Product summary
The good: The RIM BlackBerry Storm features an innovative touch screen that provides tactile feedback to confirm your selection. The Storm offers dual-mode functionality for world-roaming capabilities as well as EV-DO Rev. A and UMTS/HSDPA support. Other highlights include GPS and a 3.2-megapixel camera.
The bad: The Storm's SurePress touch screen takes some acclimation, and the onscreen keyboard is a bit cramped. The smartphone can be sluggish, particularly the accelerometer and multimedia applications. Speakerphone quality was a bit choppy.
The bottom line: The RIM BlackBerry Storm may blow in a frenzy for Verizon Wireless subscribers wanting a touch screen similar to the Apple iPhone. However, die-hard texters, e-mailers, and corporate users may be better served with the BlackBerry Bold or other QWERTY device.
Specifications: OS provided: BlackBerry Handheld Software; Installed RAM: 128 MB; Band / mode: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / UMTS 2100 / CDMA 800/1900 (Dual Band); ; See full specs
Price range: $199.99
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 11/19/2008
- Released on: 11/21/2008
The anticipation has been brewing for months, and the time has finally come for Verizon Wireless to open the floodgates on the RIM BlackBerry Storm (aka BlackBerry Storm 9350). The Storm is not only the first touch-screen BlackBerry, but it's also unlike any other touch-screen smartphone out on the market now. Research In Motion developed its own technology, called SurePress, which uses a suspension system that lies beneath the display, so that when you go to select an application or enter text, you physically push the screen down, mimicking the feel of pressing a tactile button. In theory, it's a great concept, but in reality, it's a bit awkward and takes some acclimation. It's just not a natural feeling to push down on the screen, and composing e-mails and text messages is difficult on the cramped onscreen keyboard, so if you need a messaging-centric device, we recommend going with the BlackBerry Bold or another QWERTY smartphone.
There are plenty of feature highlights, including dual-mode functionality for seamless world roaming, support for Verizon's EV-DO Rev. A and UMTS/HSDPA, integrated GPS, BlackBerry OS 4.7, a 3.2-megapixel camera, and more. Plus, at $199.99 with a two-year contract (and after rebates and discounts), the BlackBerry Storm is a great value and definitely spices up Verizon's smartphone lineup. It will definitely give the Apple iPhone a run for its money, but as far as ease of use and Web browsing, the iPhone remains tops in those categories. While it won't meet the demands of the power business user or the heavy e-mailers, the BlackBerry Storm offers consumers and mobile professionals a full-featured smartphone with an innovative touch screen at a good price. The RIM BlackBerry Storm will be available starting November 21.
Design
In terms of form factor, the RIM BlackBerry Storm doesn't stray far from the other full touch-screen smartphones on the market today, including the Samsung Omnia and Apple iPhone. Sporting a black casing with silver accents, the handset is a bit blocky and heavy at 4.4 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep and weighs 5.6 ounces, so it feels a bit wide when you hold it in your hand and it'll make for a tight fit in a pants pocket. That said, the Storm is a well-constructed smartphone. It has a nice, solid feel and the edges have a soft-touch finish to provide a better grip.
While the Storm's design might not be the most inspiring, the smartphone's display is another story. Obviously, the fact that the Storm is the first touch-screen BlackBerry is news enough, but its 3.25-inch VGA glass display also demands attention for its sharpness and brightness, showing 65,000 colors at a crisp 480x360-pixel resolution. We weren't as impressed with the Storm's screen as the BlackBerry Bold, but it's still beautiful. You can also adjust the backlighting, font size, and type. The Storm is also equipped with an accelerometer, so the screen orientation will switch from portrait to landscape mode when you rotate the phone from a vertical position to a horizontal one, left or right. You can read more about the accelerometer's responsiveness in the Performance section.
Moving onto the touch-screen capabilities, the BlackBerry Storm uses SurePress, so that when you select an application or enter text, you actually push the screen down as you would any other tactile button. You can see a bit of a gap at the top and bottom of the screen, which allows for the suspension system but makes the phone look a little cheap. In terms of text entry, the BlackBerry Storm features a SureType keyboard when the smartphone is in portrait mode and then switches to a full QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode. When using the keyboard or selecting applications, you do a simple finger touch over the item until it's highlighted and then you press down on the screen to register the action.
In addition to the SurePress technology, you can also use a number of finger taps or swipes to perform certain actions. For example, you can tap on the screen twice to zoom in on a Web page or map, or do quick finger swipes to scroll though a page. Also, to copy/paste text, you just touch the screen at the start of the text and then with a second finger, touch the end of the block of text you want to copy. You can adjust the tap interval, hover point, and swipe sensitivity in the Options > Screen/Keyboard menu.
While the SurePress technology is cool, it definitely takes some acclimation. It's not a natural feeling to physically push down on the screen, and we often found ourselves forgetting to actually press down; instead just tapping or double-tapping on the letter button or link. You do get used to it after a while though, but as far as e-mail creation or text messages, we missed having a tactile keyboard. We couldn't comfortably type long messages as fast as we wanted and when we tried, the message was riddled with errors. The keyboard buttons are just a bit too small and cramped. If I had problems with my small hands, I can only imagine it would be worse for people with larger thumbs.
Below the display, you do get a set of tactile navigation controls that consists of Talk and End/Power buttons, a Menu key, and a clear button. Unlike other BlackBerry models, there is no trackball navigator and we have to admit that we missed it. It may be that we're just used to having the trackball, and often we found our thumb automatically looking for the control while trying to scroll through pages and menus. However, even beyond that, we think it wouldn't hurt to have a trackball navigator since it allows for easier one-handed operation. Also, you wouldn't always have to rely on the touch screen and it would be useful for certain operations such as selecting links on a Web page.
On the left side, there's a user-programmable shortcut key and a micro USB port, while the right spine has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a volume rocker, and another customizable button, which is set as the camera activation/capture key by default. The camera lens and flash are located on the backside, and behind the battery cover, you'll find the microSD/SDHC card holder and SIM card slot. Finally, though not readily apparent, there is a device lock and mute button on the top edge of the Storm.
Verizon Wireless packages the RIM BlackBerry Storm with healthy set of accessories, including a travel charger with various adapters, a USB cable, an 8GB microSD card, a SIM card, a wired headset, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.
Features
While the RIM BlackBerry Storm might be the first touch screen for Research In Motion, the company wanted to make sure the smartphone offered the same feel and functionality of previous and current BlackBerrys. The Storm runs the latest BlackBerry OS 4.7, bringing an updated user interface much like the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Pearl Flip. You now get DataViz Documents To Go Standard Edition, so you can edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files as well. If you want the capability to create new documents, you will have to upgrade to the Premium Edition. We had no problems opening and working on Word and Excel documents, but we can't imagine doing more than minor edits on the Bold or any other smartphone for that matter. Other PIM applications include a Calendar, a task list, a memo pad, a voice recorder, a calculator, a password keeper, and more.
