The BlackBerry Storm promised so much and delivered so little when it was released. The marketing machines at RIM and some network operators promoted it like it was the second coming and all the while an unfinished operating system was waiting to be delivered to the public. It was a disaster, and one which no doubt put many people off buying BlackBerry products in the future.
The network operators have wound down their marketing of the Storm and now treat like any other phone, but the irony is that with all the software updates it has become a smartphone worthy of much attention. Over the past week I have been playing with a Storm and tried every manner of usage to see how good it is now and I feel that RIM missed a trick by not waiting a month or so before releasing it.
Let’s look at the positive aspects first-
The battery is good and despite the large screen has easily got me through 2 days heavy usage without issue. I am sure that 3 is easily possible.
The screen works well indoors and out and video playback is as good as I have seen on any device so far.
Music quality is excellent and as an entertainment device it performs admirably.
PIM is of course very good indeed. It is still the best in the business in my opinion.
Voice quality and signal strength are superb.
General performance is fast and I have suffered no slow downs with the latest build.
Now for the negative aspects-
Data entry is all I can really think of. It does take a while to get used to and the clickscreen, which has been written about in millions of digital column inches, is not ideal. However, I am still quicker with it than with the iPhone so all is not lost.
The build quality concerns me and the gaps around the screen look like perfect areas to let in dust.
When you look at the list above, the Storm scores very highly and there is little wrong with it from a software or hardware point of view. The lack of third party software is an issue, but only if you compare it to the likes of Windows Mobile and the iPhone. The major areas are covered well by the likes of Ascendo Money in the finance sector and eReader for eBooks so there is little you could want unless you are a serious gamer.
In practice it is one of the best smartphones that I have used to date and in my view gives the iPhone and the latest HTC device a run for their money in many areas. It’s not perfect, but then again what is?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the Storm omit Wireless (802.11a/b/g/n or any variant thereof)? Certainly here in Australia that is the case, as it is in the US.Is this not a HUGE omission for a current day smartphone? I remember a time when you used to complain about the lack of wireless on the Palm smartphones. Back then you could justify it by the slow processors, lack of battery longevity etc but no more. Without wireless you’re gimped into using the mobile network no matter what for your data.
I agree- the Wi-Fi is an issue indeed, but besides that it is pretty good- honest!:)
I had a bit of a play with the BlackBerry Storm today and the UI is still an unresponsive and annoying dog’s breakfast. Sorry, Shaun, but I think it’s a terrible device and nowhere near in the same league as the iPhone 3GS or something like the Hero.