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So tonight I was in the area of my local Verizon store, so I decided to stop in and talk to the rep I’ve been dealing with on the phone in person. When I got there, he tells me that I JUST missed the two data consultants that were demoing the storm in the store for customers. Just my luck…so I continue to wait until he finishes with a customer so he can look something up on my account.
So another rep comes over with guys my age who were filing an insurance claim. When they get to the counter, they see the Storm flyer and are like “Woah! There it is. That #$%^ looks tight!” The next words I heard were music to my ears. Their rep says “Do you guys want to try it out? I have one in the back?” 2 Minutes later, the Storm was in our hands.
Before I get into my little write up, note a few things. First, this happened so fast and was unexpected, therefore I wasn’t able to do EVERYTHING or even remember what information to gather and/or test. Secondly, this phone I handled WAS using pre-release OS. Unfortunately I did NOT get the number, but I was told that it was older software. Now, onto the review
Appearance
This phone is THIN! I couldn’t believe my eyes. For some reason, I thought the phone was going to be rather thick, at least that’s how the images on the net portray it. This is not the case. It is sleek, dead *** sexy, and stylish. The minute I grabbed a hold of it, you could FEEL the quality of the phone. This is NOT a toy. It IS a phone made of excellent engineering and quality. It just feels right in the hands, has the perfect weight distribution, and is SOLID.
The screen…AMAZING. It is crisp, clear, and vibrant. I did NOT watch any trailers or anything on the phone, as I wanted to savior that moment for when I get mine. However, using the GUI, the quality was amazing. Everything was readable, ****, even my dad could read the font without his glasses! That’s how clear this screen is. The buttons and font are also larger than normal phones, which helps the matter as well (don’t worry, it’s not granny large =p).
As far as the gap between the screen and the buttons go…let me put it this way. ANYONE who complains about this deserves to be ***** slapped. It’s BARELY a gap. It’s so tiny, it’s unnoticeable. To complain about this is just pointless. So if you were worried about the screen gap…don’t be. It will NOT be an issue one bit.
Functionality
The only thing I was honestly concerned about and NEEDED to feel was the typing experience. I’ve heard great things, I’ve heard terrible things. Therefore, I needed to put a nail in the coffin and test it for myself. All I have to say is…HOLY ****. Just WOW…typing on this device just feels right. I only typed with the QWERTY keyboard, and made only one error the entire time. I was able to type insanely fast as well. I experienced no lag in the letters and all of the clicks registered. Texting on this phone is going to be amazing, especially when coming from a LG VX8550!
When you click on the screen, yes, the whole screen depresses. It’s almost as if it kind of feels like when you push the top of an opened Snapple bottle…it just doesn’t take nearly as mush force. There was NOT audible click, Well, let me put it this way, using it in public, you could not hear a click. There was NOT a lot of noise going on, and I still didn’t hear anything. So for all of you guys that want to text during class or meetings…have fun =p
A few people asked if it scrolls like the iPhone, to where you flick it and it keeps scrolling. The answer to this is kind of. You can scroll and flick, and it will indeed continue to scroll after your finger has left the screen, however, not for nearly as long as the iPhone does. With the iPhone, as many of you know, a powerful flick could get you half way through your contacts. This is not the case with the Storm. However, it DOES continue to scroll a few lines after your finger has been removed from the screen. Personally, I thought it was acceptable. They at least have some sort of continued scrolling feature, so I’ll take it
Surfing the internet was a breeze. Start the browser app, click on the address bar, and type a way. Within SECONDS, I had gone to youtube, searched one of my performance videos, and had it playing in the store on the Storm. Which brings me to my next topic. The speaker(s). I do not know if this phone as 1 or 2 external speakers, but whatever the case it, it’s pretty good! At max volume, the youtube video did get a little hot and static-y. However, turning the volume down about two notches…crisp, clean audio to where the whole store could hear me playing the piano on youtube. ****, the reps and other customers flipped out when they saw in a matter of seconds I had my own video of me playing the piano on the device.
I did not get to play with the camera, however, before I got the phone another customer took an image. I looked at that image really fast and it seemed to be of great quality for a CAMERA PHONE (Remember folks, this isn’t a DSLR). Let me put it this way, have you ever been on myspace or facebook and your friends has pictures up there that were OBVIOUSLY taken from a camera phone? To where the image is either to small, or is a decent size, but is so pixellated it’s worthless? Well you don’t have to worry about either of those with this phone. The images are large, and the quality is more then expectable for a mobile camera.
Accelerometer
We have all heard about how long it takes for the accelerometer to kick in, which was stated to be roughly 2-3 seconds. Yeah, well whoever agrees with that statement, they need to learn the proper duration of a second. I had no problems with it responding to my rotations. From portrait to landscape, the response was instantaneous. From landscape to portrait, while it was slower (no more then 1.5secs) then the opposite direction, is was more then acceptable. Now remember, this was on a pre-release build. Therefore, if what CX said about this time being cut in half is true (which I don’t doubt that he isn’t), you guys have NOTHING to worry about.
All in all, I’m completely stoked for this phone. I was pumped before…but now I swear I just developed ADD for this thing. I was flipping out the whole car ride home. It IS that AWESOME of a device. If you guys have any other questions about it’s BASIC functionality, let me know. I’ll do my best to answer your questions.
However, just a side note: the Verizon reps at my store knew NOTHING. When I say nothing…I mean absolutely nothing about the phone. People were asking them questions about how visual voicemail works, how much storage can it hold, what’s the price, what comes in the box, etc. Every answer they gave was wrong. I had to correct them every time. ****, my friend that I graduated from HS with that works there told me they should hire me for the day on Friday to answer anyone’s questions since I knew more then they did. Actually, one of the customers wanted my cell number so I could help him set up the device once he gets it, haha. So while it’s very sad to say…if you’ve been following the storm from way back yonder like I have, chances are, you know more then the Verizon reps. So take whatever they say with a grain of salt, and be sure to confirm it else where.11-19-08 02:27 AM - I'm glad this write-up was helpful to some!
I did not think to see if there is a YouTube application. However, I have heard that one will definitely be present at some point. Though, I saw a YouTube icon on one of the menu's on VODAFONE'S Storm. Therefore, I'd believe it will be available at launch, or very shortly after for Verizon.
In regards to the camera, again...using the Chocolate, enV, Razr v3m and the dare...this camera kicks ***. Remember, it's a phone before a camera. The camera is a bonus, and for a mobile device, imo, it's good quality! To clarify, I did not get to actually take a picture. So I cannot comment as to delay's in snapping the pictures or the quality of the camera application. I can only speak upon the quality of the images taken.11-19-08 09:33 AM - Grreeeeaaatttt Review! I agree with everything said from my own experience with it today. The camera is 3.2 megapixel.
I started texting on it in landscape mode and didn't make any mistakes at all. There is one thing though, there was only one theme loaded on the device.
For someone who likes the Today Screen and to see my appointments on the screen without having to go into the calendar this could be a little adjustment. I am hoping that you will be able to download new themes on the Storm as with other berrys.11-19-08 01:06 PM
