JP
Vodafone and Verizon Wireless announced the BlackBerry Storm in the early hours of this morning, and already the first reviews and hands-on opinions are coming in. As their first touchscreen handset, this is a very important device for RIM; it also puts them, in the consumers’ eyes at least, directly in competition with the Apple iPhone. First impressions for the smartphone are reasonably good, with the unique ClickThrough touchscreen getting plenty of attention.
Two UK newspaper heavyweights have weighed in, The Times and The Guardian, both calling the Storm surprisingly heavy and both making much of RIM comments that until now touchscreens haven’t been the best choice for business users. In the case of the BlackBerry Storm, a capacitive touchscreen lies on top of an array of sensors; navigation is done by gliding around the touchscreen as usual, tapping to highlight items, but you have to press down to actually “click”; Guardian reviewer Richard Wray describes it as “the sort of physical click that any BlackBerry user will recognise from the trackball on previous devices.”
Engadget flag up the lack of hardware video acceleration, which is a shame given most reviewers are drooling uncontrollably over the 3.25-inch, 480 x 360 display and suggesting it would be ideal for mobile media and gaming. They also found it left panning around webpages choppy. Gizmodo, meanwhile, call it possibly “the best screen on the market”, but save a punch or two for RIM over the absent WiFi.
Some wondered if the BlackBerry OS could hold up to finger-scrutiny, but PhoneScoop seem to think RIM have nailed it. They compare it (favorably) to S60 Touch as seen on Nokia’s recent 5800 XpressMusic, heaping particular praise on the QWERTY keyboard – something the BlackBerry faithful will be very pleased to hear. Copy & Paste functionality – using the ClickThrough system – will likely be held over iPhone owners’ heads for some time to come.
In general, the news is good. RIM have made a solid handset – in all senses – and some go so far as to suggest it’s the best device Verizon have on offer.
14 Responses to “BlackBerry Storm review round-up”
DigDug October 8, 2008
I am out of contract with T-Mob, and VERY interested in the Storm, looks great. But my total monthly fee for TMob (including all taxes, fees, etc.) is $59 for a BB curve plan. The same plan on VZ (albeit with 100 more minutes) is $99 (not including fees). I dont think it is worth about $600 a year extra to switch. I had no idea VZ was so expensive!
+1Michael November 7, 2008
[quote comment="50922"]I am out of contract with T-Mob, and VERY interested in the Storm, looks great. But my total monthly fee for TMob (including all taxes, fees, etc.) is $59 for a BB curve plan. The same plan on VZ (albeit with 100 more minutes) is $99 (not including fees). I dont think it is worth about $600 a year extra to switch. I had no idea VZ was so expensive![/quote]
Yeah Verizon has never been all that cheap, but most people will say that it’s worth the extra money for the better network coverage and faster 3G data speed. I’m on AT&T and am also considering switching, but my AT&T coverage and 3G speed is pretty good, so it’s hard for me to justify it just for the Storm. I’m still considering.
Neutraljack November 16, 2008
i cant wait too get a blackberry
Neutraljon November 17, 2008
is the blackberry any good when it comes to texting? does it have qeury keyboard if u turn in to text?
NeutralBlackberry Just Reserved A Strom November 18, 2008
Yes the strom has a querty keyboard for any application just turn it thats were the accelerometer kicks in. a good choice for hard core texters or for anybody looking for a better iphone killer thats on the best network.
Neutraljon November 20, 2008
thank you! and one more ? b4 i hit the store i know i culd ask there but does any1 know if u get a blackberry w/ verizon do you have to get there data plan thats like 30 bucks a month. is that manditory?
NeutralRyanK November 21, 2008
Data service is needed to activate any Blackberry on VZW. Why buy a Corvette to let it sit in the garage…. It just makes no sense. If you want a phone for text get an EnV. If your going to spend the money on a full multimedia machine why not use it to its full capacity?
NeutralGareth November 24, 2008
That’s qwerty by the way, as in the first 6 letters on the keyboard. I should be getting one of these later on today, I’m in the uk, so will get it through vodafone with 600 minutes, unlimited text and data. Hope it’s as good as it seems!
NeutralSandy November 29, 2008
does the blackberry storm move slow at all? i was in the verizon store playing with one and it was really slow are they all like that?
NeutralEneinice December 1, 2008
Verizon is not cheap at all… My husband and myself were just with T-Mob and our coverage and plan was excellent, the only thing that made us switch (to AT&T) was the fact that T-Mob will extend your contract for every or any change you make to your plan. We needed new phones so bad and decided to get the iPhone, we considered everything before including the BB Storm and even though it is iPhone’s best competition at the moment it is not nearly as fast as the 3G iPhone. In addition to the fact that the BB Storm does not connect to Wi-Fi (any well technology oriented person knows what I am talking about). AT&T is great on 3G we have absolutely nothing to complain about it and the iPhone. I thought the BB Storm would be way better considering the fact that it had the iPhone to imitate but it still has a long way to get to that level. I have to say that what doesn’t help at all is the fact that although Verizon’s great coverage it is SOOOO expensive, I don’t think its worth it…
NeutralEneinice December 1, 2008
[quote comment="55414"]does the blackberry storm move slow at all? i was in the verizon store playing with one and it was really slow are they all like that?[/quote]
NeutralIt really is…
Eneinice December 1, 2008
[quote comment="54826"]thank you! and one more ? b4 i hit the store i know i culd ask there but does any1 know if u get a blackberry w/ verizon do you have to get there data plan thats like 30 bucks a month. is that manditory?[/quote]
NeutralThere is no point on getting a phone without the data…its like a PC without internet, its like not having a computer at all…
Eneinice December 1, 2008
[quote comment="54701"]Yes the strom has a querty keyboard for any application just turn it thats were the accelerometer kicks in. a good choice for hard core texters or for anybody looking for a better iphone killer thats on the best network.[/quote]
It isn’t a bad phone honestly but it is still not at the iPhone’s level…
NeutralWill December 26, 2008
I had an iphone and have recently switched to the storm, all the iphone has on the storm is wi-fi, everything else is better on the storm, with the storm you can use the bluetooth as an internet connection, I get 7.2 megabits per second which is fast enough for surfing and my apps, so you don’t need broadband, so there’s your solution, you get internet on your phone and laptop and or pc, so it is worth getting your data package, does the iphone do that, I didn’t think so, also look at the camera, you get a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, autofocus and video recorder, with the iphone you get a poxy 2 megapixel camera and you don’t even get video recording! And we all know blackberry is business so no need to go into e-mail or messaging, you also get apps for storing word, excel and powerpoint documents. Security is key and with the Iphone I got several viruses, with my storm I have had none on the same websites, moving on to the Apps stores, there might be 6000 apps on the iphone app store but the majority of them are irrellevent, who wants roxio on their phone?………….. There is more I could talk about but I have no time, this message took me only 5 mins to type on the landscape qwerty keyboard, happy about yourselves new iphone owners?……….. I don’t think so
Neutral