[benandez]

Hi,

Does anybody have a UK version of the Storm on Vodafone, reason I am asking is that my contract with T-Mobile is due to finish soon and I want to move out of T-Mobile due to many reasons, but anyway, I am starting to find I need access to email whilst I am out so I thought Blackberry! Partly because there are multiple accounts that I need to monitor and respond to.

I like the idea of the Storm but I am put off by the negative reviews that have been given out recently, can anyone give me a real world view of battery life and the general intuitiveness of the SurePress screen as they are the two things that are nagging in my mind at the moment.

I hope I am asking this in the correct place and sorry if I am repeating an age-old question.

Cheers,

Mart

[Branta]

I moved your post to a more appropriate area where you have a chance of a sane answer.

It is fair to say the Storm has created a storm of rage from the more vocal users, with widespread complaints about performance and stability. However there are many more who find it a satisfactory phone for their needs.

My personal opinion - get down to the local phone stores and go hands-on with the demo models for at least the two high end BlackBerry phones - the Storm and the Bold, and also the 8900 if you can find one. See which you like, see which fits and feels right in your hands because this is the main useability factor.

The main differences;
Storm is Touchscreen, with a large but relatively low pixel resolution. Touch isn't for everyone (I hate it)
Bold and 8900 are traditional QWERTY devices with higher screen resolution.

Bold is 3G network capable, which means it can handle data during a voice call.
8900 is GPRS/EDGE capable - data is suspended during voice activity
Storm (9500) spec suggests it should support 3G, but I have only seen them holding EDGE. Maybe a few UK storm users will contribute direct experience.

Bold and 8900 Curve have pretty much stable software, but the Storm software has been more problematic and fewer updates released. Storm has certainly improved by an order of magnitude since first release.

Networks in UK are generally not bad. Voda, O2 have good support for Blackberry. Orange is said to be OK but there have been some critical comments, and we sacked them for poor coverage in areas we need. "3" has just released Blackberry service but their geographic coverage is weak. You know about TMo from experience.

[hookbill]

Hi,

Does anybody have a UK version of the Storm on Vodafone, reason I am asking is that my contract with T-Mobile is due to finish soon and I want to move out of T-Mobile due to many reasons, but anyway, I am starting to find I need access to email whilst I am out so I thought Blackberry! Partly because there are multiple accounts that I need to monitor and respond to.

I like the idea of the Storm but I am put off by the negative reviews that have been given out recently, can anyone give me a real world view of battery life and the general intuitiveness of the SurePress screen as they are the two things that are nagging in my mind at the moment.

I hope I am asking this in the correct place and sorry if I am repeating an age-old question.

Cheers

Mart

Let me put his as clearly as I can. These "negative" reviews you see, 90% of them are either user error or people who bought the Storm and are having difficulties using it.

In my case I never did a lot of texting prior to obtaining the Storm. The Storm was my first Blackberry. So I don't have all the screen issues people say they have. Their expectations are set high and they expect to text like they did on a qwerty keyboard. It is possible to do this but there is a learning curve.

Storm on either .151 or .148 works great. Don't be put off by what you read here. I don't know how Vodafone does it but Verizon gives you 30 days to check it out and if you're not happy you can return it for another phone. Check out what Vodafone does.

Also please keep in mind when it comes to any product on the internet you are going to see more negatives then positives. That's just human nature, the way 1 person will tell 2 people he likes something another person will tell 10 he doesn't.

[benandez]

I moved your post to a more appropriate area where you have a chance of a sane answer.

Thanks Branta, fair comments that you have put forward, I have had touchscreens in the past T-Mobile MDA range, I found them to be finicky until I got used to them, I guess thats the same with everything.

Also thanks to Hookbill, you have given me renewed confidence, I think the best thing to do is to get down to Voda and just ask for a demo unit to play in the corner with!!
Just to answer your question hookbill, in the UK the distance selling regulations state that ever supplier (regardless of what they are selling) must provide at least a 14 day grace period where the consumer can change their mind.

I appreciate this may have been asked somewhere else but is it worth waiting for Storm 2 (Odin) or do we not know yet?

Cheers for your responses guys.

[Phoctifino]

Just to add the previous comments and respond to your last question:

Blackberry is quite different to other phones and they do take some getting used to. Some negative feedback on the Storm came from BB first-timers and this had a lot to do with some of their complaints. So trying them out is definitely a good idea. If you can get one over a weekend to play with it. Voda lent me one but maybe I was lucky? I would also try alternatives out and see which interface works best for you. I like touch screen and I like BBs, but I don't think the user experience or interface is as good as the iphone. The Storm's needs a lot more polish IMHO.

As for wifi and Storm 2, well time will tell, but wifi was a major omission on Storm 1. 3G is OK if you are on the move, but mobile broadband it ain't!

Also: the official OS releases are a sad joke, so getting a later leaked release is a must but it will invalidate your VF warranty.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[khewett]

great phone, on vodafone uk.

if it comes with .78 (terrible) out of the box you can update ota to .141 which makes the phone a lot better to use.

Im now on .167 which is better again and i assume will be an official uk update soon

[benandez]

Blackberry is quite different to other phones and they do take some getting used to. Some negative feedback on the Storm came from BB first-timers and this had a lot to do with some of their complaints. So trying them out is definitely a good idea. If you can get one over a weekend to play with it. Voda lent me one but maybe I was lucky? I would also try alternatives out and see which interface works best for you. I like touch screen and I like BBs, but I don't think the user experience or interface is as good as the iphone. The Storm's needs a lot more polish IMHO.
Yeah I kinda guessed that they may have been First Timers, I have used BB's in the past as I have had the pleasure of intergrating them into the business, I would assume that the negative commenters saw the advert and thought "Wow! An iPhone thats cheaper with more minutes etc!!!"

As for wifi and Storm 2, well time will tell, but wifi was a major omission on Storm 1. 3G is OK if you are on the move, but mobile broadband it ain't!
I've come to quite like having Wi-Fi as when I am at home, I can browse facebook on the browser but from what I have been told the BB facebook App is pretty slick?

great phone, on vodafone uk.

if it comes with .78 (terrible) out of the box you can update ota to .141 which makes the phone a lot better to use.

Im now on .167 which is better again and i assume will be an official uk update soon

Thanks for that bud, I think I will probably end up getting a Storm but I think I need to pay Voda store a visit this weekend potentially and have a chat with them, might even be able to work an even sweeter deal :P teehee

[Branta]

Thanks Branta, fair comments that you have put forward, I have had touchscreens in the past T-Mobile MDA range, I found them to be finicky until I got used to them, I guess thats the same with everything.

Also thanks to Hookbill, you have given me renewed confidence, I think the best thing to do is to get down to Voda and just ask for a demo unit to play in the corner with!!
Just to answer your question hookbill, in the UK the distance selling regulations state that ever supplier (regardless of what they are selling) must provide at least a 14 day grace period where the consumer can change their mind.

I appreciate this may have been asked somewhere else but is it worth waiting for Storm 2 (Odin) or do we not know yet?

Cheers for your responses guys.

Base your decision around the phones which are available on the open market the day you want to buy. Don't put any reliance on promised ship dates, S2 is vaporware, not finished yet, and I wouldn't touch any new phone in its first month after release. Let some other sucker do the testing and find the glitches.

If you want to have a play with a good range, try wandering into somewhere like Carphone Warehouse. There's got to be at least one branch somewhere near you with a decent range on display. You might need the carrier stores for a live demo model (not a display dummy/brick), and you'll usually get a better deal working through the websites to place your order.

[dannycat]

Had my Storm on Vodafone since it came out and yes the orginal OS was pretty bad then they released the official .140, which was a big improvement.
Having said that I never spent much time on these official updates since they are so behind compared to the leaks.

.167 is way better in responsiveness in battery life, signal and so on.
As far as we know version 5.0 will be available at some point in the near future and who knows we might get something more after .167.

The Storm is a great phone as long as you upgrade the OS, as simple as that but forget official ones always get the latest leak as far as I'm concerned.

Storm 1 can and will get better with more software upgrades, i'm pretty sure of it but then again say in a couple of months Storm 2 comes out, well I would simply wait and go for that one since its got wifi plus a few more hardware improvements

In conclusion I like my Storm, never had probs with the screen like some people were mentioning and with these OS upgrades is getting better each time. But for the love of God dont wait for Vodafone to upgrade the thing, just do it yourself.

[benandez]

I wouldn't touch any new phone in its first month after release. Let some other sucker do the testing and find the glitches.

If you want to have a play with a good range, try wandering into somewhere like Carphone Warehouse.

I am the same I definitely do not want to be a guinea pig!!
I think I will do that, I'm not far from the Liverpool One development and the city centre so theres lots around.

.167 is way better in responsiveness in battery life, signal and so on.
As far as we know version 5.0 will be available at some point in the near future and who knows we might get something more after .167.

Storm 1 can and will get better with more software upgrades, i'm pretty sure of it but then again say in a couple of months Storm 2 comes out, well I would simply wait and go for that one since its got wifi plus a few more hardware improvements

In conclusion I like my Storm, never had probs with the screen like some people were mentioning and with these OS upgrades is getting better each time. But for the love of God dont wait for Vodafone to upgrade the thing, just do it yourself.

Im assuming .167 is the latest leaked version? I dont know wether I want to stay with T-Mobile for much longer to be honest, signal in and around where I work is extremely poor and I rely on my phone during the day for work, personal and second work!

LMAO, I take it Official updates are few and far between??!

[patches152]

from what i hear the 9500 is pretty awesome in europe...i have the 9530 on VZW, and at the moment with .148 OS, it's about what should be expected from blackberries, but it doesn't provide any of the flash or consumer appeal everyone was expecting when it originally launched...if you want a solid functional device, the storm is it...if you want a fun new toy to keep you entertained, the storm will do that until you get used to it...then you'll get bored and want a new phone lol

[benandez]

Cheers patches, good sound advice you give there
As I said my minds pretty made up already, just want to make sure.

[patches152]

i love helping you limey brits, you always say cheers, it makes me wanna start slammin' pints with y'all and it's like 8 am here...ROFL!!!

i swear i'm gonna destroy my liver if i ever visit europe...the capacity to drink beer around the clock is just too great!

[benandez]

Limey brits!!! I've not heard that before lmao! Nothing wrong with a nice ice cold beer at 8am
You should definitely come over to europe, its great! Im still recovering from the weekend, I was festivalling!!

[patches152]

i <3 limey brits and their beer!!!

[Branta]

Limey brits!!! I've not heard that before lmao! Nothing wrong with a nice ice cold beer at 8am
You should definitely come over to europe, its great! Im still recovering from the weekend, I was festivalling!!

Hmmm you want to get off the ice cold stuff and try traditional Real Ale. I encountered some very acceptable Cain's bitter the other night, shame I was restricted by driving. Large bottles - should be some around the city somewhere.

Patches... be warned, our pint is 20oz. No US short measures here.

[patches152]

i only drink large pints, i frequent an "authentic" english pub here in town, or as close as i can get states side...

[theana]

Hi there, I have a storm with vodafone.
Most of your questions have already been answered much better than I would have done.

My storm is running .167, this is a must. My storm is completely different since I upgraded. Now I love it.

I have to say that my battery life is not that good, most people get a lot more time out of their batteries than me, I get average 10 hours on a good day. I work around that thanks to old trusty ebay

2 Battery + Charger for BlackBerry Storm 9500 9530 8900 on eBay (end time 14-Sep-09 16:34:36 BST)

I always carry a spare battery which I find it more convenient than carrying my charger around.

Don't get put off by my battery life, some people do get one day or even two out of their batteries, this seems to be down to the luck of the draw.

If you have any questions, send me a PM

[skyrunner]

great phone, on vodafone uk.

if it comes with .78 (terrible) out of the box you can update ota to .141 which makes the phone a lot better to use.

Im now on .167 which is better again and i assume will be an official uk update soon

Quite .141 is a million times better than launch, .167 for me is slightly worse than .164 but works...

I wonder who showed you how to install .167?

[We all Love Leeds]

slightly off topic this but i was wondering if it was possible to run a PAYG SIM in the Storm and have everything working?

I bought Storm off ebay and got it unlocked when recieved all for about �175 which I was quite chuffed with.

Now I find my T-Mobile PAYG SIM does not receive SMS in the Storm but sends fine. Sends and receives calls ok but that is it.
No browser etc.

So I thought I will get a Vodafone PAYG SIM. SMS and calls are fine but still no browser. Says to contact service provider. I rang Vodafone who informed me that the Storm will only work to full functionality with a contract SIM.

Are they bullpooping me to get me on contract? If they aren't, is there a way round it?

Any help would be much appreciated as i cant see the point in having a storm with loads of features if you cant use them.

NB I cant get contract due to really bad credit. oops.

[patches152]

it depends, if TMO supports pay as you go then yes, but i don't see anything in the actual phone preventing a pay as you go SIM for calls/sms, but nothing else will work...

[We all Love Leeds]

t-mobile told me they dont do the blackberry storm so dont support it unless you add the blackberry booster to your contract price plan which i dont have.

i was hoping that there was a way round Vodafone not having the browser function working on PAYG.

[patches152]

nope, sorry...the way that RIM has the services set up is pretty good at weeding out the free loaders...you have to be provisioned on your account, then with RIM, then on your device...it's triple expensive! lol...

[We all Love Leeds]

ok then, thanks for the advice patches, and i am willing to let it slide that you insinuated i was a free loader, lol. and for the record i aren't, i just cant get a contract due to previous financial mistakes.

[patches152]

yeah, i was just jokin anyway, i call PAYG users all sorts of names, mostly not to their faces...as far as the contract issue, here in the states they just have a security deposit, since the credit check is basically to make sure you pay your bills, you'd pay the security deposit as a payment security thing, so that way if you don't pay, they take it out of your deposit...etc...good luck!