[brett3rs]

For any expectant US customers who want to read actual feedback on the Storm following its first week after launch go to the Vodafone UK eForum at http:// forum .vodafone.co.uk/index.php?showforum=50 (remove spaces) You will see some very worrying experiences with buttons falling off, poor to non-existent signal strength, dreadful battery life and 'lots' of software issues. As posters have said here, I would expect the software issues to be resolved with firmware updates - but neither RIM or Vodafone are able to give any timescales for these at the moment. More worrying are the hardware issues which strongly suggest very poor quality control or maybe even design issues. Also do not assume that because the US firmware version number is higher than the UK one that this will contain any fixes to these issues - the US software bundle is different to the UK one and the different number reflects this.
I appreciate that commercial terms differ between the US and the UK but Vodafone subscribers are required to return faulty handsets within 14 days otherwise they are locked into their 18 month or 2 year contracts. Since no firmware update has been announced and many are already nearly half way through that period they cannot afford to take the risk that the eventual update will fix issues such as battery life and signal strength - which may or may not be software dependent.
Like many posters here I have been waiting expectantly and optimistically for my Storm to arrive (hopefully today!) but I have already compiled a list of 30 or so defects to test as soon as I get it to see whether I am one of the lucky ones with no problems or whether some of these problems are universal.
The UK press is beginning to pick up the extent of of the bloodbath of this seemingly premature release of an unreliable and buggy device. It really is a shame for RIM and Vodafone and from the growing realisation of the situation here I expect Apple will be rubbing their hands in glee at picking up the pieces in the Christmas shopping round.
Just my impressions from a small crowded island off the coast of Europe

[camoko]

can you post your list of defects?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[noaim]

Vodafone eForum -> Blackberry Storm Forum

Link

10 char

[Chrisy]

Thanks for the link. The feedback is interesting and i'm looking forward to US feedback soon.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[04redgto]

I don't give it any weight! They are using alot older os then we will get.

[GpCaptMandrake]

I wonder how good Voda's 3G coverage is in the UK as well. From the posts I was reading it seemed that they were having a battery life issue because the phone was constantly searching for the 3G system and not always finding it.

I really hope there's not a repeat in the US. I have waited for this phone for too long to be disappointed.

Hey CX, can you allay our fears??

[morrell]

wow, is there even one thread in there with anything good to say? lol

[mayatekla]

yeah, there are alot of good things, people are just concentrating on the bad... as to the buttons falling off that is mostly peoples own fault as far as i can see... If your not careful you can damage things. most problems are software based which should be solved soon.

speaking of voda:
they just sent an e-mail saying my order has been dispatched :P

[brett3rs]

These are all mentioned in the vodafone eForum (and plenty of others besides)...

Green button falls off when BB is removed from sleeve
Red button unresponsive
Areas of screen harder to 'click' than others
Battery failing to charge or dropping VERY fast with light use
Service configured for BES (which isn't available yet) when it should be BIS
Desktop software doesn't install properly
Laggy switch from portrait to landscape
Brightness doesn't dim to chosen level in landscape although it does in portrait
'Innards' visible in gap between screen and case (this was not the case in some demo units)
Frequent 'hanging' and 'crashing' behaviour
!?123 button not working in landscape mode
Some options in menus not selectable e.g. Save in the save, discard, cancel list after making changes e.g. to bluetooth settings
Unit overheating during charge
Poor network signal compared to ther Vodafone devices sitting right next to Storm e.g. N95. Drops to emergency calls only or no signal
Bluetooth pairing problems
Camera freezing/slow
Scroll doesn't work in the recent calls list
Keyboard (sometimes) appears when stroking screen in calendar view
Delete key unresponsive when entering text
Back cover comes off when removing phone from sleeve
Not able to view Youtube as native HTML in the browser - automatically routed to mobile version
GPS slow to acquire satellites
Removing Vodafone Live! application seems to speed up the phone (worrying)

OK that's enough for now (I'm on page 16 out of 24 on the feedback sticky thread). Basically these are showstoppers and I am an inch away from cancelling my order before I even get the phone and letting the dust settle for a few months to see whether a new batch of improved hardware is released into the distribution network and there have been positive reviews of the firmware fixes.

BTW I have tried to filter out issues which have been revealed as 'features' by the mods, and issues for which a 'workaround' exists.

[jma78b]

yeah, there are alot of good things, people are just concentrating on the bad... as to the buttons falling off that is mostly peoples own fault as far as i can see... If your not careful you can damage things. most problems are software based which should be solved soon.

speaking of voda:
they just sent an e-mail saying my order has been dispatched :P

I got that email too. Thing is, the phone was delivered on Saturday!

[brett3rs]

As I noted above, a number of UK customers said they would be interested to see if any of these issues were fixed in the 'later' OS version being released with the US version of the phone. Vodafone's official response was that just because the US version has a higher number doesn't mean that it contains any fixes to the UK version. The software bundles for the devices contain different mixes of pre-installed software (e.g. I wouldn't expect Vodafone Live! to be in the Verizon version) and the different number would reflect this. Just saying is all...

[Hazysky]

I ve just read the posts on voda eforum. One thing that struck me was that one of the Mod's said there was no EDGE in the UK!!!! He seems a nice guy though and is keeping his sense of homour .... So far

Hopefully an OS upgrade will solve many of the issues but buttons should not be falling of a device less than a week old!

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[spangler07]

Wow. This Vodafone forum is making me really nervous.

WTF RIM.

SRSLY they need to get their act together.

[Keirkhaart]

Lol - vodafone were very keen to get me to wait for the storm and not get a bold. Got one anyway, then yesterday they called to offer a storm (had pre-registered interest) and I told them I'd already got the bold. Reading the stuff above makes me even more glad that I didn't wait and went with the bold.

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[britishturbo]

I wonder how good Voda's 3G coverage is in the UK as well. From the posts I was reading it seemed that they were having a battery life issue because the phone was constantly searching for the 3G system and not always finding it.

I really hope there's not a repeat in the US. I have waited for this phone for too long to be disappointed.

Hey CX, can you allay our fears??

The Vodaphone coverage is... ok. Yeah, just ok. I was just over there 4 weeks ago using my 8830 and I was always hitting areas where I lost Vodaphone and started roaming on the O2 network...

I did find though that when I had the Voda network it was a lot better than most people make out on the 8830...

Oh and since I spent the first 21 years of my life in the uk I know quite a bit about the mobile phone network over there

[asianguy80]

These are all mentioned in the vodafone eForum (and plenty of others besides)...


Not able to view Youtube as native HTML in the browser - automatically routed to mobile version

Hasn't this already been shown on all those preview vids that mobile youtube is the only one available to view anyways? There is no flash support, as of yet, on the Storm anyways.

[Benji-nl]

You know, if you see who are pointing the problems out, it is only a hand full of people.
Some things they point out is just a load of crap. 'this button doesn't work, that button doesn't work' for christ sake! Learn to work the device already.
Some things I can understand that people are b!tching over it. A button that falls off shouldn't be possible, but it only happens when you stuff it into a pouch which is too tight (ofcourse this is not good, it should fit correctly, but if you can hardly get it in, then don't use it! instead they ram it in and pull it out, yeah, well... it could break then...).
It was bound to have some issues, every high-tech device has some software issues at first, you cannot expect a company to find every single bug there is, but this will be solved.

I agree that VF and RIM should provide a timeline to deliver an update, and I think they will.

What I am pissed about is that VFNL for the first time gave an official release date yesterday, should come out tomorrow. Now the date isn't anywhere to be found and it says late November...
But that's another thread

[pool_shark#CB]

I can't understand why so many people make so many assumptions.

None of us can tell if the issues they are having with their devices is due to their own misuse, maybe the thing actually has problems, it does happen.

It is possible that the Storm had issues here also. That could be the reason for Verizon releasing so late after all of the rumored release dates.

This is precisely why I am not the type of person to be first in line for any new product. I sit back and let the very impatient people run out to be the product testers then come back and provide feedback.

[YouFirefly]

Okay I'm very limited in knowledge. My mobile phone history consists of a few ****ty handsets from Three.. my contract with them is finally coming to an end and I want a BlackBerry..

I can't decide on Bold or Storm?
After reading this thread I'm thinking it would be better to go for the Bold rather than the Storm which looks like it needs a couple more generations under it's belt before buying one to last?

I realllly like the idea of a qwerty keyboard, I text A LOT and internet and IMing are my priorities......

[alan8385]

Hopefully this is one of those you get what you pay for things. Since the phone is being offered for free with certain rate plans, how high can your expectations really be that it will perform like it should. I believe the VZW version will not have a lot of these problems.

[CGSCOT]

As I posted on another thread.....

By the way people are speaking on the eforum there will be loads of stock when loads of people send them back, seems a lot of problems between OS & Carrier. OS will hopefully iron out most of the current problems including the extremely poor reception some people are having (getting sos only)...Unless its just Voda's 3G signal itself.

I'm not sure if a lot of comments are coming from new BB owners who have just expected the Storm to work 100% straight away (which to be fair it should really) but as we all know new devices & new OS's are always buggy & also dare i say it maybe people aren't using them corectly...alot of saying its buggy but maybe they aren't closing applications & just hitting the back key so have loads of applications running in the background & slowing the device down....we also know that carrier software is also causing problems, so that can't be blamed on the device.

I hope a new OS sorts out all the current problems & the Storm becomes the device it should be......although I'm not sure an OS will help buttons falling off

If the handset deals do happen & the sim unlock works (eventually) I will buy a Storm as I think its a stunning device & just needs to be given a bit of time rather than people hating it after a couple of days....The problems may just be hit & miss as we always hear about bad things, so a few thousand out of 40K is maybe expected by Voda /RIM ? I know when i got my Bold there were loads of complaints about one thing or another but my handset worked no problem & continues to do so.

Also after reading some posts I don't believe the build/cost has anything to do with it. Just because Voda is giving the Storm away free on certain tariffs doesn't mean the phone is cheaper & lower quality than the Verizon Storm.
Its the carrier who sets the price of device / tariffs not the manufacturer & because of Voda's 18/24 month deals the price of the Storm is hidden within that.

I believe its a combination of new BB users, unwanted carrier software, poor 3G coverage & new OS thats causing the fuss. Most of that can successfully be sorted out.

The reason I haven't bought one yet is beacuse I don't get a good Vodaphone signal in my location & I don't like 18/24 month contracts.

[sdmilton]

the vodafone info means nothing to me. older os, different type of network, etc. lets think positive that verizon is going to launch an awesome phone this friday!

[adz595]

The 3G on vodafone is ok plus i think Vodafone bought the network 3?! im not sure though.

I get a good reception where I love (in the countryside) so i've never lost a reception.

I was waiting on the storm and am now glad I went for the Bold.

[tcwong]

Battery Problem is a real concern. I was very excited about getting the Storm and even pre-order it from Best Buy. Now, I'm thinking maybe I should wait a week to see how it's doing on Verizon. Currently, I don't have contract and on another carrier with GSM network. I still have 2 days to decide about it.

[STYLN]

Meh....Im not too worried about it....but I will wait till after I've read sum real reviews from actual Telus users. The UK reviews dont hold much weight here with me...