Finally the day has come when RIM has completed a device in the BlackBerry Storm that should be able to compete with the iPhone. If it contains most of the features that BlackBerry users have come to love from BlackBerrys then it should have the advantage, but will it?
The BlackBerry Storm is the first touch screen device that has been made by RIM. It even has a unique click screen technology, SurePress, which gives you the impression like that of clicking a mouse. Since the touch screen is the main idea behind the Storm, it is the first thing that gets recognized and should be one of the best features. However, there are a few drawbacks that will need to be improved:
There does appear to be some backlighting leaking through the sides of the screen, which hopefully doesn’t take anything away from the build quality.
When using the SurePress technology, the screen seems to slide around a bit while pushing down with a finger.
The SurePress technology is apparently supposed to give users an advantage by hovering without selecting, as well as a nice click feeling when typing and navigating. However, typing and navigating can actually be slower on the Storm because of the SurePress technology. It’s not that the SurePress is bad, but rather, the OS on the Storm is basically the same as that of previous BlackBerrys that happen to be very different devices than the Storm. This could, and should be remedied in the future, to give users a more controlled feeling and a better typing and navigating experience.
How Does the Storm look?
The Storm does look quite impressive with its 3.25 in. touch screen. It is .55 in. thick with a plastic silver band that runs around the sides, while the remainder of the device is made up of black plastic. The phone, back, menu, and power keys are directly below the touch screen, a convenience key along with the microUSB can be found on the left, the 3.5mm headphone jack along with another convenience key and volume control can be found on the right, up top there is an LED light along with lock and mute keys, while the battery and flash camera can be found around the back. If RIM wanted to give the Storm an impressive look, then they succeeded.
How’s the keyboard?
As you know, BlackBerrys are known for having great emailing capabilities, among some other things, so the keyboard is an important part of any BlackBerry device. The virtual keyboard on the Storm, even with the SurePress technology, will probably not be getting high ranks anytime soon. Once a key is pressed, the press must release before another key can be pressed, which will probably mean much slower typing, however, the Storm obviously wasn’t built to compete with previous BlackBerry devices. Although a software component that guessed what users were attempting to type would be more helpful on the Storm.
How’s the rest?
On screen, copy and paste is as good as usual, and hovering over links and items while browsing is very helpful on crowded webpages. The overall appearance of the screen is not disappointing at all, although it’s probably not comparable to that of the Bold, which again, is not a big deal at all.
Browsing through the web and through apps seems to be actually a bit slower than compared to previous devices. The OS allows for crossfades and sideways swipes which is nice, however, response time seems to lag behind a bit which can become annoying.
Other advantages include; quicker page loading, better navigation, and better scrolling, which is a much needed improvement for BlackBerrys.
Email and messaging are still in great shape on the Storm, however, the formatting for the larger screen could have been improved.
Media management is standard, video playback is great, however, third party software remains to be weak at best.
The software that comes with the device is great, and the applications will allow you to edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. However, a major drawback is that syncing to a Mac cannot be done at all, unless a download is found and purchased itself. Something that should have been planned better if the Storm was to compete with the iPhone 3G.
The 3.2 megapixel camera is good, however, focusing and snapping seems to take more time than it should. Recording video is another nice function that the Storm allows.
Call reception, sound quality, and speakerphone are as good as can be expected. GSM radio is also supported so users can take advantage of HSPA around the rest of the world.
Early testing shows that the battery life of the Storm may be above average considering its capabilities.
The Storm is a very nice device, but it’s probably not going to be any kind of iPhone killer. Not too many iPhone users will probably be crossing over, and neither may BlackBerry lovers who are used to the traditional devices.
RIM has come up with a nice device that may attract some users not falling in the above categories, however (seems like there’s been too many howevers), improvements must still be made in some areas to make the BlackBerry Storm a true competitor.
Purchase the BlackBerry Storm here.
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by Wireless Solutions, on June 26 2009 @ 6:23 pm
Who has gotten the blackberry storm? Looking for realtime reviews for it, perhaps from real techies or verizon workers. Want to get it eventually but would love reviews good and bad on it. I’m an avid texter, but love the touchscreen aspect of it.
wireless solution blackberry
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geoff Reply:
April 8th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
it’s a great phone, but the ap store needs work.
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by marketplaceja, on December 7 2009 @ 5:19 pm
I get alot of emails from my clients regarding the storm against the iphone. I am a blackberry person but cant seems to be a decent comparison. Thanks for this article though and it does help me a bit.
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by john, on April 25 2010 @ 9:26 am
I have been with verizon for 6 years….love them. Have had a cell phone for 14 years. The blackberry storm 2…THE WORST PHONE EVER!! I also did the research on this phone prior. On paper this phone should beat the iPhone hands down. Prior to buying this phone….I was ANTI-iPHONE. All this phone has done has pushed me away from the blackberry. some of the problems i faced with this phone is that it freezes up during the most inopportune moments…like answering an important phone call….this happens when i go from the horizontal position to the vertical position. it seems it takes awhile to “readjust” itself. That’s just one out of many problems i have had with this phone. I have several friends and colleagues that were enamored by the appeal of the phone and have had success with their previous blackberry’s, but when it came to this storm 2 they all have agreed with me. some of them are almost up on their contracts and will be going back to their old blackberry but alot of them….like me will be waiting for the iPhone to be offered through verizon. My advice…save your money and stay away from the Storm 2….unless you’re into pain, aggravation, frustration, and lack of peace of mind
bonne chance….ciao
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by bb curve, on May 13 2010 @ 4:09 pm
was going to get the storm but got the bb curve instead
becuse bell siad that it was a better phone and the have had alot of returns of the storm due 2 early realse date and your better to get the storm 2 or the curve witch very simaler just not a touch screen or even the bold all 3 phone use the same software and my curve has everything the storm or iphone dose and that includes apps and wifi and people say the blackberry is hard to type on it took me less then a week to get used to only bad thing is u need a memory card to use the video camera and the curve has no sim card so no switching networks but besides that its great
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Juan Reply:
February 3rd, 2011 at 10:13 am
How much does a “.” cost?
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by Jeff, on June 17 2010 @ 10:39 pm
Very helpful post… I have been wondering how well these stack up to the iPhone.
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by Business Travel app, on June 25 2010 @ 6:13 am
Amazing mobile! BlackBerry has always impressed the business class with it’s professional looks and the amount of business applications it offers. It is always a tough call to choose between an Iphone and a Blackberry. This article will certainly make the person think twice before going for Iphone.
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J Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Re. the last post. Were you reading the same article? “RIM has come up with a nice device that may attract some users not falling in the above categories, however (seems like there’s been too many howevers), improvements must still be made in some areas to make the BlackBerry Storm a true competitor” That doesn’t really inspire confidence. I had a storm, I now own an I-phone and I’ll never look back. Good read though, well done
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Kara Reply:
September 25th, 2010 at 11:41 am
I have had the curve for 2 years now. AT&T is taking over our local Alltel rep and will soon be swapping out our phones. I am very torn as to which phone to choose (we will have 3 choices, which are uncertain at this time)
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by Susan Gelding, on November 10 2010 @ 3:27 am
This looks promising and will probably swing us away from the iphone. All the employees in our company love the iphone but it is not a serious tool for business. We need to be able to sync and view a database that is PC based so the iphone is failing miserably. If Sage/Act was available for the iphone and macs then the problem would be solved but it looks as if apple have no intention of going down this route to secure a huge business sector. The software supplied such as ical is really just for kids keeping a few contacts and is not to be taken too seriously. So although it seems a backward step we will be going back to PC’s with phones such as this.
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by unlocked gsm mobile, on January 12 2011 @ 9:45 am
Great reviews about blackberry! Thanks for sharing.
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by Asheley Forrester, on February 5 2011 @ 2:47 am
This blog has made me aware of many facts that most people are not aware of. I never knew this that blackberry storm is the first touchscreen phone introduced by RIM. Thanks for this help.
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by medical web development, on March 26 2012 @ 7:58 am
It will surely compete the iphone versions and give apple a tough time.
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