Hello, Pinkberry!

It’s always difficult choosing a birthday present, and for the girlfriend it can be doubly hard, especially when you want to top your effort in the previous year.

Since Joanne’s two-year-old Samsung smartphone was dying on her, a mobile phone seemed like a good choice. After a somewhat extensive survey of the phones that come with keyboards (getting rarer by the day), I settled on the Blackberry Torch.

Is that a Blackberry?

More after the jump…

While reviews of the Torch have been less than spectacular, I know full well the capabilities and limitations of a Blackberry, being a owner of one myself – I have been using the Bold 9700 since last April.

Unfortunately, Blackberrys aren’t the sexiest phones. They usually come in black and white only, hardly the most compelling colours for someone like Joanne. In other words, I had to do some customisation to fire up the Torch.

After an extensive search on the Internet, I found this amazing US-based company called Colorware that custom paints popular devices like the Blackberry, iPhone and Nintendo video game consoles. The only trouble was, I had to buy the phone in Singapore and send it over to be painted.

So once I decided on getting the Torch as the present, I made an online order through the Colorware website. Then I bought a white Torch from a Singtel shop, renewing my contract to get a lower price, and promptly shipped it to the US. About three weeks later, the Pinkberry arrived at my doorstep.

The results were simply amazing, as you can see from the pictures here. It’s obvious that the guys at Colorware are experts.

Colorware can paint almost all the external parts of the Blackberry Torch. This was why I chose a white Torch as the base – it complements the pink quite well.

I would like to commend Colorware for the prompt and friendly service I received. They responded very quickly to my email queries, a great help to an anxious shopper who needs to get his phone back in time for a special occasion. Their online chat assistance was also very useful too, though you will need to follow US working hours to use it.

Most importantly, Joanne loved the present. I believe she is the only person in Singapore who carries a pink Blackberry! Hopefully it will serve her well for the next two years.

On a side note, I’m beginning to like the Torch quite a bit. The touch screen is great for general use, while the keyboard is almost as good as the Bold. Maybe I will need to get one for myself… but without the pricy paint job!