week, (CDN yesterday), the company has revealed.
But a Down Under launch does not appear to be imminent. A one-paragraph statement issued by RIM spokeswoman Antoinette Trovato, yesterday said RIM Australia was looking forward to the local launch “in coming months”.
It said the Torch, powered by the new Blackberry 6 operating system, would be handled by Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone/3.
The Torch sports a slideout physical keyboard as well as a virtual version on its 3.2-inch touchscreen. However it has been receiving a lukewarm reception in the USA.
Early reviewers have been critical of its 624MHz processor, which gives performance some have rated sluggish. Most rival top-end smartphones have a 1GHz processor, they say.
Also coming in for criticism is the display, which has 360 by 480 resolution – compared with 960 by 640 for the Apple iPhone’s new ultra-sharp Retina display.
The new Blackberry also lacks items like the gyroscope now being built into top-end rivals like the iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy S, making them top-rating portable games devices.
