BlackBerry Storm

“At this point we're expected to pass the final verdict and we are afraid it is not the one we would have liked it to be. The BlackBerry Storm isn't really likely to achieve that sweeping convergence success. Quite unfortunately for the unique touchscreen, the rest of the device's features spell doom for the whole TouchBerry project.The BlackBerry Storm fails to outgrow the company tradition and even if the exterior screams multimedia, the conservative business nature of BlackBerry shines through. It's almost like the guys at RIM are saying new members aren't welcome to the club, which we thought was the very idea of the Storm. And the existing members are almost sure to go for the Bold instead so the Storm pretty much finds itself in the middle of nowhere.”

“The BlackBerry Storm is a lot of things: It's the first touchscreen device ever made by RIM, it has a 3.2-MP camera and it features cut-and-paste tech. But then there's an even longer list of what the Storm is not: The software isn't fully realized, the handset is no lightweight, the battery life is poor. Most of all, this isn't the iPhone killer RIM was hoping it would be.How the hell do you brew up an iPhone killer?Short of cracking open Steve Jobs' head and slurping out his big thinky brain, you could create a half-assed imitation that masters one aspect of the Jesus phone and fumbles the snap on virtually every other feature. That seems to be the model handset manufacturers have been using for almost two years as they churn out a seemingly endless line of touchscreen-enabled iPhone imitators — icones. There have been Instincts, Dares, Beholds, Diamonds, G1s — even something with the obtuse moniker of Viewty, but none of these come remotely close to knocking the iPhone off its perch as King of All Touchscreens. And heaven forbid any one of them improve on the flaws (and there are many) that the iPhone possesses.”

“It's clear from the device itself and the massive promotional push that both RIM and Verizon are giving the Storm that they view this as a proper threat to the iPhone's dominance in the smartphone market. Over the last few weeks we've been bombarded with commercials, leaks, press releases, and special events all celebrating the arrival of the Storm, both here and abroad. So it seems fairly obvious that yes, the companies believe they have a real contender on their hands -- and in many ways they do. The selling points are easy: the phone is gorgeous to look at and hold, it's designed and backed by RIM (now almost a household name thanks to their prevalence in the business and entertainment markets), and it's packed with features that, at first glance, make it seem not only as good as the iPhone, but better. The only hitch in this plan is a major one: it's not as easy, enjoyable, or consistent to use as the iPhone, and the one place where everyone is sure they have an upper hand -- that wow-inducing clickable screen -- just isn't all that great. For casual users, the learning curve and complexity of this phone will feel like an instant turn off, and for power users, the lack of a decent typing option and considerable lagginess in software will give them pause. RIM tried to strike some middle ground between form and function, and unfortunately came up short on both.Going into this review, we really wanted to love this phone. On paper it sounds like the perfect antidote to our gripes about the iPhone, and in some ways it lives up to those promises -- but more often than not while using the Storm, we felt let down or frustrated. Ultimately, this could be a great platform with a little more time in the oven, but right now, it feels undercooked -- and that's not enough for us.”

“So with that said, we really have to recommend that people hold off before buying a Storm. If you overlook the bugs, which I expect to be fixed soon, then the Storm is by far my favorite BlackBerry device. It's not as good for pure messaging as the Bold or Curve, but it is far more fun in general for less business oriented consumers. For now we will give the phone a very cautious, even speculative, Recommended rating on the firm belief that the bugs will be dealt with in a timely manner. But because of the firmware issues, try before you buy.”