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Thursday November 20, 2008
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My BlackBerry Storm review ended up a lot more lukewarm than I would have liked, because of one problem: bugs. RIM's on top of the situation, though. They told us that the BlackBerry Storm would get an over-the-air software update "within weeks" to improve several aspects of the device - and I look forward to re-rating the phone when it does.
BlackBerries used to be known for their absolutely bulletproof reliability - they never shipped with bugs. But I think that RIM has now bit off more than they can chew. First with the BlackBerry Bold (if the fiasco where Orange took it off the shelves is to be believed), then with the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, now with this device, they've let products out of the gate just a little bit - a few weeks - before they were 100% ready.
I have to believe that's connected to the forking RIM OS platform. For years, they generally ran all of their devices on one OS and one platform. The Curve, Pearl and 8800 are actually all pretty much the same thing, and their software moved in lockstep. But now RIM has three platforms running in parallel: 4.5, for their older models; 4.6, for the Bold and Flip; and 4.7, for the Storm. Do they just not have the staff to QA all of those at once?
Senior Editor Wendy Sheehan pointed out to me that she thinks her iPhone is as buggy as our Storm was - it's just that the iPhone's bugs didn't appear during the initial review period. That may be the case. I very much look forward to updating our review based on the new software build.
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November 20, 2008 9:48 AM
Did the RIM Rep say what bugs are addressed in the OTA software download?
November 20, 2008 10:28 AM
No, but I'm OK with that; he didn't want to over-promise. They're going to get to as much as they can.
November 21, 2008 2:39 PM
I just played around with it for 15 minutes and the only real problems that I saw were the transition from Portrait mode to Landscape mode and link clicking in the browser. It took ridiculously long to rotate and clicking the link you wanted to click was difficult at best.
November 23, 2008 12:25 AM
I experience the progblems as Vyktir, the Main problems is the transition from Portrait mode to Landscape mode and link clicking in the browser. the time period was close to unacceptable and I am considering going back to the Curve. I also experience difficult when clicking the link you wanted, the click was too long at time and difficult MAJORITY of the time. Good Phone, but the hype was higher that the service and performance. I hope the weeks will become days before an update is release. Two of my best friends turns thier phone in after only having it for less than thiry hours. that along states that there is a problem and it needed to be fixed yesterfay.
November 23, 2008 12:40 PM
They rolled this phone too early. The voice command does not sync to the contacts from outlook. In addition, when you try to use it another bug appears. ONE WAY communication. When you call someone, they can hear you, but you can't hear them. I spent several hours at Verizon and on the phone with tech support only to be told the only fix is to reboot by removing the battery and waiting the 2 to 3 minutes for the phone to come back. My phone crashes everytime I try to use the voice command. According to tech support this is a known bug that will be fixed in MID DECEMBER! That is ridiculous.
November 26, 2008 11:07 AM
I am having problems with associating pics and contacts.
I have 3 different contacts with the same picture. Whats up with that.
November 29, 2008 10:58 PM
Speed dial sometimes calls a number set for a different key (eg: I hold the "nine" key and get voicemail, which is associated with the "one" key). The transition from landscape to portrait, or vice versa, restarts the ringtone when a call is coming in, and negates any actions selected (such as answer or ignore). I'm hoping these problems will also be addressed.
December 4, 2008 2:21 PM
THe phone is very quirky and difficult to text with--having a lot of difficulty with the keyboards in the portrait position
and in the middle of composing a text the camera comes on--either full or half screen--very weird and basically unusable
December 11, 2008 5:17 AM
I have just recieved an unlocked Storm, and here are the bugs/ issues which I am having trouble with:
1- Screen scroll response time is very slow. Same with the accelerometer when turning from landscape to portrait views and vice-versa.
2- Sometimes the scrolling with the fingers is bizarre and it refuses to scroll when swiped, just returning to the same place on the list.
3- The accelerometer is very sensitive/ cracked out, on the home screen, swapping between landscape and portrait almost on a whim (albeit slowly).
4- The screen button's response time is a bit slow as well.
5- when changing location of the cursor for, say, correcting a mistake, I can not see where the cursor is ending up till I remove my (large) finger from the screen. It's a bit hit and miss! The iPhone's little offset magnification window is ideal for this problem!
6- Since it originally was a Vodafone unit, it shows Vodafone logos and the name all over the place. The unlocking doesn't make it conform to the other operators' details.
7- Still not photo attachment downloading!
8- Turning the Storm on, initially, takes FOREVER (well, not that long but still a pain in the wahzoo!)
9- Charging from a computer's USB slot is time consuming and I might be inclined to believe it doesn't work at all! It's just keeping it at the same level. Very different to the Curve (I had that previously) which took next to no time to get Juiced up!!
10- And, finally, the mini-USB is different to ALL the other models! It's not bad but why the heck wouldn't you keep them the same?? It just negates all my other wires and accessories for the mini-USB!!
It's a great looking and feeling piece once you get used to the tactile feedback screen (well spiffy!). It eats the email functionality for breakfast! (As usual!) It, of course, also has the "Whoa!" factor, which is quite satisfying! (I let a little of my inner voice outside just there... please pay no mind).
I intend to keep the Storm for the time being, and hopefully the bug fixes that were recently announced will do the trick! It still doesn't address the mini-USB port but hey, you gotta change with the times, right!?