Hands-on with Blackberry's new Torch phones

With the constant drip-drip of Android, Windows Phone 7 and iPhone news inflicting a kind of Chinese water torture on poor old Blackberry, the Canadian giant finally cracked and announced three new UK smartphones at its 'biggest ever' event yesterday.

The Bold 9900 (its premium QWERTY messenger), Torch 9850 (touchscreen-only successor to the Storm) and Torch 9810 (follow-up to the original Torch, with a slide-out QWERTY) all run Blackberry's new OS 7 and will be available in the next month. But are they good enough to hold the Android hordes at bay?

Blackberry Torch 9850

Blackberry's first stab at a touchscreen smartphone, the Storm, was hamstrung by the limitations of Blackberry's OS 6. But its successor, the Torch 9850, feels much more like a modern touch-phone. Its capacitive screen, 1.2Ghz processor and the OS 7's 'liquid graphics' (a fancy name for graphical acceleration) all combine to create a slick and responsive experience.

The Torch 9850 doesn't feel as premium as its high-end rivals or Blackberry's own Bold 9900. Its casing is more plasticky, in the vein of Samsung's Galaxy series. But the 3.7in display is crisp and bright, and the web browsing experience a vast improvement.

Key specs: 3.7in screen, 1.2Ghz processor, 5MP camera (720p video), 4GB storage, Wi-Fi, GPS