When the BlackBerry Storm first made its debut last fall it got, deservedly so, an awful lot of bad press. The OS that shipped completely didn’t work and the first official update was barely tolerable. Since, however, the latest official update for the BlackBerry Storm was released, we really haven’t heard much bad news about the BlackBerry Storm.
Sure, you will find a vocal few who will tell you how bad the Storm still is and how it can’t compete with the iPhone, but, if you can get used to the keyboard, the Storm really isn’t all that bad a device.
In Consumer Reports latest smartphone survey, the iPhone 3Gs came out on top with a rating of 73 out of a possible 100 points. With all of the bad press that the Storm has received you may have thought that it would have been trounced by the iPhone, however, it had a respectable showing with respect to the iPhone with a total of 69 points.
There are still a lot of improvements that can be made to the BlackBerry Storm and we hope that we see them soon once BlackBerry OS 5 for the Storm comes out, however, the BlackBerry Storm right now, with OS 4.7.0.148, may be a better than a lot of people think.
I agree with you Robb that the OS for the Storm was clearly not ready for prime time when it was released and that is what caused me to return it after two weeks. Also, the device was a bit heavy too. I felt like I was carry a weight on my belt. The biggest problem was the OS. Almost once every day, or every other day, I would be using the phone (even doing something as simple as sending a text message) and the device would crash and reboot…. and the Storm is very slow at rebooting.
I love RIM and was hoping for more from the Storm. Hopefully their next Touchscreen offering is a lot better than the first. I do wish they would come out with products a bit quicker for the CDMA carriers (and have WiFi too), but clearly the Storm was a “rush to market product” that was not ready to be released and someone should have realized that.
One MAJOR improvement RIM should consider throughout the entire product line, the option to buy BB’s direct, unbranded and unlocked, of course for a higher unsubsidized price.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/03/unlocking.cellphones/index.html
“The biggest benefit of an unlocked phone is that users can simply pop in SIM card to get service. And unlike GSM phones bought through U.S. operators, these phones don’t require a special unlock code to be able to swap SIM cards.”
“Another big benefit of buying an unlocked phone is that all the features that the manufacturer has included on the phone will work. U.S. cell phone carriers sometimes disable some functionality on phones that they sell (aka verizoned). And with many phones, they often integrate their own software and branding onto the phone.”
“Congress and the Federal Communications Commission are already investigating exclusive deals made between wireless carriers and handset makers. And some officials are even questioning the carrier practice of disabling certain features.”
Give the Storm OS and hardware control back to RIM, add back WiFi, give the option of direct sales from RIM, unbranded and unlocked, of course for a higher unsubsidized price and magically the Storm has something on the iPhone. Still have questions that the Storm was delivered as much less than what we expect from RIM just because it was “rushed” still think much of the Storm’s problems are due to carrier demands and carrier firmware “fixes” in the never ending game of keeping it’s customers locked in it’s walled garden. Even today carrier support of the Storm has been a complete waste, one need not even think past why timely updates were not passed on to see carrier control of hardware and software is not in RIM’s nor anyone else’s best interest.
Picked up a Storm a couple of months ago and it’s been good to me. Most of the bad press and reviews are from the first batch of last year. People really need to get a grip and try this phone out.
It may not be for everyone but neither is the iPhone.
We were personally blown away that the Storm operates on both CDMA and GSM wireless radios, which would give RIM the flexibility to push the device with any carrier in the US (and most carriers worldwide).
http://www.sensobi.com/blog/2009/05/blackberry-storms-hidden-secret/
It’s too bad that RIM screwed up so badly with the initial Storm launch. In fact, here’s some hard data: less than 2% of BlackBerry users who have asked about our beta are Storm users (versus roughly 50% Curve).
Now all RIM needs to do is nail the Storm2 and then go to market fast. 🙂
Proof is in the pudding.
I owned one for a very painful 29 days.
The OS is buggy.
The interface is clunky and gets in the way of productive use.
The device was rushed to market for the sake of something other than the benefit of RIM’s customers.
The device is an abject failure on all fronts except aesthetic design. Anything else is just apologist rhetoric.
I hope RIM learns from this.
The touch screen was to bring in a new audience and create a fresh look. This is obviously a future RIM will continue to develop.
However, this is why we are so grateful that qwerty keyboards are so mastered by RIM for us texters and e-mailers.
The touch screen is cool and I have the touch for my pc but when it comes down to sending a quick e-mail out or mass text of where to get drinks…..i’m sorry i am forever a keyboard guy.
But I am very very surprised about the rating of 69 out of 100. That really isn’t too far behind the iPhone, which as any apple lover will say is faaaaaaaar superior because of its platform. So superior that people use it to play games and have ants screen saver.
It just goes to show that function and PURPOSE does go pretty far.
The Storm will be an interesting model to keep an eye out over the years to see what RIM will do with the technology and how they can bring something new to the world.
RIM recommended the Bold as the best to compare to an iPhone? Why? RIM needs to go full speed with more advance technologies.
http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobilize/deathmatch-rematch-blackberry-versus-iphone-30-843
I agree Blackberry Storm and the the best phone I ever had! I hap iPhone, Nokia phones, samsung, SE, Motorola, and LG phone, but BlackBerry Storm stands out!