In a CNet interview, RIM founder and co-CEO, Mike Lazaridus, says, when asked if he considers netbooks competitors to the BlackBerry,
“No, I think I can put Netbooks in here [referring to the BlackBerry Storm]. These are netbooks. They are just smaller.“
Big Mike is not generally known for making just plain crazy and ludicrous assertions so we had to head over to Wikipedia to check out the definition of netbook before we chalked this comment up to too much time spent next to the hard eggnog bowl at the RIM holiday party.
I guess that if you ignore the first sentence of that definition where it says that “A netbook is a light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient, highly portable laptop…” , you only loosely apply the rest of the definition, and say it with an an extremely straight face to someone that has never seen a netbook or really knows all that much about current technology, you could get some to believe that the BlackBerry Storm is a netbook.
[Via SlashGear]
I guess if, by netbook, you mean extremely buggy piece of hardware with few applications to speak of, than by all means. I guess they rush all netbooks to market.
P.S. Before you flame me, please know I was the first in line to buy one at Circuit City, and am typing this post on a Storm.
As the immortal Rick James once said…”Cocaine is one hell of a drug”. I’m guessing Mike Lazaridus prefers crack.
With further support in the way of streamlining the firmware, a greatly expanded application library, and a more efficient browser including proper flash support he might not be too crazy. Let’s see what the do with it in the next couple months before we check him into the betty ford clinic.
I’m willing to cut Lazaridus some slack on this. Obviously, he knows it’s not the exact same form factor, but is comparing capabilities like web browsing and email.
He simply is pointing out what Steve Jobs has also said, which is that for many people they can do on a smartphone what they want to do on a netbook. That’s really the whole point.
I’ve seen people refer to the iPhone as a Mac in your pocket…now obviously we know the iPhone is not a full fledged Mac, but we also understand the broader point.
@D Train
I have seen many of your comments and it seems you just love to say bad things about the storm. You never miss an opportunity when a new post comes out. The storm from what I can tell has a good number of apps for a phone with no apps. store yet. I also reccomend that you return your phone and get a replacement because you honestly seem to have the most defective and messed up BB storm in existence when I go back and read your comments. My Black Berry storm is not buggy or glitchy at all and runs smooth. The only time i had problems with it was before the first update. After that everything has been fantastic. It does everything I want plus more (all the people I know who have this phone agree as well) The only thing it doesn’t have which people want is wifi which isnt a big deal because BB’s, no matter what carrier you buy them from, have a mandatory data plan which pretty much gives you internet all the time anywhere no matter what. Anyway, I wish you the best of luck with your “extremely buggy piece of hardware with few applications ” and hope it all works out for you in the end.
So is this the iPhone version of Blackberry?
Blackberry is always original. I know this will have and stand for its unique functions.
I don’t have a BB Storm but from all I read about it, I too could give Mike Lazaridus some slack for claiming the BlackBerry Storm is a ‘Netbook’. For a brief second think of the hardware only and separate the BB OS from it. If a state of the art OS was put on the Storm you would certainly have a handheld computer which could have equal or more power and be much more popular than just a “netbook”. I wouldn’t give Mike Lazaridus any slack for his claim if I didn’t know what kind of power handheld computers like the iPhone can really have. The only thing Mike Lazaridus might have been alittle reaching on is the BB Storm’s lack of wifi.
Whats most baffling is BB fans taking Mike to task on this. Psion coined the phrase “Netbook” back in 1999, compare the Psion of that time with the Storm and iPhones today. I think lots are getting confused thinking a “netbook” is only a small version of a laptop, not so.
@Walter. I would love to know where you’re getting these apps you speak of.
Here’s what I have:
1. YouTube player which makes it impossible to know who’s calling.
2. Google Maps which will not function with my Internal GPS.
3. AP Mobile News which works backwards because it was made for a trackball.
4. Weatherbug which works like a champ because its a glorified bookmark.
5. Even Visual Voicemail, which came with my phone, is either too loud or too quiet.
And I won’t go too into detail to describe how bad it sucks to make a phone call on this thing. Try talking for longer than 5 minutes without pushing the flash, mute, or speakerphone button because Storm doesn’t have a proximity sensor.
Walter I mean no disrespect. I assure you my phone isn’t any more defective than yours is. Go to Crackberry forums and see just how many people’s Storms are working “just fine”.
Its no secret that RIM put out a product that was less than perfect. And call me crazy, but when I spend $200+ on a cell phone, plus $130 per month to run it, I want perfection. This isn’t a charity they’re running, its a business.
I should have bought an iphone, but I didn’t because I was a BlackBerry fan. So yes, Walter, I love to bash the Storm. Its my new favorite thing to do, in fact, since the Storms favorite thing to do is annoy me.