Research In Motion have been known as the professional's phone of choice for many years thanks to their functional and reliable Blackberry series. With their previous touchscreen efforts being a big departure from their traditional design, many smartphone critics questioned whether RIM would be able to get back to their earlier roots as a company renowned for their QWERTY keypads...

Despite the questioning, it seems that RIM have managed to silence the vast majority of critics by offering the best of both worlds with their latest offering: the Blackberry Torch, which manages to incorporate both a virtual keyboard and a top of the range slide-out QWERTY thumb pad – a feature that is sure to please even the most disillusioned Blackberry purists.

As well as the critically acclaimed slide-out thumb pad, the new blackberry torch also features an upgraded operating system in the form of the Blackberry 6OS.

Although the new operating system looks very similar, once you have scratched beneath its surface it is clear to see that there are a fair amount of changes that will please the majority of both new and old Blackberry users. The layout is more logical than previous designs, which will be welcome news to those hoping that the very evident teething problems that came with the Blackberry Storm I and II.

Finding the right app or program is quick and easy, although there has been some criticism about a lack of apps available for the Blackberry Torch. The improved browser that features on the Blackberry Torch supports gestures such as pinch-to-zoom, which gives the device a greater ease of use than RIM's previous attempts.

Although the Blackberry may not have the intuitive touchscreen support that can be seen on Apple's iPhone, RIM have made leaps and bounds in improving its functionality with the inclusion of a superb slide-out thumb pad making the Blackberry Torch the best Blackberry smartphone to date – the Torch is certain to please Blackberry faithfuls, while winning over a new generation of smartphone users.

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