The BlackBerry Torch was delivered to the V3.co.uk office today and we spent some quality time getting to grips with RIM's BlackBerry 6 OS.

Suffice to say the upgraded operating system is packed with a number of user friendly features and is a marked improvement over the interface present in the current flagship phone, the Bold 9700.

The most obvious improvement is the addition of panels that users swipe to navigate, à la Android and iOS4. The Torch comes with five panels which house contacts and applications - All, Favourites, Media, Downloads and Frequent.

The addition of these screens allows apps to be split up quite evenly and really helps users access them conveniently.

There are a few exciting additions such as the Social Feeds application that allows syncing of RSS feeds, BBM, Facebook and Twitter messages in one place where they can be conveniently accessed.

A universal search feature allows users to search everything on their device at once and access the internet.

The way contacts are displayed is also refreshing. The phone automatically syncs them with your social networking sites, adding pictures and details. Clicking into the contact then provides more information about them.

Contacts can be added onto any of the panels so people that users regularly call or email could be added into the favourites panel, creating more sophisticated speed dials.

The 'Favourites' panel itself is capable of links to frequently used web sites. A link to the V3.co.uk site, could be added for quick access, removing the need to type the address into the browser.

Videos, pictures, music, camera, podcast, voice recording and YouTube apps are stored in the 'Media' section.

The YouTube app was particularly impressive and when we exited it and entered the web through the independent browser it was a nice surprise to see the YouTube page we were on pop up. This was a great example of how RIM has gone all out to ensure the tight integration of apps.

Another great feature was the option to view web sites. Double tapping on a page reformats the text into readable columns so users do not need to scroll from side-to-side, only up and down.

App World downloads are stored in a 'Downloads' screen, so applications that are not used that often are still no more than a couple of swipes away.

Finally, the 'Frequent' app stores the most popular contacts and apps, again speeding up access to the most used features.

The touchscreen on the Torch is extremely responsive and works really well with the BlackBerry 6 interface. There is a full Qwerty keyboard and typing is really smooth.

The touchscreen can be used to type and there are three typing interfaces to choose from out of which the full touchscreen Qwerty is arguably the best as it is very receptive just like the physical keyboard.

Although BlackBerry 6 will also be available for the BlackBerry Bold 9700, Curve 3G and Pearl 3G handsets, we get the impression that it will work best on the Torch because it feels like it was designed with a touchscreen interface in mind.

In addition, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, YouTube and for the first time App World all come preloaded onto the phone, so users can get cracking with status updates and downloads from the off.

Overall, BlackBerry 6 OS is a great upgrade that will offer users many more features. But we still feel that it will be difficult for RIM to convince Android and Apple users to migrate to the Torch and the early adopters are likely to be current BlackBerry users

No UK availability date has been announced for the BlackBerry 6 upgrade or the Torch, but the device is expected to go on sale on 12 August in the US, and will be exclusive to AT&T, while Orange and Vodafone have been suggested as possible UK carriers.

V3.co.uk has also posted a hands on video of the Torch.

10 Aug 2010