What RIM’s Torch Mobile Deal Means For The BlackBerry Browser – And You

Yesterday I posted about RIM’s acquisition of Torch Mobile and even included some info about WebKit and the Iris Browser. To the average user, none of that info may make sense or they may not even care as long as all it means is them getting a new BlackBerry Browser.

Sometimes it’s important to understand how things work and what they mean so you can get the most out of your BlackBerry experience. My buddy @ASacco has put together a great article explaining what RIM’s acquisition of Torch Mobile means for the BlackBerry Browser, and for you, the user.

Ask BlackBerry power users for their number one complaint about Research In Motion (RIM) handhelds, and nine times out of ten you’ll get the same answer: The BlackBerry Browser.

RIM’s BlackBerry browser ships along with all BlackBerry devices and is the “mandatory-default” web-browsing software for BlackBerry smartphones–you can’t set third-party browsers as the default…at least not yet.

The problem, errr, problems? The BlackBerry browser is slooooow, to say the least. Javascript-heavy pages consistently bring it to a standstill–unless, of course, you leave Javascript turned off. And the BlackBerry Browser frequently has problems rendering many common Web pages, so simply browsing the Web for a quick recipe or to answer a question can be like pulling teeth.

I raised the subject of the troublesome BlackBerry Browser to RIM’s Manager of Developer Relations Mike Kirkup last February, and Kirkup openly told me that RIM was well aware of the problem and that the company was working to address it.

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