RIM Pushing Performance Update To BlackBerry 9800 TorchRIM Pushing Performance Update To BlackBerry 9800 Torch

Research In Motion today said that it is making a software update available to the BlackBerry 9800 Torch. Most of the improvements center around performance enhancements for a number of the device's systems.

According to RIM, the enhancements include:

Browser – faster page loading and improved panning.

User input – handled more efficiently, improved responsiveness after unlocking device.

Applications – faster launching, exiting and switching.

Home Screen - faster rendering and smoother transitions when switching between panes.

Media - faster rendering of thumbnails in picture application.

Email/Messaging – faster and smoother scrolling in message list and when reading email.

Voice - Software improvements for improved audio quality.

This last enhancement is the one I feel is most important. In my tests of the Torch, I found voice quality to be highly inconsistent -- atypical behavior for a RIM device. Hopefully this software update makes significant improvements to the phone's voice capability.

The update -- software version v6.0.0.695, Platform v6.4.0.105/Application v6.0.0.246 -- will be delivered over the air over the course of the next few weeks.

For the impatient, RIM is also making the update available for manual download and install. The download link is here.