It's rare that I get to spend three weeks with one phone, but I thought the BlackBerry Storm would be worth it. The Storm is one of the biggest releases of the year, and it's probably the most innovative thing out there at the moment - its "click screen" is as revolutionary as the two-button mouse. But the Storm got pretty weak reviews from almost everyone, me included, because of its many bugs.
So I used the Storm on the road for a few weeks, during which time it got its first major software update, from version .65 to .75. The update fixed some issues and made the phone, overall, more stable and faster to use. But the software update didn't fix all the problems. I'm still getting "SIM Card Invalid" messages, for instance; the accelerometer is still quirkier than I'd like, and Lance Ulanoff ran into the annoying bug which launches the camera while you're trying to write a new email. It's really unacceptable for devices to be released with bugs like that.
I still love the Storm's click screen. I hate typing on touch screens. I hate typing on the iPhone; my brain wants buttons that feel like they've been pressed. The Storm has the only touch screen that actually feels like a button, because it is a button. For people who assume everything should work like the iPhone, the Storm's two levels of touch - touch and click - are horribly aggravating. But I loved that feature from the very start; the ability to highlight and select things without committing to them.
I'm also pretty comfortable with the Storm's UI in general. Flick, click, tap, whatever; it's working smoothly. The major challenge seems to be in the Web browser, where sometimes it's much too hard to click on DHTML buttons or figure out how to move the cursor in a text box. Way too many of the complaints about the Storm's UI have been "but it doesn't work just like the iPhone," which I don't find very valid. It works - just not the way the iPhone does.
After a few weeks, I'm just as fast and accurate on the click screen as I would be on an iPhone. But that was a painful few weeks, mostly because of some odd choices made by RIM with their virtual QWERTY keyboard. It really expects that you'll be hitting keys on the left side of the screen with your left thumb, and keys on the right side of the screen with your right. And I'm still even faster on a Bold or a Curve.
The Storm also makes a very good music and video player - a great traveling companion. I watched hours of television on the Storm during several plane flights, and it was faithful and didn't crash.
And I don't want to underestimate the Storm's appeal for Verizon customers who travel abroad. Verizon doesn't have a lot of good solutions for people who roam to Europe and other GSM zones; the Storm seems like the best.
The Storm makes great phone calls, but there's something gummy about the phone app, even after several weeks and a software update. Sometimes when the phone rings, you're not quite sure if you've picked up the call.
I'm really disappointed in the Storm's lousy support for third-party BlackBerry apps. Basically, almost anything that isn't written specifically for the Storm doesn't work. This comes just as BlackBerry is taking off as a software development platform, and it's a major minus for the device.
Ultimately, I'm coming around to a "you can put up with it" conclusion about the Storm. For non-techies on Verizon, I'll still be recommending the Curve, sadly enough. But I'm okay with people buying the Storm if they know about the learning curve - no pun intended - they're climbing on to. All of this makes me wish RIM produced more models of the Bold, their best device so far.
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December 12, 2008 6:28 PM
I have also had the storm for 3 weeks and this review is SPOT ON!
December 12, 2008 7:46 PM
I have had mine for a week and both of these reviews are full of sh*t
December 12, 2008 8:21 PM
My learning curve was only 1 day. And oh yes, it was frustrating, because no one (including me) wants to read any manual for "basic" operation instructions. The "intuitive" features I wanted to know straight out of the box were consistently getting to the soft keyboard, and the zoom + and - for internet browsing. The problem is sometimes I would see the zoom + and - menu bar at the bottom of the screen, sometimes I would not, and sometimes I could display the keyboard with a smooth right thumb arc swipe at the lower right corner of the screen. These "intuitive" features seemed impossible to get when I wanted to use them. Well duh, the solution is simple: just a light tap (found "accidentally") will produce the zoom + and -, and keyboard bottom screen menu bar. Once I got this down pat, I fell in love with the Blackberry Storm! (I received the phone with the first firmware upgrade already installed.)
Internet browsing is sweet (no more iPhone envy from me ;) ) I have cut and paste from a webpage to an email! (Brilliant!) For sure, the iPhone has a bit more elegance, but the Storm is blazing it's own path, and I am not leaving the Verizon network. Now I have a smartphone (a really smartphone) that has cured my iPhone envy. Good job RIM. The initial bashing of the Storm was just a tempest in teapot (I read many negative reviews; I just receive my Storm 2 days ago.) Forgive them for the they know not what they say.
December 12, 2008 9:40 PM
Seriously? First, I swear by RIM products, but really liked the idea of the iPhone. Very cool product. When RIM announced the Storm I nearly wet myself... ok, maybe not, but I was excited. It does have it's quirks but I use mine. I use mine a lot. You get used to the minor things because you are a techie and not a journalist. I'm not looking for problems, just cool features on a phone. The storm has them. Well done RIM!
December 12, 2008 10:25 PM
I've had my storm since 11/21 and I was lucky enough to not really have many Issues. As far as the sim card not valid you can either have it activated by verizon if you're going to travel. You can also change it from having it choose between global and 1xev and it will take care of the problem. Go to options scroll down to mobile networks. change network technology from global to 1xev. After using it for a couple hours I had no issues with the keyboard.
December 15, 2008 6:02 PM
Interesting. I really wish I had the time to play with it, since I'm a verizon subscriber who finds himself regularly considering opening an account with AT&T and paying an extra $70 a month just to have the iPhone. This could be the phone that could make me stick with Verizon - either this or the HTC Touch Pro, which looks pretty slick even if it is Windows Mobile (yick) under the hood.
In any event, I'm glad to see a lot of the intiial kinks that have turned people off of the phone work themselves out over time, but I think the last thing anyone wants is a phone where the best they can do is put up with it...
December 16, 2008 12:46 PM
I've had my Storm for about three weeks and I love it! I did have some trouble before the .75 upgrade, but since then, it's been great. Thanks for the tip above about the Sim Card reject message. I changed the setting from Global and it's gone now. The only beef I have had is with the BB Desktop Manager, which seems to be a reskin of another similar sync program I've used before. I had some issues with the software crashing on sync, but I think I have that sorted out as well.
December 16, 2008 3:19 PM
I used the phone for around 3 weeks, But loved it only after the updates. The updates solves my of the problems i was facing with the phone.
December 18, 2008 4:37 PM
With RIM currently providing 20 emulators in the SDK for testing against the various platforms and screen sizes they support, it is no wonder that there is a dearth of software available on the BB platform - it is just way, way too expensive to develop and test product for, if you want sales. The iPhone approach of one standard deployment platform, and an excellent development environment to go with, is the reason that over 10,000 apps - some real junk - exist in that world.
The complaints about the Storm usability is kinda like Windows people reviewing a Mac - it doesn't work just like Windows so it must be bad.
December 18, 2008 5:45 PM
The Storm is my first smartphone and I just love it. Here are my thoughts.
1. I was surprised on how it easy it was to use.
2. It froze on me just twice.
3. I can view and edit Excel and Word documents. No need to buy or download software to do that (unless if I want to create documents).
4. No problems with using the keyboard. I must admit, if I was emailing all day from my phone I would prefer a phone with a physical keyboard.
5. Sure there are hardly any apps there, but I am sure by March there will be plenty.