BlackBerry Storm

Introduction:
What’s this, the new BlackBerry? Woah, it has no keyboard. And…did it just click? You’ve never clicked a screen before, is that supposed to happen? Is it supposed to feel so…tiring? And why is this screen wiggling around, am I supposed to be seeing the circuit board? Why is it so heavy; the iPhone isn’t this heavy? The interface is pretty neat, but why are page transitions taking so long. Did it just flip orientations on me? I didn’t even move it. Wait, now I did move it and the orientation isn’t following. What’s going on, I thought this was supposed to be an iPhone killer? This is what Verizon is putting their muscle behind? Really?




Design:
The first thing you notice is how heavy the Storm is. It’s nearly an ounce heavier than the iPhone and Bold, and a full ounce and a half heavier than the Diamond and Curve. We appreciate heft for the sake of quality, and in fact have taken some criticism for knocking devices that are too light, but the Storm is just plain heavy. It’s also wide; its 2mm narrower than the iPhone, but 6, 9 and 12mm wider than the Curve, Dare and Diamond, respectively. The 3.2” display makes it tall, but it’s a full 7mm taller than the Instinct which also has a 3.2” screen.




Performance:
Voice quality was very good on the Storm, as was battery life. On our end callers were clear and voices sounded natural. Callers said we were a touch hollow, but that overall we sounded very good and gave us an 8.5/10 rating. The in-call screen is new, with large icons for Speaker, Mute, Flash and Add Participant. Along the bottom the user can access the Keyboard, Notes, Home Screen, Calendar and their Contact list. Our only complaint is that when the phone was resting against our face we often activated the mute button, which is obviously problematic.




Conclusion:
The Storm sets very lofty goals, but misses the mark on many of them and in the process loses its way. At its core a BlackBerry should be a top notch messaging device, which has always allowed us to look past other shortcomings. Not so with the Storm, as the flaws greatly outweigh the benefits. The phone performance is top notch and the Storm is a great media device, but beyond that there isn't much to like. RIM has already addressed software issues and we applaud their swiftness, but we feel that the hardware is a limiting factor with the Storm. The size and weight are awkward, and we can't believe we're saying this but we miss the trackball. The screen play is disconcerting, and we just aren't buying the clickable screen. But most importantly typing is a workout and even worse inaccurate, and without that a BlackBerry just isn't a BlackBerry.