Smart Phone Madness Game 13: BlackBerry Torch vs. HP Pre 3
March 28th, 2011 by Sarah Silbert, LAPTOP Staff Writer
Things are getting serious now, with just four smart phones left in the running. Today we have the BlackBerry Torch facing off against the HP Pre 3. Fans of the BlackBerry OS and champions of webOS will have to duke it out to see which handset makes it to the finals.
Though it was released last summer on AT&T, the BlackBerry Torch beat out the recent Editor’s Choice-winning Samsung Galaxy S 4G by more than 200 votes. The handset runs BlackBerry 6, the latest version of RIM’S OS, which sports a sleek interface with multiple home screens. There’s also a convenient Social Feed app that aggregates your Facebook, RSS, and Twitter updates. On the hardware front, the Torch has a 3.2-inch, 480 x 360 touchscreen, a microUSB port, and a 5-megapixel camera that shot crisp images in our hands-on time.
In another upset, the HP Pre 3 (which is not even out till this summer) defeated the Motorola Atrix 4G. Raking in almost 500 more votes than its competitor, the Pre 3 sports a 3.6-inch, 800 x 480 screen, dual cameras, and a large, comfortable keyboard. Though a carrier has yet to be announced for this phone, webOS fans are certainly anticipating the device’s arrival. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out our hands-on gallery of the Pre 3.
Our Related Content
- BlackBerry Torch 9810 Review
- Treats Truck Owner from Torch Commercial Still Sweet on BlackBerry, Even the PlayBook
- Smart Phone Madness Game 10: Samsung Galaxy S 4G vs. BlackBerry Torch
March 28th, 2011 at 1:29 am
its the HP pre 3 and its going to be awesome +1 from me
March 28th, 2011 at 8:22 am
I still have my side on Torch, hahahaha
March 28th, 2011 at 11:48 am
webOS all the way baby!
March 28th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
Wow, this is like voting between a Pre 3 and a Pre 1, just that this Pre from RIM has most of the classic Pres disadvantages combined with a crappy UI.
March 28th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Its like Blackberry is getting their ideas from Palm. They copied the Pre’s slide out keyboard touchscreen design and then they copy the WebOS multitasking structure for their Playbook.
Pre3 all day!! Woot!! Woot!!
March 28th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Pre 3 FTW! The Blackberry Torch specs barely matches the first generation Pre. Pre 3, Multi-tasking monster, Touch-to Share, bigger screen, 1.4 processor, more memory, should I go on?
March 28th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
yeah this is a laughable contest. The Pre 3 is the best phone on the market (when its released this summer) and going forward. I still have my hacked Spring Palm Pre Plus running Webos 2.1, and it runs laps around anything I have. I also though have the HTC Arrive, and can say WP7 is second best to webos, so heres to the future juggernots that came late to the game.
WEBOS IS THE ISH
March 28th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
It’s not called the Palm Pre 3, it’s called the HP Pre 3. The Palm brand doesn’t exist anymore.
March 28th, 2011 at 7:34 pm
Oh my, hope the bunch of Pre 3 voters get at least what they expect. With Android momentum and iOS and RIM installed base, it will be a tight squeeze for Pre 4 to exist….
March 29th, 2011 at 12:33 am
Wow, none of the torch owners I know realize that there is a browser on it. They just use it for email and calls. It’s amazing that the torch got out of the first round. No way it should win this round. The tough battles start with the next round. And I’m confident that the Pre3 will be the champion, just as the Pre+ was last time.
Having actually held a Pre3 and typed on it’s amazing keyboard at the announcement event, I’m here to tell you it’s the best hardware Palm has ever produced, and the best keyboard I’ve ever tried. It’s amazing. The only thing it’s missing is a date.
March 29th, 2011 at 8:20 am
I’am almost guessing that some webOS-Fans might have voted for the Torch in the earlier votes, just to get a worse opponent^^
Otherwise I couldn’t explain how this crap even came to the semi-finals. But I’am also confident that the Pre 3 will become the champion once again
March 29th, 2011 at 10:23 am
Torch all the way and yes sometimes seeing someone drives BMW while I am on nissan sentra it may be left behind in every department but hey it matches all my needs and let it not get overboard :p
March 29th, 2011 at 11:34 am
@vito I agree because I have a pre, and a htc arrive and WP7 is a very very good OS, and the phone is sick. No way in a million years could a torch beat that device.
March 29th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Why is a phone that isn’t out yet in the contest?
I’m putting out a phone next year too. Vote for it.
March 29th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Well, its good to know blackberry is really coming with the best, all hails to BB company!!
March 29th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
BlackBerry torch RULZZZ best combination qwerty & touch screen and BB OS is best
March 29th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
bb torch is the best its my first bb and ill never switch to a diffrent one again i love the search thing straight from homescreen so i dont have to go through everything its wicked and every day i find out something new everyday
March 29th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Blackberry is awesome!!!
March 29th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Had to switch to Blackberry when my Palm Treo became obsolete. It was a step down! Torch has been a bit of a dull letdown. Can’t wait to try Pre 3 and have attractive, integrated apps again.
March 29th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
@leanna, have you ever played with WebOS and its JustType feature? To do anything from composing an email, searching for an artist in the music player, even setting your Facebook status you JustType from the main screen. I think RIM cannot get off the innovation that WebOS has. They seriously have been copying everything from WebOS!!
March 29th, 2011 at 7:43 pm
@leanna
You do realize that WebOS has always had a universal search straight from the homescreen, don’t you? It’s called “Just Type”. Anyway, Pre 3 clearly deserves the win, I don’t even know how the Torch got this far.
March 29th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
I’m surprised the andriod phones got kicked out, from the hype I hear from my friends, I was sure one of them would make it to the final rounds
March 29th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
HAHA.. Search thing straight from the home screen?
Another WebOS rip-off..
The “torch” can’t hold a candle to the original Palm Pre, much less the Pre 3.
March 29th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
Torch…hands down…Reliability meets a network where the G’s multi-task…
March 30th, 2011 at 10:34 am
@MmmmmAT&T Are you the biggest idiot alive? Yes, why? WebOS is BUILT around multi tasking. The idea of “cards” IS multi tasking. Blackberry can’t compete with WebOS.
April 1st, 2011 at 2:11 pm
Well, the torch’s keybroard fells better
April 1st, 2011 at 3:28 pm
@techy
Htc Thunderbolt and the evo shift are both android phones…. lol So basically android is 1/2 of the competition left.
How anyone can still like blackberry is beyond me. Absolute garbage phones. Using a blackberry in this day and age would be like using a commodore 64 as your pc.
April 3rd, 2011 at 3:52 am
*laughing* Its so obvious who likes what phone better before its even said…BB owners (yes, like myself) are A lot less serious, while the Pre ppl are well VERY serious about a ‘phone’ A Pre is still a phone (even with all it can do) I know because I’ve owned 1…Yeah, its a good ‘phone’ but I like the BB community and LOVE my Torch! Really, lighten-up! Its all in fun…The wars I’m really interested in, are the ones coming up 4 all the new (Pads)! Playbooks gonna dominate that one I bet…RIM’s finally steppin it up me thinks! (Replying here w/my Torch BTW) Peace!
April 4th, 2011 at 11:42 am
HP PALM PRE 3 is mother of all the phones.
No one can beat it because of it’s wide features.
June 25th, 2011 at 11:22 am
I use a BlackBerry Torch. It doesn’t even hold a candle to a Nokia 3310… sorry to say it. How it was even ALLOWED in the competition is way beyond me. Yes, a Nokia 3310 is 1’000’000’000x better than a BlackBerry Torch, and yes, I’ve had a Nokia 3310 too. Had the 3310 a year (way back in the day, but I remember it well), had the Torch a month. I’m likely to get a HP Pre 3.