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undoubtedly, they made a few mistakes, like releasing the phone before the OS was truly ready for primetime, etc.
but IMO, the big mistake was to try and make a touchscreen device simply to try and prevent their big customers from moving to the iPhone or other touchscreen based device. why? because Blackberrys have always been known, even touted, for having the best input methods available for their respective markets. even though they're trying to make that push into the consumer market to broaden their userbase and thus profitability, i think they moved too quickly for their own good. how?
well, their media capabilities are still anemic. yes, i know they're still working on it, but they should focus on getting it done right before jumping into something else "half-assed". they would be better served in the long run to polish their OS's in the media department to offer a truly solid multimedia offering before jumping into something else as their customers, especially new ones, will only be turned off by the devices upon first use, and may never come back. for example: the sluggish performance while playing music in the background due to a lack of a dedicated DAC and lack of a 3D accelerator to enhance the playback of video files. i will say the extra horsepower of the Bold's chipset is a huge improvement, but it still leaves it with very poor sound quality for music playback.
i harp on the media since this is what their new target demographic is looking for, exemplified by their sponsorship of MUSICIANS.
but going back to the Storm... i think they just went in the wrong direction, trying to chase the market instead of trying to redefine the playing field by their own rules. Apple was able to do this without any prior experience in the mobile phone market and now they're beginning to eat RIM's lunch.
my answer, even before the Storm became public, was not just a touchscreen device, but to redefine the marketplace instead of playing catchup to Apple by going with a slideout keyboard. yes, there are lots of slideouts out there, but none have RIM's keyboard FEEL. RIM could have done something dimensionally like the Storm: huge screen, solid build, excellent aesthetics... but put a slide out QWERTY beneath it. touch for navigation to feed that part of the market and lose the trackball (its achilles heel when it comes to reliability).
honestly, it was what i was really hoping for. the large screen for excellent media playback and browsing experience, combined with their world renown keyboarding experience. the screen size was my only real complaint about my Curve. and after experiencing the Storm inside and out, it would be easy for RIM to have created a slide out keyboard in a device similar in thickness while retaining the same stunning good looks the Storm possesses.
but after spending almost a week with the Storm and still not improving with the typing, and even less impressed by the OS's flakiness, topped with the lack of real improvement on it's media-centric features and really poor browsing performance, i have come to realize that my vision of an integrated keyboard with the Storm's platform is what i'm looking for and will be returning this Storm and reverting back to my Curve until it happens.
or maybe i'm just way off base... i dunno. what do you guys think, after the luster has worn off, what are your true feelings? i know many are willing to hold out for further OS revisions as they're enamored by the SurePress input style, but for those who arent completely sold, would you buy into what i've described above in any way?
Last edited by oakie; 11-26-08 at 02:22 PM.
11-26-08 02:18 PM - How about thoughts and ideas. You should try it sometimes its pretty cool ; )Is it only me, or are other people wondering why there are a ton of posts about how bad the Storm is from people who do not even have one? If you don't have the phone, and are not a fan, what exactly are you adding to the Storm forum?
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com11-26-08 02:49 PM
