One thing I can say from experience is that BlackBerry knows how to throw down a fantastic party!

Yes, TIFF just ended, and BlackBerry had proved themselves there as modern, capable sponsors, but this wasn’t TIFF (although with the amount of celebrities present, the average person was still starstruck), this was the official Canadian launch party for RIM’s most anticipated device, and they did a very good job organizing it.

For those of you living under a rock, the Torch 9800 (named in honor of Torch mobile who created the new WebKit browser for them) is the first in-market BlackBerry to not only have the ever popular touchscreen/keyboard hybrid, but also to run their new BlackBerry 6 OS, among many other new features, including the long-awaited WebKit browser.

It is indeed a very sexy device. You can even go ahead and read our official review of the previously- released AT&T unit.

What excited me most about last night wasn’t necessarily the device, but the people and colleagues I was able to catch up with, who in their own right have done a lot for the Toronto tech/mobile scene. Among the many spotted schmoozing were: Karim Kanji of Techvibes; Erin Bury from Sprouter; Mary, Rob, Miranda; and Keith from Rogers’ social media team, and 2 people whom I both look up to, but have modeled much of my career around; Marc Saltzman and Amber MacArthur.

A good time was had by all, and as expected, all who attended received not only a Torch, but a BlackBerry Bluetooth receiver to connect the device to a stereo.

For those who weren’t able to attend, never fear, the device is scheduled to arrive at Rogers and Telus retail locations for your consumption Friday at $199 on a 3-year term. Rumor has it that Bell’s device is pushed to the first week of October.