Yet more firmware leaks for the BlackBerry Storm, and it’s looking like the only way to get a really stable, usable smartphone is to update it unofficially. Version 4.7.0.90 will play nicely with both the Verizon Storm 9500 and the Vodafone Storm 9530, and reportedly brings with it increased stability, faster screen transitions and a new, full keyboard in portrait view.
When your product is faced with competition you can either convince people the rivals aren’t worth it, or that they’re not really rivals at all. The slightly trickier latter route is that taken by RIM founder and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, when CNET Asia asked him what threat he perceived to the BlackBerry range from netbooks. According to Lazaridis, handsets like the BlackBerry Storm are in fact netbooks; they’re just smaller.
A further unofficial firmware for the BlackBerry Storm has leaked, with those brave enough to install the software onto their smartphones reporting further improvements in accelerometer screen rotation and typing responsiveness. Firmware version 4.7.0.85 is tipped as the next official release from Verizon Wireless, who haven’t issued an update since the end of November.
If your BlackBerry Storm is still misbehaving then you might want to treat it to another dose of leaked firmware. This time around it’s version 4.7.0.83 and comes courtesy of the Crackberry forums. Preliminary changes seem to suggest that the handset responds faster, with both applications loading and closing faster and the on-screen keyboard doing a better job of keeping up with typing. Browser rendering is also reportedly faster, with one user suggesting that some sites loaded in a third of the time they used to.
Video demo and more first impressions after the cut
Verizon’s BlackBerry Storm launch was something of a success for the carrier: after all, they managed to sell out of the touchscreen RIM smartphone. One thing I don’t remember seeing in the official coverage, however, was Peek’s tongue-in-cheek demonstration outside one Manhattan Verizon Wireless store: people dressed in prisoners’ uniforms, chained to giant Storms, protesting against two-year contracts.
Video of the Peek protest after the cut
Vodafone Germany have released an update for European users of the BlackBerry Storm 9500, four days after Verizon Wireless pushed out a similar update for the 9530 in the US. Taking the GSM version of the Storm to firmware v4.7.0.78, it apparently addresses accelerometer lag and touchscreen accuracy.
Verizon’s 4.7.0.75 OS for the BlackBerry Storm is only just out, and already the sequel has made an appearance. Version 4.7.0.76 may only be a single point update on the current official release, but according to the BGR it makes a whole lot of difference. Screen rotation smoothness and battery life both get a much-needed boost, and the whole smartphone sounds much more responsive.
It’s been a shorter working week what with Thanksgiving on Thursday, and much of the gadget news has been around what offers, bargains and discounts were on offer at cash-strapped retailers. SlashGear has done its bit to ease your present picking pickle, with the 2008 Holiday Gift Guide. We’ve also had reviews of Sony’s VAIO LV and VAIO RT all-in-one PCs; will you be lucky enough to find one of these monster media machines under your tree next month?
The BlackBerry Storm has just received the first of the two promised updates, however this update is not available to just anyone. OS 4.7.0.107 (Application Version .75) is only available to BES users and must be pushed out by the BES Network Administrator.
A member of Howard Forums is claiming to have unlocked his Verizon BlackBerry Storm for use on T-Mobile’s GSM network. The process involved sourcing a SIM unlock code from Verizon themselves, then updating the handset’s service books with software intended for the BlackBerry Bold.
SlashGear Japan
