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Nov 20, 08 - 04:05 pm Comment from: Macintosher

Good for them. I hope everyone will realise the iPhone's overall supremacy.

Sort of like a clicky trackpad, isn't it?

Nov 20, 08 - 04:18 pm Comment from: Erk

wow, are there ANY good reviews of this thing?

Why not spend the $200 on the real thing?

Stool Storm

Not that you're going to read here. Yes, there are any number of good reviews, but MDN is obsessed.

Then post a few links Erk.

Nov 20, 08 - 04:42 pm Comment from: Jay-Z

"It seemed like a neat idea when Research in Motion announced it in October: the first smartphone with a clickable touchscreen."

It did? To who?

Anyone posting a good review of the Storm will be looked on very suspiciously after today's pronouncements...

And the MacWorld gives it 4 out of 5 mice WTF!

Nov 20, 08 - 04:44 pm Comment from: January 24, 1984

It's already forming a low pressure (to buy) zone.

I read a tepid review of the Storm on msnbc.com, but even the old bat who wrote the review wasn't exactly raving about it. The Fortune magazine Mac writer printed out positive and negative review points for it, andnmy conclusion is that RIM doesn't. Deliver the goods. Ofbinterest were the reader comments. On one side are some people who actually tested one - they HATED it. The other comments came from the usual corporate PC/IT Nazis. Almost to an individual, they said that the iPhone is a consumer toy, and that the Blackberry is more secure. To that I say, bollocks. I have been testing an iPhone with Exchange and now prefer the iPhone much more for email and calendaring. The iPhone is simply better. But to am IT Nazi, WiFi is evil. Also, readers hatedball the overhead Verizon dumpsninto the new Blackberry.

Written on my iPhone.

Jiggly boobs - Great!

Jiggly screen - Yuck!

Jiggly man boobs & jiggly screen - run away! run away!

Overall, the Storm is a very capable handheld computer that will appeal to BlackBerry users who have been pining for a touch-controlled device with a larger screen. And it offers yet another good option for anyone who is looking to buy one of the new, more powerful, pocket computers.

http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20081119/blackberrys-storm-presses-into-the-touch-phone-fray/

The Storm isn't just some wanna-be, rip-off iPhone. At its core, it's just like every other BlackBerry. This will be important for business clients — many companies' IT systems will only work with RIM's Enterprise Server for e-mail on the go. It's also important for BlackBerry lovers. If you've used a BlackBerry before, you'll get the Storm's menus, symbols and buttons immediately.

Instead of comparing the Storm to the iPhone and whining grumpilly about the Storm's lack of multi-touch, consumers will compare it to other BlackBerries. And when they do, they may find that they like what they see: A big, fun to use touchscreen, a 3.2MP camera that takes video and has a bright flash, a respectable Web browser and a typing system that really works.

http://dvice.com/archives/2008/11/blackberry_storm_review.php

If that sounds like a lot of utility you are not mistaken, the Storm is a veritable online workhorse out of the box. All of the familiar Blackberry programs are there and the inclusion of the three Dataviz programs means you can not only open Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint files but you can also edit them on the Storm. This turns the Storm into the type of enterprise-ready phone that you expect from a Blackberry, even though the Storm is clearly also aimed at the consumer market. You can almost leave the laptop at home on short trips with the Storm in your pocket.

The Storm is a global communications solution similar to the 8830 on Verizon. There is a SIM card included that will work outside the US where CDMA networks are not available. Business travelers can thus use the Storm almost anywhere in the world with optional voice and data plans from Verizon.

http://www.jkontherun.com/2008/11/jkontherun-revi.html

Is it time to play taps yet? Poor RIM or should I say RIP.

Macworld gave it a good review.

Nov 20, 08 - 05:17 pm Comment from: NCMacMan

@ Uncle Walt: Sure, to Blackberry users, it will feel like an upgrade compared to their other Blackberries. More importantly, what Blackberry users will expect is a more "Applelike" experience. They won't get that. This is where the consumer gets short changed again.

Blackberry had a great idea a few years ago, and it took off. Unfortunately, they became complacent and stodgy, ignoring the storm in the marketplace. Now we are seeing just the begging of the tide change away from Blackberry and RIM...

I wonder...
How the hell happened that this guys in Verizont rejected Steve Jobs long time visionary and his iPhone and accepted long time "crappy maker" with their CrackBerry Stom?????? Anybody?

This is where iPhone fanboys get confused.

Blackberry users don't want an iPhone. It doesn't do what they need their business phone to do, which is to securely sync OTA with their corporate e-mail, contacts and calendars, and to link to their corporate apps.

They want a BLACKBERRY with better media features and browsers, which the Storm is.

No, it's not as elegant as the iPhone. Nothing anyone makes is as elegant as anything Apple makes. No one is even disputing that. BUT, the iPhone simply doesn't do the things that made the Blackberry the success in the corporate marketplace that it is and continues to be. As long as you continue to ignore the importance of the RIM messaging features (and no, the iPhone DOESN'T have anything even remotely close,) you won't get it.

If the storm's push to click function is anything like my new MacBook Pro's clickable trackpad, I can see why people don't like it. At least the Mac trackpad doesn't slide around in its casing. The difference is that my MacBook Pro gives me the option of just using light taps which gives it the feel of my iPhone.

Apple gets it--others don't. You almost have to feel sorry for them.

To my mind, the whole clickable touchscreen is just a system waiting to fail. I've seen this in a lot of systems. The more motion, the more "moving" systems, the greater the susceptibility to failure.

"They want a BLACKBERRY with better media features and browsers, which the Storm is."

Isn't that what the BlackBerry Bold was created for?

RIM didn't make the Storm for the "corporate market." That's your own personal copout should the Storm fail in the consumer space. Consumer sales are where the real money and growth is.

You think Verizon and RIM launched that big marketing campaign to appeal to corporate users? LOL.

What you neglect is the fact that RIM wants MORE than BlackBerry users. They want an expansion into the consumer realm and it's been underway well before the iPhone was released. The notion that RIM made this solely for BlackBerry users who happen to want their wonderful secure e-mail with a nice web browser is flat out wrong.

The Bold and the Storm are essentially the same device with the exception of the touch screen in the Storm. Functionally they're pretty much identical.

Of course RIM wants to pick up every user they can get, but the notion that consumers are, en masse, going to pay what VZW wants for its unlimited data plan is just silly. It's a business phone with some nice additions, but it IS a business phone. Unless, of course, you know a lot of people with a BES in their basement. I don't.

You're inventing this "copout" nonsense out of whole cloth.

"Of course RIM wants to pick up every user they can get, but the notion that consumers are, en masse, going to pay what VZW wants for its unlimited data plan is just silly."

The plans aren't substantially different from those of the iPhone. Why would it be silly for RIM to expect consumers to adopt them when Apple and its various carrier partners don't have a problem convincing them to do it?

It's the present and future of the smartphone game: if you want that nice phone with its HTML web browser and unlimited data then you're going to pay for it. It's the same deal for the Samsung Instinct on Sprint and you can't possibly tell me that the Instinct is a corporate smartphone.

The BlackBerry Storm is meant to be a consumer-oriented touchscreen device that can do the corporate crap, just like the iPhone. RIM argues that the Storm can do the corporate crap better (and it probably can). At the moment however, I can't open a magazine without seeing full-page spreads advertising the Storm. I can't turn on my TV without seeing an ad for the Storm. It's foolish to deny that Verizon and RIM want this device to appeal to the same demographic as the iPhone.

BlackBerry just laid a BrickBerry.

This is significant. The greater number of top execs / managers start liking Apple products, the more likely they will frown upon the continual money pit that is MSFT Windows products, and real change in corporate IT landscape may finally start.

Nov 20, 08 - 06:39 pm Comment from: Jay-Z

@NCMacMan:

"BUT, the iPhone simply doesn't do the things that made the Blackberry the success in the corporate marketplace that it is and continues to be."

You left out one very important word: YET. It doesn't do those things YET. Apple could choose to go after the corporate market and implement these features itself, or third party manufacturers could develop programs that do. Momentum is on Apple's side here, not RIM's. They have a lot of catching up to do.

Keep in mind the current iPhone 3G is only the second iteration in the first generation of Apple phone offerings.

You can bet with Apple's initial success - they won't be standing still and soon we'll see new variations and a 2nd generation.

Nov 20, 08 - 07:18 pm Comment from: MobileAdmin

@Jay-Z

Keep on waiting. I met with the enterprise apple team this past week and brought up all the things holding us back from deploying iPhones beyond the few executives that wanted it and they basically flat out said that they are aware of those needs (from numerous other companies of our size) and it's not on their immediate roadmap. (read entertainment / consumers).

The fact is Apple will also not release the API set to develop these desired controls and you've left with the decision while iPhone is nice and a fanatastic consumer device it has a ways to go to equal what RIM provides via BES.

The Storm is not an iPhone. It's a Blackberry and it's strengths are still apparent and has all the security / management most businesses desire so by that nature alone it will sell a ton of devices. Might I add Apple has had it's share of issues that have required a number of OS updates.

Verizon is still the #1 rated wireless network in the states and that by nature will make anyone tied to their network (or refusing to leave the network) the Storm a valid alternative until iPhone is available on other networks (read 2-3 years).

Walt likes the Bold. To me, the lack of Wi-Fi is a deal-breaker, just as the lack of video on the iPhone and AT & T, which I can't use in my house, are deal-breakers. I have a Sprint Katana till my contract wears out. I'm considering an iPod Touch- but once again- no video. I might have to deal with three devices- the Sprint Phone, the iPod Touch, and a Flip Mino HD camcorder. Until the Next Generations..

Nov 20, 08 - 10:53 pm Comment from: ken1w

You mean you have to press down the entire screen to click a button on the screen, like the touch pad on the new MacBooks. How does it handle fast thumb typing? The screen probably does not have enough time to snap back up before the user types the next letter. It works on the MacBook touchpad because you are using one finger to click down, and a double-click is as quick you will do two consecutive clicks.

Also, is there a narrow open seam around the entire screen?

Nov 20, 08 - 11:09 pm Comment from: Cubert

@ken1w,

"Also, is there a narrow open seam around the entire screen?"

"What's more, the screen jiggles in the phone's casing when you press on it, which makes it feel cheap."

One of the other reviews posted on MDN talked about how the backlighting leaks out around the screen.

Nov 21, 08 - 05:32 am Comment from: Brau

Time, Engadget, PC World, Boston Tribune, Gizmodo .... all negative. Oww! Some heads are gonna roll at RIM. Now who was it who said "those PC guys aren't just going to walk in"?

Nov 21, 08 - 03:20 pm Comment from: thethirdshoe

@Cartoonasaurus

Don't you dare get jiggy with it!

>Sort of like a clicky trackpad, isn't it?

No, although the hardware is the same, the UI implications are different.

On the MacBooks, a click only needs to mean one thing so you can click anywhere in the bottom area. On the Storm, you have to press while also touching a specific area, so when you're typing it becomes a major pain if the leverage isn't quite right in that spot.