RIM has just unveiled the BlackBerry Torch 9800 today in Encore (formerly Embassy) at the Fort Strip. The newest member of the BlackBerry family is touted by RIM as the world’s first smartphone to combine a BlackBerry keyboard with a full touch experience and the first to include the new BlackBerry 6 OS.
Gregory Wade, Managing Director, Southeast Asia for RIM was present during the event, and he had a few things to say about RIM and BlackBerry’s standing in the Philippines. Seems like Filipinos are embracing the whole smartphone craze, as according to GFK, 1 in every 10 phones bought locally is a smartphone. He also added that the BlackBerry OS is the second largest mobile OS in the Philippines, according to IDC (2nd quarter of 2010).
Here’s a quick rundown of the specs for the Torch:
3.2-inch capacitive screen
QWERTY Slide out keyboard
A 5 megapixel camera, a first for BB, with 11 scene modes and image stabilization, among other features
A 624 MHz processor
5.8 hours of talk time
Also on hand for the event was John Leung, RIM’s director for the Philippines. He mostly explained the new features of the new BlackBerry 6 OS that will ship with the Torch. One of the key features of the new OS would be an extremely user friendly UI that’ll old BB users will recognize and new users will pick up quickly. Additional features now include notification previews, unified social feed, a redesigned home screen, universal search and the ability to copy and paste into folders.
The BlackBerry Torch will be available to both carriers and distributors by late November, sadly, there were no talk about prices, and it seems you’ll have to ask your carrier (either Globe, Smart or Sun) how much it is with your current plan.
[album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/Blackberry Torch/]