Note this is a
DBP
So 5+ of my friends asked me "
How is the Storm?* Do you love it?*" so instead of giving my opinion I promised them by Monday night I will have an 'in depth' review of the
the Blackberry Touch Phone First Blackberry Touch Smart Phone.
FYI: This review is based off my
Verizon Blackberry Storm 9530
- Firmware Version: 4.7.0.65
- BIS (Blackberry Internet Service)
- Model: RBW71CW
- Purchase/Activation Date: 11-22-08
Pros:
- The physical device looks sleek
- The theme is great eye candy which to me is a plus because I hate ugly stretched
16 16/32 bit icons
- Non crippled GPS
- 8 GB Micro SD card, SIM card & International Power Adapter Clips Included
- GSM Capable for International use
- Great Camera quality with:
- Image Stabilization
- White Balance
- Color Effects (Filters)
- Black and White*
- Sepia*
- Whiteboard*
- Geotagging
- If you have a Gmail account you can sync your calendar and CONTACTS (new) [I believe you can do this on all other BB devices with OS 4.2+]
Cons:
- Micro USB adapter for charging & Data transfer (Throw away all your mini USB chargers...)
- Browser is very quirky (Example TBA)
- Scrolling up and down is choppy (Example TBA)
- Camera takes pictures sideways (Example TBA)
- Accelerometer is slow to respond and buggy (Example TBA)
- No WiFi (3G is pretty fast but only when you have 4-5 bars)
- Some 3rd party applications do not work. So far I discovered the following
Annoyances:
- Preloaded with applications that might not appeal to all Blackberry users need (a simple icon link would be fine)
- Visual Voice Mail: $2.99 / Month (Included with iPhone)
- To edit Word, Excel documents you have to upgrade to Docs2Go Premium (Included in Palm)
- VZ Navigator $9.99 / Month
- No option to turn off fade transitions between actions - Example: Snoozing/Dismissing an Alert (Correct me if I'm wrong in the comments)
- Mail in Rebate (I know I'm lazy)
- Can't lock the screen if you have a Password (If you hold lock, it locks the entire device...Am I wrong? Please comment below...)
Tips:
- Remove Unnecessary Applications
- Click the Options Icon
- Select and Press Advanced Options
- Select and Press Applications
- Search/Select the Application you want to remove and hit the BlackBerry Menu Button
- Select and Press Delete
- Switch on GPS
- Click the Options Icon
- Click Advanced Options
- Select and Press GPS
- The Second Option 'GPS Services' Select and Press 'E911 Only' and change it to 'Location On'
- Change your Clock Face (When Charging) from Analog
- Select and Press the Clock Icon
- The first Option 'Clock Face'
- Select and Press 1 of the 3:
- Digital
- Flip Clock
- LCD Digital
All in all the Phone is pretty cool. I predict that in the next two months the Firmware will be patched and the overall performance will be significantly better. If you are on Sprint, ATT, T-mobile be patient, this is just the first BB touch device, there will be new and improved Touch screen BB's in the first half of next year (I'm guessing). I don't feel it is worth breaking your contract to switch to Verizon. In my opinion, The BlackBerry Storm as of now is in Beta.
What would be cool is if Blackberry teams up with
SWYPE (
http://www.swypeinc.com/) for Text input...
Links:*
I will update this Post (Pictures, Links, Corrections) ASAP. Don't forget to leave your $.02 below! Thanks
Legend:
- * = Updated 11-24-08 after 4:00pm
- * = Updated 11-25-08
- * = Updated 12-01-08
