BB 9800 Slider/Torch

[Hjdcah]

any info when this will be released to/by ATT? need to pickup 3 for the family;  thanks;

[gfield]

There's been no official announcement of this phone by AT&T yet.  There are lots of rumors with release dates ranging from June to November.  Since the last two new major BlackBerry models (9000 Bold, 9700) have come out in November, that may be the pattern.  RIM has stated that they will have 2 new models out in Q3 (July, August, Sept).  The new slider is probably one of those new phones, but nothing is confirmed.  RIM's stock price is down.  For their sake I hope this model comes out sooner vs. later.

[Hjdcah]

Thanks.

[ameiurus]

The wait is killing me ever since I found out about this beauty.  I hope it's not November but sometime earlier.  But I'm sure it will be worth the wait regardless when it arrives.

[cjberk]

For what it's worth, go browse the Blackberry's available on the website.  The selection is the smallest I've seen in years.  It looks like they are clearly space to bring in the new models soon.  Considering the Slider/Torch specs and videos are all over the internet something should be released real soon. 

[ameiurus]

Lots of sites are saying August 15 release date for this beauty.

[ameiurus]

Look for an official announcement on Aug 3 @ 11a EDT:

http://blogs.computerworld.com/16609/rim_blackberry_9800_soon_to_challenge_iphone_4_and_usb_thingy

http://www.berryreview.com/2010/07/27/august-3rd-rim-att-event-blackberry-9800-blackberry-6-0/

[core714]

R.I.M. announced release date of Aug. 12th to AT & T stores

[bigallindau]

Tomorrow, 09-12-10 I will set out to purchase my 9800.

With all the hoopla concerning the iPhone and touch screens, I want in on the action but with a better phone than the storm.

[Hjdcah]

just came back from the local store to see whats up; they will be on sale tomorrow morning when they open at 10 AM;  the best part is that if you are an existing customer with an unlimited data plan for 29.95 you can keep that and not worry about the 2 BB limited plans they are offering on the site, the 500MB and the 2GB; hopefully he knew what he was talking about because that is such a better deal;

[Hjdcah]

and the above was true; just ordered mine online for $99 after the upgrade discount with free overnite shipping; cant wait;

[ccanache]

I bought 2 Blackberrys torch, there are the worst Blackberry!! Many Problems with the software, freeze, applications problems, Signal Problems to register on BB servers etc etc in 3G and Edge. I will return them tomorrow..

At&t should test the products before sell  to the public with thats problems!

I am using my BB 9700 again!

[Hjdcah]

sorry to hear that; my daughter got hers thursday at 10 AM and it is her first BB; she has been on it constantly since then and loves it and has absolutely no issues at all; the only time it freezes for a minisecond is when two or more texts are coming in at that same time but that is to be expected i guess;  lets hope it stays that way;

[bbjunkie1906]

in the last 30 hrs, I've had 2 Torches.  The first one was probably damaged by a store employes, as the box was not "factory sealed".  But the processor time was EXTREMELY slow, and the Send/End keycover FELL OFF AND STUCK TO MY FACE!!!!!  Exchanged that one this morning, and #2 MIGHT charge with my iGo charger, but as soon as my phone rings, it stops charging and requires a reboot just to recognize a charger is plugged in.  The USB travel "pod" charger stops charging before a full battery too.  Hopefully, RIM gets an update out there FAST.  For one, because we already know AT&T RARELY approves/supports any OS upgrades past the "out-of-box" stock ROM.  For two, there will be ALOT of angry, disappointed Blackberry users!  I was hestitant about this phone anyway. My satisfaction level started at 7/10...now I MAY be at a 4 at best.

[jddunfee]

I was pretty excited about the torch when they announced it. I bought it the day it came out. The good of the phone was the new layout of the social feeds. This worked well. I liked the keyboard and the touch screen combo. The phone definitely worked faster than my bold 9000 all the way around.

The bad of the phone: The worst part was every time I put the phone in my leather pouch, the magnet on the pouch unlocked the phone. I could not find a setting for this and neither could At&T. The phone will not support Pandora (huge miss here!) Slacker radio loaded on it would only play for about a minute then shut down. I tried the media player with my pre loaded music and it worked right up until I put this in my arm band and I quickly realized the lock button does not lock the keys around the edge. It kept shutting down the player.

Has anyone noticed when you get a new text message and you open it, you have to scroll down to find it...EVERY TIME!!! What's up with that.

The touch screen is jerky and slow to react with the pinch zoom feature. If you think it is great, don't ever try an iphone cause it blows the torch away. Oh yah, when using Google Maps, the pinch to zoom feature does not work.

Needless to say, I too the phone back and got a full refund and am still eligible for my upgrade. I might have to cross the line and go with the i4. Check out the Torch before you buy!!!

[JSY]

I haven't had as many issues as some of you have, but I do notice the OS just pausing for a few seconds sometimes that I find annoying - especially when I'm opening up something from the Social Feeds screen.  The other thing I wish is the messages screen - there should be a way to set the list so that each email takes one line - like I had on my Bold.  I get way too many e-mails and would like to see more of them on the screen.  I am using the Bold 9000 case which works well - the magnet in the case will put the phone to "sleep" mode if you face the screen toward the back of the case.  But these are the only things I've noticed so far.  Everything else has been fine (so far) and I do like the phone - but it takes getting used to from my Bold.  I am not able to speed through my emails like I was able to on my Bold.

[ccanache]

DO NOT RESTORE SETTINGS OR SOFTWARE DATA FROM YOUR OLD BLACKBERRY, THIS DAMAGE THE TORCH SOFTWARE, INTERNET ACCESS AND MANY THINGS .

CHOOSE ONLY TO RESTORE THE CONTACTS, MESSENGER, MEMOS, CALENDARS AND EMAILS...

I WAS TODAY IN A AT&T STORE TODAY  RETURNING  MY  NO WORKING PHONES ABOUT 2 HOURS AND WE DISCOVER THAT DOING THE  PHONE RESTORE CHANGE  CAUSE THE PROBLEMS!!!

[myers1028]

Hjdcah- How did you only pay $99??? I finally had my upgrade today and didn't recieve a discount. I got the torch for $199 with $15 for next day shipping.

[Hjdcah]

when the site came up at 4 AM last thursday it had that discount on it along with free over night shipping; but in the morning there was confusion on the site when tracking the order so we went to the local store with no lines and they reordered it for me with the same discountsl

[Hjdcah]

since i have another phone available for an upgrade i just went to see if it was still the same deal but it was not; it was 199 and no free overnight shipping;  i guess i lucked out last week on an earlybird special lol;

[bighamster]

FYI:  its half the price at walmart and amazon (and others) and att corporate WON'T MATCH!!!!!!!!!!!

[ccanache]

BIS loses connection when leaving a wifi network on 9800 

I've been without BIS for over 3 hours now since i've left my house this morning.  It happens everyday and is getting worse.  Sometimes I lose it for 5 minutes, but 3- 6  hours is ridiculous!  I'm still connected to 3G.  I can talk on the phone and I can use the browser for internet.  But i can't get my work emails and my apps don't work.  I tried resending my service books...nothing.  I turned on and off all my services on the phone...nothing.  I run the connection diagnostics and it says Blackberry Registration: No.  I updated to the latest leak .161 and that didn't help.  This is so frustrating!!!!   I found numerous others are encountering the same issue, so I don't think exchanging the device is going to help.  Someone from Blackberry and AT&T please fix this!!!  This is a serious issue!

[buzzkiller58]

Any feedback on this issue??  A wipe restores connectivity to AT&T BIS server, but I have had to do it twice in one week very annoying.  I have not used WiFi because that seems to be one of the causes of the problem.

[confidant]

This all makes more sense now... it appears that the problem is the WiFi.  I used my WiFi in bed before falling asleep to set up my Visual Voicemail, and this morning I realized I wasn't connected to the BIS.

Hope they fix this.

[n5374f]

The problem with AT & T Torch is the AT & T network for sure not the Blackberry Torch I have been on the phone with the network techs at AT & T and they had me on the phone with RIM, RIM and I went thru all kinds of tests. The Torch works fine on my WIFI and all other WIFI's, the problem is when you turn off the WIFI the AT&T network does not connect the BIS. It is not a RIM problem it is the AT & T network that has the problem I hope some lawyers old there file a class action suit against AT & T to get them off their butts to fix the problem with the network. Just to clarify the problem

Mobile Network Box is checked and WIFI Box is checked the BIS says WIFI and the phone works fine

uncheck the WIFI box and the BIS says not connected so no data, no email, no visual email, no text msgs

recheck the WIFI Box and everything works again so how can it be the hardware it is a software issue in the AT & T network so AT & T get your head out of the sand

Hey maybe if everybody with a torch returns the phones to AT & T they will do something to fix the problem

RIM says it is a Network issue not a phone hardware or software issue

[ghostryder ACE - Wizard]

---

n5374f wrote:

The problem with AT & T Torch is the AT & T network for sure not the Blackberry Torch I have been on the phone with the network techs at AT & T and they had me on the phone with RIM, RIM and I went thru all kinds of tests. The Torch works fine on my WIFI and all other WIFI's, the problem is when you turn off the WIFI the AT&T network does not connect the BIS. It is not a RIM problem it is the AT & T network that has the problem I hope some lawyers old there file a class action suit against AT & T to get them off their butts to fix the problem with the network. Just to clarify the problem

Mobile Network Box is checked and WIFI Box is checked the BIS says WIFI and the phone works fine

uncheck the WIFI box and the BIS says not connected so no data, no email, no visual email, no text msgs

recheck the WIFI Box and everything works again so how can it be the hardware it is a software issue in the AT & T network so AT & T get your head out of the sand

Hey maybe if everybody with a torch returns the phones to AT & T they will do something to fix the problem

RIM says it is a Network issue not a phone hardware or software issue

---

n5374f, thanks for that ifo. I just bought the Torch for my wife and when she uses WiFi, I will know how to get BIS back.

[Mandos]

I bought a BB 9700 shortly before the Torch came out...knowingly.  Now a month out from the Torch release, was my choice a smart one?  I've never missed touchscreen and I'm not a fan of moving parts, so the Bold seems like the perfect phone to me, and with BBOS6 coming out eventually for the Bold it didn't seem like a big deal to wait 18 months for all the problems with the Torch to be ironed out.

[ghostryder ACE - Wizard]

If you're not into social networking or game playing, then your bold will be fine. The Torch is a combination of the main purpose of a BB and an iPhone with its better access to the social scene, touch screen, apps and the like. My wife is very happy with her Torch and there haven't been any problems with it...yet.

[hearududes]

This is a very seious problem.

It needs to be addressed asap.

I have had the happen twice to me, I really don't enjoy wiping my device.

RIM & AT&T get it together or someone will file a class action suit, stating that u knowingly sold the phone with this problem.

NOW!

[ghostryder ACE - Wizard]

From the crackberry.com forum:

"Disabling APN settings seems to have solved this problem for me. It has been four or five days, and I have reinstalled all the apps and done all the things I suspected of triggering the problem. As a bonus, it fixed Google Sync, which had also been causing constant problems (freezing me out of options and failed syncs), and which I suspected was one of the apps that was triggering BIS to tank. Meanwhile, I have not run into a single app that requires APN."

***************************

From another member:

"I don't know why, I don't know how; but changing this one setting - and only this one setting - has fixed this problem for me. I suspect it may have to do with some legacy code on AT&T's network."

Let us know if this works.