BlackBerry Torch 9800 Rollercoaster Ad Is Hilarious; What About the Phone?

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Yesterday I showed you the new Motorola Droid 2 “Digits” commercial and I wasn’t really touched by the creative thinking behind it. Today I took a look at AT&T’s brand new BlackBerry Torch 9800 ad, and it totally impressed me.

Entitled “Rollercoster” (you might have to watch it on YouTube) the ad below tells us that business can be fun (or that fun is also a business) and such a commercial would at least make me Google the Torch and see what it’s all about. But I am not a regular mobile shopper as I am pretty much well aware about what’s out there in terms of smartphones, featurephones and plain, old, dumbphones.

That means a hilarious commercial, or even a serious one, wouldn’t make me buy the device immediately. And in this case I’d think twice before buying the Torch. The phone has just started selling in the USA on August 12, and other markets will also get it soon, and it happens to be RIM’s first hybrid device, if I may use this term. The Torch combines a full touchscreen display, a must-have feature of modern smartphones, and the traditional full QWERTY keyboard we find on most BlackBerry handsets. Therefore it’s a hybrid when looking at RIM’s smartphone history.

That said, I am not (and was not) particularly impressed with the device. From the moment I saw the first leaked screenshots I had doubts regarding this design, and now, having virtually attended the official release, I can’t say the BlackBerry Torch has a fighting chance when compared to other Android handsets and the iPhone. The BlackBerry Torch 9800 may be a great smarpthone, but it’s no RIM flagship device (and I’d love to be wrong here) and it’s no iPhone -/ insert-hot-Android-handset-name-killer.

I can’t wait to see how many Torch units RIM sells, and I definitely want to see the upcoming hybrid BlackBerry devices. Getting back to “Rollercoaster” ad though, I must admit it’s a great concept and, at least in my book, it’s one of the best mobile ads I’ve seen in a few months, and I did keep you updated on smartphone commercials, didn’t I?

And just in case you missed the first commercial here’s AT&T video “introducing the BlackBerry Torch 9800:”