BlackBerry Storm Reviews & Round Up
The BlackBerry Storm will officially be launched on Verizon Wireless tomorrow and tons of the top tech blogs are reporting their detailed reviews of the phone. We wanted to round up the top BlackBerry Storm reviews (seen below) and bring you a couple more details pertinent to the release.
Two extra tidbits that are worth noting:
- While initial stock levels were rumored to be aplenty, new information is suggesting that the BlackBerry Storm stock levels won’t be as generous as previously suggested and VZW corporate stores will get the numbers while BestBuy and others will come up on the short end of the stick. Read more at BGR.
- Google has launched Contacts Sync for BlackBerry so you can synch - both ways - all the data and contacts you have stored in your GMail account with your BlackBerry Storm… something that the G1 forces you to do. Read more at Google Mobile Blog.
And now onto the BlackBerry Storm reviews. Here are a bunch of great ones in no special order:
CNET Reviews the BlackBerryStorm
They give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars and say, “The RIM BlackBerry Storm may blow in a frenzy for Verizon Wireless subscribers wanting a touch screen similar to the Apple iPhone. However, die-hard texters, e-mailers, and corporate users may be better served with the BlackBerry Bold or other QWERTY device.”
Gizmodo Reviews the BlackBerry Storm
The title - Not Quite A Perfect Storm - concluding the innovative touchscreen isn’t enough to overcome some of its flaws and become the elite phone on the market. But it WILL have plenty of fans: “The Storm is a strong effort from RIM, but it’s not quite the killer phone that they or Verizon need it to be. It’s good—RIM clearly put a lot of thought into the design. But I think it fall short of what they were aiming for, and ultimately what all the hype is driving people to expect. Some of this is fixable: The damn thing needs to crash less often. But SurePress is not the end-all, be-all of touchscreen technologies—it’s not really an evolutionary step forward, even. The experience may be fairly refined, but more polish is still needed. Had this Storm been left to brew a bit longer, it would’ve been much more powerful.”
CrunchGear Reviews the BlackBerry Storm
Not an iPhone killer, but nevertheless a decent phone that should get plenty of normal phone enthusiasts excited about BlackBerry: “I won’t be ditching my Bold or iPhone 3G for the Storm, but if you’ve been waiting for it then I strongly encourage you to go to your local Verizon Wireless store and spend some time with it. I don’t think hardcore BlackBerry users will like it if you’re used to shortcuts and hot keys and hammering out text, but if you’re a casual user looking for a touch-screen device (which is the market RIM seems to be going after here) then go for it.”
Boy Genius Report Reviews the BlackBerry Storm
In perhaps the most glowing review, BGR says VZW customers would be crazy not to get the storm but questions whether people will/should switch carriers for the device: “Here’s our honest to god non-biased conclusion… this is the best phone to ever touch Verizon Wireless so far. If you’re a Verizon Wireless subscriber and a dumb phone won’t cut it, you’d be pretty air-headed to not pick this bad boy up above any other smartphone in Verizon’s lineup. It’s the “realest” touch screen Verizon has ever got. Not a piece of crap Voyager or Dare, but a real usable smartphone, depending on your needs.”
Walt Mossberg Reviews The BlackBerry Storm
WM from AllThingsD gave the Storm a spin and takes a very even, level headed approach to the review and conclusion: “Overall, the Storm is a very capable handheld computer that will appeal to BlackBerry users who have been pining for a touch-controlled device with a larger screen. And it offers yet another good option for anyone who is looking to buy one of the new, more powerful, pocket computers.”
Mobility Today 30-Minute Video Review
Wow… talk about covering it all… here it the most detailed and thorough video review you will find of the BlackBerry Storm on the web:
Vodafone Storm UK How To Videos
The CrackBerry Blog posted a series of videos about the Vodafone version of the BlackBerry Storm. They were first posted in the Vodafone Help Center but we’ve got to give CrackBerry the credit for digging them up.
Now take all this great knew knowledge instilled upon you and head over to the BlackBerry Storm Forum on MobileRoar to get all the conversation out of your system!
BlackBerry Storm Unboxed By One-Handed Brit
While Americans and Canadians will have to wait a little while longer to get their hands on the BlackBerry Storm from their respective carriers, one lucky British gentlemen got his Vodafone Storm unboxing on to share will all of the eager, curious and anxious future Storm owners:
The banter with his wife is quite funny and he charges on through the unboxing despite her shouting to start it over because he had messed up or something. Perhaps she could have… I don’t know… worked the Camcorder for him?
The whole unboxing is a bit unsteady since one hand is in the camcorder and the other…. tries…. slowly… but surely… to unbox… the Storm. I kind of enjoyed the suspense of the one-handedness, like watching a movie when you cheer on the hero.
Okay, perhaps that’s going a bit far. But still… nice to see a Storm unboxing vid.
BlackBerry Storm is FREE in the UK
As if Americans didn’t get shafted enough when it comes to getting Grade A phones (ahem Touch HD) even the ones we DO get can make for a bittersweet occassion. Whereas Verizon Wireless customers eagerly await the opportunity to pay $199.99 on a 2-year contract and after rebate for the beloved BlackBerry Storm, folks in the UK will get the phone for FREE and only have to commit to 18 months on Vodafone.
That’s a little something I like to call disappointing depressing completely shitty. Sure, they’re different markets and all but can someone explain the huge difference in this math? A $20, $30… even $50 or $75 difference we could understand but $200 difference in price?
Perhaps the folks at Verizon Wireless are just smart, knowing there are hoards of people lined up to shell out whatever cash is required to take the Storm home. As a LG Voyager owner who pre-ordered, I would have to pay full retail price on the Storm which amounts to… $TooMuch for me. I’d probably be willing to absorb a $300 loss at the most for the phone but… doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
Who else is feeling my pain?
[Via Vodafone]
BlackBerry Storm Video Review by T3
We couldn’t be more jealous of the folks at T3.com. True, we were able to play with the BlackBerry Storm a few weeks ago but THEY had the priveledge of making a video review for their audience. While we can’t bring you our own video review quite yet… all in good time… all in good time.
For now we’d like to present you with T3’s review of the device - and this is the Vodafone version - which you may have been able to figure out based on the pretty lil’ lady’s accent. Does that come with the phone? Enough already, lets see it in action:
We also get a quick look at the “App Center” which shows Facebook, Youtube, picture sharing websites and others. She admits that its not Android or anything… but it does open the boundaries and borders of what is possible on your phone a bit.
One last thing… the young lady reviewing the device says - on more than one occasion, “this is a really nice piece of kit.” I reckon we’ve never heard that before but can we get some confirmation on whether this is a local dialect type thing or personal style thing or what? Because if we can pull it off we might have to steal that. It sounds pretty good… sounds like a nice piece of kit.
That was all wrong. I was just dying to say it.
[Via T3]
BlackBerry Storm Priced, Dated & Rumored
We’re getting word in on the price and date of the BlackBerry Storm, something for which many, many Verizon fans have been patiently waiting. The winds are picking up and its only a matter of time before what’s brewing becomes what’s bangin.
Let’s start with the date: November 14th. At least thats the date that a Verizon insider tipped to Gizmodo. That date makes a lot of sense as it would coincide with changes to Verizon’s required data plan, something that all Storm owners would want… and now need.
The retail pricing after rebates and 2-year agreement discounts are still unknown but a BlackBerry Storm contest lists the prizes as (1) A BlackBerry Storm, (2) A $50 gift certificate for a total value of (3) $549 bucks. That means the BlackBerry Storm would be valued at $499 and after all those discounts you’ll be looking at a pretty competitive price.
Europeans shouldn’t be jealous at all as it seems a slimmed down GSM version of the BlackBerry Storm has just passed through the FCC and appears aimed at causing equal mischief abroad.
We’ve been following the BlackBerry Storm for a long time now. In fact, we were following it WAY before it was called the Storm… remember that Thunder name? And within just the past few weeks we had the joy of playing with the BlackBerry Storm ourselves.
Now we’re asking the Verizon and BlackBerry Storm fans to join us in our BlackBerry Storm Forum to get things rolling as one of the hottest handsets of the past few years is on the brink of doing a lot of damage to its mobile competitors!
BlackBerry Storm Video… Meh
When we saw there was a commercially produced promotional video for the BlackBerry Storm we got pretty hyped. How would they show, describe and illustrate the “touchscreen button”. Ummm… they pretty much wouldn’t.
For a device so hyped and a feature so unique, this promotional video passes as nothing more than elevator music. I’m not sure if its poor video quality or if the UI is laggy but it doesn’t look all that impressive, especially after playing with the G1 for the past week.
In this video, the BlackBerry Storm comes across as the first ever BlackBerry Touchscreen that should have come out with last year’s technology… and still not been cutting edge. I’m not hating on the Storm here but more the VIDEO. I mean, if you’re going to make a video for the Storm DO IT SOME JUSTICE.
Do people agree with me here or am I missing something. I just don’t get it… disappointed to say the least.
BlackBerry Storm: First Reviews
The cat is out of the bag - the BlackBerry Storm is now official… “for permanent real” as we like to say. How do we know? How about a joint Verizon/Vodafone press release, announcement video from Vodafone CMO, live info on Vodafone’s website and a handful of BlackBerry Storm Reviews from some of your favorite tech websites!
Lets go through the goods, step-by-step (NOTE: Visit the BlackBerry Storm Forum for more)!
Vodafone’s Chief Marketing Officer, Frank K. Rovekamp, announces the BlackBerry Storm:
Storm on Vodafone.com: http://blackberry.vodafone.co.uk/storm/
Storm Specifications PDF: http://blackberry.vodafone.co.uk/storm/bb_storm_tech_specification.pdf
BlackBerry Storm Reviews
It seems that Gizmodo, Wired and Engadget got their hands on the goods and we’ll overview each of the Website’s first impressions.
Gizmodo says that using the Storm for the first time is startling - in a very good way. The Storm’s full screen button is the first true touch screen innovation worthy of being dubbed “iPhone Killer” material… while its clumsily tossed around elsewhere, it is relevant here. Beautiful touchscreen, improved HTML browsing are huge pluses and no WiFi (for VZW) is one of the ONLY drawbacks. Read Gizmodo’s Full Review.
Wired.com also goes with the iPhone comparison saying The Storm, “gets closest of any device we’ve ever laid hands on. And in one critical area it — get ready for it — it actually beats the iPhone.” If you guessed the TouchScreen is that one critical area, you’re absolutely right. Its got connectivity around the world, cut-and-paste features and a 3.2MP camera to boot that works very well. One of the only downfalls mentioned? Its kind of heavy. Read Wired’s Full Review.
Engadget calls it, “a beast of a phone in more ways than one.” They were skeptical at first because of the phone’s “beefiness”, but its beautiful screen, excellent video playback helped win them over. It doesn’t hurt that the unique, ClickTouch touch screen, ” easily leaves traditional touchscreen typing… in the dust”. Read Engadget’s Full Review.
So there you have it: 3 reviews and 3 epic wins. Look for the BlackBerry Storm to be a real contender for your smart phone dollar come the holidays.
Last but not least, the Press Release:
BLACKBERRY TAKES THE WORLD BY STORM ON THE MOST RELIABLE NETWORKS IN EUROPE AND THE U.S.
Verizon Wireless, Vodafone and RIM Deliver the Power of a Smartphone with the World’s First Tactile Touch Display on a BlackBerry
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., NEWBURY, England, and WATERLOO, Ontario – Verizon Wireless, Vodafone Group (NYSE and LSE: VOD) and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that the BlackBerry® Storm™ will be available exclusively to Verizon Wireless customers in the U.S. and Vodafone customers in Europe, Australia and New Zealand next month.
Designed to appeal to both consumers and business customers, the BlackBerry Storm combines the powerful communication features and productivity tools of a global BlackBerry smartphone with revolutionary technology that provides for easy and precise touch screen typing on the world’s first tactile touch display that responds like a keyboard and combines multi-touch and gesture support for intuitive selection and application navigation.
In the U.S., BlackBerry Storm customers will benefit from the nation’s most reliable wireless voice network and the pervasiveness of Verizon Wireless’ reliable high-speed Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) network for rich Internet browsing. Building on the strong business heritage of BlackBerry, the Storm offers consumers a host of fun and practical features, including:
- Large high resolution screen coupled with a rich multi-media suite
- Text (SMS), picture messaging (MMS), the ability to watch 30-second video clips, instant messaging and access to popular social networking sites
- Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery that provides approximately 5.5 hours of talk time and 15 days of standby time.
“The BlackBerry Storm offers our customers more ways to stay connected to both their personal and professional lives – whether in their community or around the globe,” said Mike Lanman, vice president and chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless. “The BlackBerry Storm combines the reliability of our network with the dependability and network efficiency of the BlackBerry platform to deliver our customers the ultimate wireless experience – all in one of the coolest smartphones available on the market today.”
The Power is in The Touch
The BlackBerry Storm comes with a unique touch screen that gives a distinct ‘click’ confirmation when depressed ever so slightly, very similar in experience to a keyboard-based BlackBerry smartphone. An easy to use menu adds support for multi-touches, taps, slides, swipes and other gestures, so customers can easily select, scroll, pan, and zoom for smooth navigation.
The tactile touch screen display gives customers worldwide a choice of virtual keyboards – RIM’s SureType® layout in portrait and a full QWERTY* layout in landscape orientation. Relevant features such as cut and paste are only a touch away for the ultimate smartphone experience.World Class Smartphone
The BlackBerry Storm is a top of the line mobile phone with global connectivity. In the U.S., the BlackBerry Storm gives Verizon Wireless customers EV-DO Rev. A/CDMA – technology – and (2100Mhz) HSPA/UMTS as well as quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM for global use. The BlackBerry Storm 9500 from Vodafone supports (2100Mhz) HSPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks.Browse the World Over
Customers will enjoy a full HTML high performance browser that works in either portrait or landscape orientation. Navigating Web sites is fast and easy with the touch screen interface that lets users tap to zoom in and slide their finger to scroll. Icons along the bottom of the display allow for quickly accessing “Favorites”, opening the virtual keyboard to enter text, switching between “Page View” and “Column View”, as well as the ability to toggle between “Pan” mode and “Cursor” mode. The enhanced browser supports file downloading, streaming audio and video, and with its built-in RSS support, new content from supported Web sites can be automatically pushed to the user.Packed with Additional Features
The BlackBerry Storm, exclusively from Verizon Wireless and Vodafone, also includes the following features and functions:
- BlackBerry® Internet Service, BlackBerry® Unite!, BlackBerry® Professional Software and BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support for seamless integration with corporate email systems and the security and IT policy controls that enterprise customers require
- Edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
- 3.2 megapixel camera, with variable zoom, auto focus, and a powerful flash that also provides continuous lighting when recording video; the camera records video in half-VGA resolution (480×320) or at 176×144 for MMS
- 1 GB of on board memory storage and 8 GB microSD memory card included in expandable memory card slot
- Media player that can find content on the handset in an instant, display pictures and slideshows quickly, play movies smoothly in full screen mode in any orientation, and manage an entire music collection; playlists can be created directly on the handset and there’s an equalizer with 11 preset filters – including “Lounge”, “Jazz” and “Hip Hop” – for customized audio ranges when using wired headphones or external speakers
- Sleek, elegant design with contoured corners, stainless steel back and chrome side-accents that frame its large (3.26”), touch sensitive, glass lens display; its exceptional 360 x 480 resolution at 184ppi, offering the highest resolution display ever introduced on a BlackBerry smartphone, is crisp and colorful with clarity that’s easy on the eyes
- A sensor automatically adjusts to ambient light for ideal screen viewing and an orientation sensor allows customers to use the handset in a portrait or landscape position
BlackBerry Storm Promo Video
The folks at BlackBerry aren’t very good at keeping a lid on it… we’re not sure what the circumstances were surrounding the showing of this BlackBerry Storm promotional video in Italy but we’d love to know more. Some gracious chap stuck his arm in the air and filmed the entire movie premierish showing for us:
Man this thing is looking better and better everyday and I keep asking myself the question… is there any possible way I can afford the Storm with a 2 year Verizon Contract AND the T-Mobile G1 with a 2 year T-mobile contract?
Because I want both. Really bad. I mean…. REALLY bad!
BlackBerry Storm/Thunder Updates
With all the latest T-Mobile G1 slash Android news we’ve seem to let some juicy BlackBerry Storm/Thunder updates fall through the cracks. So, we’ve got a bunch of info to chew on:
BlackBerry Storm Internal Doc/Specs
Engadget got their hands on an internal document that shows off some of the BB Storm’s cool features and it also gives us more solid information about the specs. There is a 12 page PowerPoint document that includes much more… you can leaf through it at EngadgetMobile.
- 3.25-inch WITH 480 x 360 display (putting it slightly above the Bold)
- EV-DO Rev. A
- Quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE
- 2100MHz UMTS/HSPA
- 1GB onboard memory
- Full QWERTY (landscape) and Suretype Input (portrait)
- High Capacity microSD slot
- 3.2 MP camera with auto-focus, flash, and 2X Zoom
- Blackberry Device Software 4.7
- OTA Software Loading
- HTML Browser with support for attachment downloads and video streaming (via RTSP)
- Editing of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents
- Standalone and aGPS (does that mean, GASP, GPS is unlocked?)
- Blackberry Media Sync (non-DRM iTunes media sync)
- Visual Voicemail (available post-launch, bummer!)
- Built-In Facebook/Flikr Support
- Built-In IM support for Yahoo, Google, AOL, and Windows Messenger
- Access to services such as BroadbandAccess, VZ navigator, VCast Music and Video, and VCast MobileTV
AT&T Disses BlackBerry Storm
At least they were courteous enough to say it behind the Storm’s back and not in front of her face. AT&T has sent out an internal info sheet that drops bombs on the Storm and explaining why the iPhone is a billion times better. Below are the reasons (from BGR) and the document in all its jpeg glory:
- The Storm doesn’t have multi-touch
- There’s no Wi-Fi
- The Storm doesn’t have an App Store
- Stormy Storm doesn’t have tri-band HSDPA
- The browser sucks on the Storm
- No iTunes action (movies, music, etc.)
GSM Only & GSM/CDMA Versions
Apparently the Storm will have two variants - a GSM Only model and a GSM/CDMA version that will likely be split between Verizon/Bell in the States and Vodafone in Europe. These were captured by tipsters over at BlackBerryNews
BlackBerry Thunder, BlackBerry Storm Both Brewing
You probably know that BlackBerry’s first every touchscreen device is coming very soon and has long been rumored to be named the Thunder. You may also know that a little online spat between two popular tech blogs pitted the name Thunder against the name Storm… both claimed to have incredibly reliable sources saying their version was the “right” name. Well… they’re both right.
The BlackBerry Storm will be a Verizon Wireless exclusive in the United States while the BlackBerry Thunder will head to Vodafone in Europe and Rogers in Canada shortly after. Oh yeah… they’ll be the EXACT SAME DEVICE! Don’t take our word for it… read the actual packaging that some snooping chap got his hands on:
We’ve had our BlackBerry Thunder Forum running for some time now so thanks a lot RIM for completely complicating things. Just call them both the Thunder, we beg of you!
By the way, do you remember that Verizon and Vodafone were supposed to be lifetime exclusives of sorts? How did Rogers sneak in on there? Rogers probably courted their Canadian brothers over a nice cold Molson and called it a day. Its not like Verizon or Vodafone operate in Canada so no harm, no foul. Where else could the Thunder/Storm pop up?
We’ll keep an eye out for you.
[Via Engadget]
HTC Touch Pro Unboxed
The HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro were… at first… announced to disappointment - everyone was hoping for an Android Phone. But when the dust/disappointment settled, folks realized the phone was nothing short of a Gem… err… Diamond…
The Touch Diamond is now available in the UK for the small price of about 500 pounds. That is, for Americans, almost $1,000. Thats without a 2 year contract but still… are you kidding? Take a look at the unboxing below:
The phone looks quite wonderful, but with all the MUCH more affordable alternatives out there and with a ridiculous amount of sick phones on the way you’ve got to be wondering how many people will actually snap up this phone at such an outrageous price.
Let us know if you get it! If there is enough interest (read: enough lunatics buy it) we’ll start up forums dedicated to it on our Phone Forums - let us know!
[Via TracyAndMatt, Engadget]
Nokia Tube Resurfaces
Remember those rumors of a touch screen Nokia handset we heard about a few months back called the Nokia Tube?
Apparently the iPhone 3G announcement and nearby Samsung Instinct launch have awoken the Tube from its slumber, along with a couple other Nokia handsets (N79, N85). With the premiere N-Series phone - the N96 - already lined up, we’re not so much infatuated with the N79 and N85 scoops.
But this Nokia Tube thing… we want more. Here are a few new pictures of what is claimed to be the Nokia Tube:
A couple things that are noteworthy in the pics:
- The Stylus! When your fingers aren’t precise enough, I guess you’re supposed to use this. Wired.com points out that stylus’ are pretty much pointless, but we’d have to strongly disagree. Handwriting anybody? Doodling on photos? Come on… the new mobile apps coming out could put this to GREAT use.
- Vodafone branded, so it will likely come out on Vodafone in Europe first… and HOPEFULLY it will make its way to the states. But since we don’t even know if the phone is real yet, thats jumping to conclusions a bit.
- Fits into the XpressMedia line of Nokia Phones (although not illustrated in the pictures, it is thought to be the Nokia 5800)
- The back side of the phone shows the Carl Zeiss branded 3.2 MP camera, which lends itself to other released info leaks pointing to the Nokia Tube.
The Nokia Tube! Sounds cheesy at first… but it could grow on us. Plus, you could call it the Nokia Junk or Nokia Garbage- as long as the phone kicks butt we don’t really care.
By the way, these pictures were dug up from a Flickr Photostream from an account that has since been deleted. We’re not sure what that says about the authenticity of the pics and rumors, but we thought we’d let you know!
[Via TalkAboutNSeries & Crave]