Blackberry Torch Review!!

I am taking part in the AT&T Share Brand Ambassador Program. As part of that program, I received a Blackberry Torch to review.

Now I have never ever used a Blackberry or any type of smart phone. I sometimes use my hubby's iPhone but I am a total smart phone novice. The phone I have now is pretty basic and, frankly, I am not really a cell phone gal. I would rather email, tweet or Facebook to keep in contact. But I understand I need a cell phone for emergencies.

I can sometimes read my email on my current phone but the screen is small that I don't even bother. I can't do much else. Twitter and Facebook are so demented on my current phone that it is not worth my time checking them. Even though it has a keyboard, I still can't even tweet or post anything. Now for everyday, it's fine. But ever since I started attending blogging and social media conferences, I have realized that a basic cell phone is just not going to cut it for me.

So when I was contacted to review the Blackberry Torch, I wasn't sure what to expect. Now, I can't read instructions to save my life so when I got the Torch, I was all freaked out at having to set it up. I looked in the box for the endless pages of things I needed to do and found none. What I found was the website url I needed to visit.

I went to the site and it walked me through everything. Although I had a little trouble figuring out what the memory card or SIM card were, I was able to get through it because the site was helpful. It really was easier than I thought it would be. For me, this is huge because there is nothing worse then having to read instructions.

Once I set it up, I looked for the charger because hubby was all about having to charge it 24 hours before I used it. Little did he know, all I had to do is plug this baby into my computer and it would charge. That is so cool. I have a Sony Reader and this is how I charge it so it was something that I felt comfortable with. Now it does come with an attachment if you want to charge it through an outlet but why? For me, it's easier to do it through the laptop or netbook especially when I travel.

Once I plugged it in, I was able to use it right away. Yes, I waited a few hours because hubby was giving me the hairy eyeball but when he wasn't looking I started using it willy-nilly style.

I really liked it. Like I said, sometimes I have used hubby's iPhone when we travel but this one is so much better. What I liked is the screen is bigger and it has a slide out keyboard. That is huge when you are in the car because my sausage fingers are just too big to hit the right keys on the screen. So the keyboard is a godsend. It makes using the phone so much easier.

My favorite things about the phone are the apps. Like I said, I am a social media nut so I want to be connected all the time and I can now. We drove into Asheville the other day and I was in the car tweeting, facebooking and checking my email. It was easy to do. The Torch has a Social Feeds app so I can easily push one button and see any new messages on the social feeds I use.

This will be such a huge plus when I travel and when I am at conferences. I can now tweet and facebook anywhere. I also love the fact that I can take pictures from my phone and send them instantly. There is absolutely no downloading involved. This is such a benefit because so many times I have wanted to snap a picture and tweet it but wasn't able to do it.

I can text now too. For some reason, my other phone wouldn't let me do it. I was able to receive texts but not send them. So the other night, I decided to fool around and send a text to my hubby and it worked. We proceeded to text each other from the same room. Yes, yes, geeky but it was also cool.

My other favorite thing is it has a GPS system in the phone. I literally spent the drive home from Asheville (about 45-50 minutes) watching the GPS on the phone. I loved it. Yes folks, I am easily amused. I was actually able to use the phone to find a Bed, Bath and Beyond because we decided at the last minute to go there. Then on the drive home, I programmed my home address and although we knew how to get there, it was cool having the GPS lady take us through the whole route home. I love this because here in the mountains where I live, it's not always easy to find smaller roads but now I can!

The only problem I have had so far is that I left my phone charging overnight and it sort of died. I couldn't turn it back on. I have no idea what happened and I have to troubleshoot that problem if it happens again. But I slipped out the battery and slipped it back on and had no other problems. Weird.

But overall, I love this phone. Hubby is shocked because I was always complaining about my other phone. But I never had such a cool phone before. Now I know what I was missing. My only other problem is that I now have to spend time and money finding other cool apps to download.

I made a cheesy video to give you a better idea of the coolness of the Torch. Sure it's shaky and random but you should be able to get a better feel for it once you see it.


Would I recommend the Blackberry Torch? Heck yes. It's small enough to slip into my purse or pocket but the screen is big enough where I don't feel like I am squinting and can't read it. The phone is great too. The sound is clear and it is easy to use and store contacts. The ability to be on any of your social media sites is the best part for me. And the extras like the GPS, video, camera etc. are just icing on the cake. The calendar option is something I needed for work and now I have it on my phone and on my desktop at home and work and that is a huge plus as well.

I get service through AT&T but can also connect from the wireless at home or work as well. We get spotty AT&T service at home and at my office so it makes a difference to be able to access the wireless in the location I am at. I cannot wait to have it at the airports when I travel. I will not need to pull out my netbook and fuss with that. I will be able to do it all from my phone.

I am really glad I was able to test this phone and, hopefully, it will be the last one I ever have to deal with! Well, at least until the new Blackberry comes out. :0)
Disclosure: I received a Blackberry Torch & service for review purposes. No other compensation was given and the opinions in this post are solely mine and are based on my experience with the product.