BlackBerry Storm 9530
Phone Scoop Review
Nov 20, 2008 by Eric M. Zeman
RIM's first touch-screen BlackBerry finally hits the market. Find out if RIM's Storm lives up to the hype. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
good but not great!!!
i purchased my blackberry storm on the 22nd and right from the get go i noticed that every screen or menu used the accelerometer- when the phone is locked or at the main menu, i found this to be really "annoying" there is no reason for the phone to read the accelerometer when its locked it slows down the entire operating system. other than that i found the device to be amazing browser, texting, "click through", all works just as i thought it would but the OS definitely needs an update.
Don't Storm To Destroy The Storm
I'm an LG lover, I just recently had the Dare, but decided that I wanted to try something new in the Storm. I must say that I am impressed, yet disappointed. RIM did do an overall good job on this phone, there's no doubt about it, but they did an overall horrible job on the software. The phone does offer alot of lag and freezing, but this is only the first software version. Alot of people say the typing makes their thumbs hurt, while I can say it slows down speed, why would your thumbs hurt if you are essential just pressing a big button ass you would press little buttons on a normal BlackBerry. The solution to this problem is to just use the tips of your thumbs instead of the tops or nails, so that you don't position your thumbs ackwardly. The media player is great, although I see to have problems with it pulling up the controls. Sometimes, when I try to click in a box on the internet to get it where I can type, it will just expand the image, which can be quite frustrating if done repeatedly. But Overall, here are my pros and cons:
Pros:
Beautiful Display
Nice Camera that records video (3.2 MP)
Touch Click
Media Player that plays more than 3GP format files
Custom Ringtones without having to figure out how the hell to get them on the phone
Email integration
Menus look great
Removable Memory that was supplied (8GB) and Internal memory (1GB)
Lots of Security Features
Multitasking (Playing music while texting or online)
Very user friendly (First time BB owner)
Cons:
Lags horribly, and can sometimes freeze for minutes at a time (can't get calls)
One Alarm Clock! (All the features in the world, but only one alarm clock??? Come on RIM)
Media player hesitates between track transistions and while playing movies, bringing up the control panel is exceedingly difficult
Although you can play music while doing other things, there is no control panel to quickly stop it other than pressing BB menu
Typing does take some getting used to
Great Phone
Coming from the treo 700w (which to me is the best phone for texting) I had to get use to not having a keyboard. Had it about 3 weeks now and Im almost texting as fast as I was on my treo. Also now that the update is out most of the bugs are gone.
Pros
Great screen
HTML browser
3.2 camera
Sleek design
Best email phone ever
8gb card included
Cons
No wi fi (which is not a big deal to me but for some it is)
Honestly thats all I can think of.
Tired of the BS -
[...] I can honestly say when comparing my iTouch to the Storm....Yes, I know...I said iTouch, but in all honestly the iTouch and iPhone are pretty much the same product...I can say the Blackberry is much better to use and easier to type on than the iTouch...I found myself missing more keys and made more errors on the iTouch than on the Sure Touch Blackberry....Sure, there is a learning curve for both phones, but as I mentioned before, give the phone a good two to three weeks practice before you give up on it...There is definitely a learning curve on BOTH phones, iPhone and the Storm....
[...] I'm in a professional sales rep in the pharmaceutical industry and blackberry is known for it's innovative, business tools and application instruments and the Storm is no exception....
I'm not saying that this phone doesn't have it's glitches, but I've played with both the iTouch and the Storm and both phones have their faults and downsides...I just think quality wise, the Blackberry is the better phone...It fits better in your hands and is a much better texting/emailing machine than the iPhone....Period.
Ed. note: removed rant / response to other reviews
Great Phone
The phone is great a little slow, but the the features and email work great. Facebook is awesome and I'm sure there will be many updates just like for the I-Phone!
My thought!
I must say that I was very cautious on getting this phone, but I am impressed. I came from the curve family, which I truly loved, but now I am a believer in the STORM. I have read all the posts, both pro & con and all I can say is JUST GIVE IT A TRY. Way to go RIM.
A Good Phone with Great Potential
This is my second storm in less than 2 months. My first was very buggy even after upgrading the firmware. Have had similar issues with the 2nd one, but not as bad as the 1st. Anyway, here is my take on the phone.
++ ++ ++ ++ P R O s ++ ++ ++ ++
+ Big hi-Res screen - Very clear & bright
+ Sleek & sturdy phone - Solid & comfortable
+ Logical & elegant UI - On par w/iPhone
+ Good Browser - Much better than Opra & IE
+ Above Average reception & sound quality
+ Blackberry Applications
+ Removable battery & memory card
+ Highly customizable: look, functions, etc.
+ Stereo bluetooth
+ 3G Network (EVDO Rev A speed Connectivity)
+ User friendly
+ Global Phone - GSM capablity oveseas.
+ Visual Voicemail
+ Feature rich & expandable
-- -- -- -- C O N s -- -- -- --
- Buggy firmware: phone random reboots!
- Unpredictable screen
- Battery Life - could be much better
- Slow OS - noticeable screen lag
- Very very slow camera shutter speed
- No WiFi (would've been good overseas)
- Accelerometer is somewhat slow
- Little heavy: my curve was much lighter!
- Texting is a challenge; needs getting used to
- The Map application is useless
- Only VZNavigator works with $10 monthly charge.
Overall I can't recommend the BB Storm just yet. over-time, when they work out all the bugs, I'm sure this will be a great smart phone but getting used to the touch screen texting will take some time. For the time being, stay with your Curve or BB 8830. You can always get this phone in a few months and perhaps even cheaper!
Yes yes... Verizon did ok.
Now I know I am an AT&T employee, and you may think I'm just saying this. No matter what carrier blackberry is with, I will never diss blackberry. I may diss Verizon themselves (haha), but RIM is spectacular. Now, what I AM going to say is that if you are needing this for business, I would stick with a curve (or come down to AT&T and get the BOLD!). I have played with the phone for quite sometime, and it's really cool.. not going to lie. But no touch screen phone is ideal for the everyday business person, blackberry or not. But overall, this is a cool phone. Kudos, V.
BlackBerry Storm
Pro: I have used this phone since it's release to Verizon. Overall the phone is great.
Cons: Battery life has a lot to be desired. I have to place the phone on the vehicle charger by the end of the work day in order to make it through the evening.
Slow camera speed.
A Good 1st Generation phone
I've owned pretty much all touch screens and mouse driven phones (iphone, WM, curve, etc..)
First thing - this is obviously a first generation phone. It has issues. The good news, it appears RIM is committed to fixing those issues. The iPhone was much the same way. verion 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, etc.. everytime I synch'd I got a new version. I'm on my third update of this 4.7.0.75 and each one gets a little bit better.
Stick with it, in two months it will be great.
