60 minute review: BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone                                     

We took the BlackBerry Torch smartphone for a 60 minute test drive to see how it shapes up.

1 min. This is one striking device, with its own unique look and feel. The display is very bright and clear, and the phone has smooth, glossy curves and a soft-touch, textured back. It feels reassuringly substantial yet comfy to hold.

3 mins. Whizzing around the touchscreen, using the optical trackpad and touch controls. The trackpad works like a mini laptop mouse - you stroke it to move around menus, and press it to select something.

5 mins. BlackBerry 6® makes it easy to find things. You push up the arrow at the bottom of the touchscreen to see all of your apps, and then scroll left or right to see your favourites, media files, downloads and frequently used features.

9 mins. Discovered the set-up app, which is a one-stop shop for setting up all of your email, IM and social networking accounts. You can organise your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, customise the phone's sound, display and wallpaper settings, font size, keyboard settings and more!

15 mins. In just a few short minutes I've now set up three separate email accounts, two IM accounts, Twitter, Facebook and logged onto my Wi-Fi network. Each inbox has its own allotted space on the app screen, and you can also see all your messages and social network updates at once in the combined inbox if you prefer.

17 mins. Received my first live update - the discreet light indicator flashes quietly away, letting me know I need to pick up my BlackBerry smartphone.

21 mins. The nicest thing about this phone is that in just a short while it feels incredibly natural and easy to use. I just slid up the screen and fired off a text message on the full QWERTY keyboard - it's got a dedicated space bar, as well as a delete and back button, enter button and a symbol key that makes it easy to insert signs and icons.

25 mins. The web browser is accessed via the apps screen. It loads up in seconds (I'm on Wi-Fi) and allows me to assign my own choice of homepage. I can also bookmark pages that I enjoy visiting frequently.

27 mins. Set Google as my homepage and visited my mobile network's website - the trackpad icon turns into a little mouse cursor when you're browsing, and indicates when you can enter text (e.g. in a search bar).

29 mins. The + symbol at the top of the web browser lets you quickly and easily open tabs, and there's a dedicated button next to it that takes you to a zoomed out view of all your tabs, with thumbnail previews of the web pages you've got open.

31 mins. Just discovered a neat trick - when in a web page you can copy text and then paste it into your contact book or search engine, so it's easier to save info or look things up online.

35 mins. The native YouTube app takes you straight to YouTube's mobile website, where you can get your daily fix of viral videos. The BlackBerry Torch smartphone's quick streaming capabilities and high-resolution screen are really impressive - the cute puppies and amazing skateboard tricks are all shown off to their best advantage.

40 mins. There really isn't much that you can't do well with this phone. The dedicated camera button on the right hand side takes you straight to the camera interface, which is touch-optimised for easy operation. The shutter speed is so fast that you can snap high-speed photos in quick succession and then upload your action shots straight to Facebook in just a matter of seconds.

45 mins. Unlike some native Facebook apps, the Facebook app for BlackBerry smartphones has lots of options to choose from. You can view your news feed, notifications, friends, wallposts and messages, and you can also upload a photo or add a new friend. Clicking on your picture takes you to your own wall, where you can quickly post a status update.

50 mins. Visited BlackBerry App World™ for the first time, via the apps screen. It's separated into categories of apps so you can easily find things, and you can also search for apps by name. There are over 300 apps in the music & audio section alone, and BlackBerry® recommend a selection of apps for you via the BlackBerry App World front page. Each app gets a star rating and users can post helpful comments.

59 mins. Downloaded a selection of free apps which all sound very handy - Drive safely, which reads out your messages to you so you can hear them whilst driving, Poynt, which shows you where all the best local haunts and services are, Dilbert, because it's awesome, and Shazaam, which tags tunes with artist and album info.

60 mins. It's been a fun hour and I don't want to put the BlackBerry Torch smartphone down. It's easily one of the most intuitive smartphones around, and very simple to get started with.

Verdict: