[MichaelBrandonW]

Listen... I am all for the acceptance behind BB's for all, but did it really take a touchscreen to do so?? We, the crackberry people, believe in and use (or) have used berries for a while for it's purpose. From the 8700's some are still rocking, to the 8800(20,30's), to the Curve, these are lifelines. In business, social life and in daily functions, the Blackberry is a tool we depend on every second of every day. I have never thought of my berry as a fun little toy/gadget, it has always been a support crutch for everyday life.
With the launch of the Storm, i can't help but feel the presence of so many fresh, (not so business oriented) adaptors. Which is great don't get me wrong, and VZW/RIMM's strategy for the Storm was to do so. "Bulid a BB for the general consumer." That includes Teens, Collage Students, Professionals, Dorks, and wannabes.
My question is, where the HE*L have all you new BB users been??? This is not RIMM's first device. Did it really take a fancy new touchscreen to pull you out of iphone land? We welcome you to a new world of addiction, and hope your thumbs can handle it, but really?? These phones have been kicking a*s for years. I guess i just want to say, welcome to the party.....even if you're past being fashionably late.

[biclocal]

Listen... I am all for the acceptance behind BB's for all, but did it really take a touchscreen to do so?? We, the crackberry people, believe in and use (or) have used berries for a while for it's purpose. From the 8700's some are still rocking, to the 8800(20,30's), to the Curve, these are lifelines. In business, social life and in daily functions, the Blackberry is a tool we depend on every second of every day. I have never thought of my berry as a fun little toy/gadget, it has always been a support crutch for everyday life.
With the launch of the Storm, i can't help but feel the presence of so many fresh, (not so business oriented) adaptors. Which is great don't get me wrong, and VZW/RIMM's strategy for the Storm was to do so. "Bulid a BB for the general consumer." That includes Teens, Collage Students, Professionals, Dorks, and wannabes.
My question is, where the HE*L have all you new BB users been??? This is not RIMM's first device. Did it really take a fancy new touchscreen to pull you out of iphone land? We welcome you to a new world of addiction, and hope your thumbs can handle it, but really?? These phones have been kicking a*s for years. I guess i just want to say, welcome to the party.....even if you're past being fashionably late.

You think you know, but you have know idea...true life, i'm a crackberry addict

[Ultrafied]

Yup, it took a touchscreen to come to Blackberry. Could care less how long they have been around, never was interested in them. If it wasn't for the Storm, I probably wouldn't be making the transition. I hope this helps answers your question.

[cannonballgsu]

I'll be honest...

I always thought BB's were overrated. I never thought they enhanced email/communication like everyone said they did. I thought it was just another name thrown out there.

It did take a touchscreen to bring me to BB. After I got interested in the storm, I figured I would stop by a Verizon store and check out BB's interface and wow. I was blown away by the ease and simplicity of navigation.

I played with the curve for nearly an hour and almost purchased it I liked it soo much, but figured I would hold out for what I was waiting for.

So yeah, I admit i jumped on the bandwagon for the storm, but i think I will now be a long time BB user whether it is a fancy touchscreen or not, I'm sold on the fact that RIM produces top noch devices.

[TreyDaPrince]

I definitely wasn't stuck in iPhone land, but I was stuck with an AT&T plan. Like you stated, I am not a business owner nor am I business man. I am, however, and organized man. This may sound cliche-est but I wanted a cutting edge phone with new technology on a reliable network. Just so happened to be made by BB. Glad it is though cause being a Crackberry addict is awesome!!

[ccrx]

Well said man. Well said.

[korp#IM]

The curve/pearl got alot of new people on board especially when they dropped the price but these are all the people who probably hate the iphone or want the next new thing.

[troutseth]

Since I am one of those late comers . . I will reply! I am a very heavy business (email, calendar, contacts.) user and have gone through 7 "smartphones" over my career . . this will be my first BB. I live on my phone . . . and not just for work but my whole life. i use it to look up movies, places to eat, directions, listen to music, watch movies.

Whether right or wrong; BB in the past of had a stigma of being some of the best business devices known to mankind but lacking on the 'fun' aspect of life. Since I don't have a corporate account and pay for my own phones I wanted it all and did not consider BB of several years back.

That changed a few years ago . . I started looking into the 'new' generation of Berrys. The pearl was interesting but I was not a fan of the keyboard or small screen. I almost got the curve . . but at this point I was happy with my Q and the curve did not have enough in functionality to make me want to switch (and I was used to WM and had it heavily hacked . . I mean customized).

Finally I got restless this year . . I wanted the device that had everything . . multimedia screen, business use, GPS, high speed internet, world phone (not leaving Verizon, and wifi . . . . I went through the the Touch, the i760, and the new Q this year. Then the Storm . . . WOW everything I wanted in one phone (except wifi but I noticed I didn't need it when I had the 760)! I was very worried about the touch screen though . . . .

Then I played with one today and I am sold. So I will soon be an addict! I will end by saying that it was not so much the marketing campaign or the "iphone factor" but rather the functionality . . . a phone KNOWN for its ability to handle the business world with that screen, full browser, high speed, world phone and unlocked GPS . . . . count me in

[troutseth]

sorry that was long

[bassistloaded]

the old Blackberry phones were ugly to me. Never saw one i really liked until the storm came out

[TreyDaPrince]

the old Blackberry phones were ugly to me. Never saw one i really liked until the storm came out

This is true too.

[stanfna#AC]

business man here...i have been doing the palm thing for years.

it all started with the Samsung I-300...then the Samsung I-330...then a Treo 600...then a Treo 700p.

there are things i will definitely miss about the palm os...but I think there will be enough on the Storm...that i will only miss my treo as i am walking out of the store.

on second though...i am already over it!!!!! ha ha ha


I WANT MY STORM!!!!

[jaykav99]

the old Blackberry phones were ugly to me. Never saw one i really liked until the storm came out

Yea i agree and i hate trackballs, screw the iphone and yes it took a touchscreen lol

[MichaelBrandonW]

All comments are AWESOME!! Lets pledge a Blackberry for everyone!! World domination one efficient, effective device at a time. If you are new to the world of BB, tell a friend, get them hooked and BBM the sh*t out of them. Lol.

[kittiesplay]

To be honest it was a little of both business and pleasure for me.

It just so happened I got a new job early October where I am very mobile I travel up and down the city all day for meetings. My job gave us lap tops and cells, but no blackberry. So it became apparent that I could really use a web enabled phone with email so i can stay in touch and get somethings done while i'm in a cab doing nothing or heck just surf the net to pass the time.

I'm a verizon customer So I started looking at phones I started looking at the dare which has a nice browers, I can get my mail on the web so that was good. But then I learned about the storm. Email, Web, Calendar, Office Docs this is all I need and more. So yup I hopped on the bandwagon and grabbed a front seat. Can't wait till Friday

[troutseth]

Yea i agree and i hate trackballs, screw the iphone and yes it took a touchscreen lol

I am actually the other way . . . if they find a way to take the Storm as is and add a slide out key pad without increasing size . . I would be even happier. I am not a touch keypad fan . . . it took RIM's implmentation of the click through to port me!

[cwcanty]

yeah I think for most people it was the look of the blackberry that kept them away. I mean, the 8703e is ok, but its not where near as sexy as the bold . It also made a huge difference when RIM released the pearl and curve. Just adding a camera brought in a whole legion of fans and opened the door to a lot of new people.

Just wait till RIM released a touchscreen/keypad combo phone, you can pretty much say goodbye to Palm!

[LotusBerry]

Add me to the list of "Yes, it took a touchscreen to bring me over to BB" people. A year ago or so, I tried an 8703e (I think) that someone in my company had returned and I hated it. The web browser sucked, the email client looked like crap, and I could never get the hang of typing. The only, and I mean only, time it was useful was during a snowstorm when I checked Google maps for a detour.

I was eligible for an upgrade in August. I was originally looking at the iPhone but I thought I should give BB another look. I use Lotus Notes email at work and I've always heard that BB works well with that. I was hesitant about the iPhone because it doesn't work with Lotus Notes and it's on AT&T. That's when I found out about rumors of The Storm.

After doing some research, I decided that was definitely the phone for me.

[IMAStormchaser]

I had the original Palm treo(the black and white clam shell/flip phone -the looks I got!) upgraded to the 300 just a little before the 450 came out. I hung with that for a long time until it broke down, and refused to pay the premium for the Palms when they refused to drop thier prices. Plus, they really didn't have all I wanted. I've been tolerating an EnV for a year and a half just waiting and hoping my ideal phone would appear. The iphone certainly caught my eye, but it still didn't have all I wanted. You can't imagine how excited I was when I saw the plans for the Storm! It was everything I've been looking for. Honestly, the fact that Blackberry was the one to finally put it all together is just incidental to me and a huge bonus! :-)
Thanks for the welcome!

[sdmilton]

very well said dude! our community is going to grow immensely!

[Thomas-C]

I've been using PDA's and smartphones for a long time, but have always been a windows CE then windows mobile user just because of the compatibility and mobile office etc. or perhaps because my first one was given to me and I'm a product of what I became used to. It doesn't take a touch screen. In fact I rarely use the touch screen on my current device and I am actually a big fan of the trackball on other BB devices. I think to be quite honest Blackberries have just been bread in an enterprise environment, and although I am business oriented and like to have all my contacts and email and documents at my fingertips I wasn't in a position where blackberries were used or issued. Also, when it comes to the storm. . .three things entice me about it. One is the simplicity of the OS, two is the size and resolution of the screen and three is that it is technology tried and tested in an enterprise environment where reliability and security are very important. The software was developed for the business user and not the consumer. I'm looking for function over form now, but it doesn't hurt that it may also be a multimedia powerhouse. You may say, well if you were looking for function over form, you should have came to the blackberry side a while ago. . well I just don't think they were advertised as much as the storm is now, and I've always been a user of pda's without phone and wireless internet functionality. . so a blackberry wasn't in the cards until now. Just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

-Thomas

[Berserk87]

the storm is cheaper that the iphone, and better in almost every way, why wouldnt you want it?

i want a media phone, as well as something thats comfortable, i was totally psyched for the htc touch hd, but its not coming to canada (north america), and while i would love having an iphone, there plans are terrible and i hate rogers.

[imann101]

I am one of those college students you're talking about. And it wasn't just the storm that brought me to blackberrys. The bold caught my eye first. I'll be honest, I like gadgets; cool things. I am sure blackberrys were great for those who needed push e-mail and business related applications. However, that is probably only about a third of the population. When rim started going more consumer oriented it opened the floodgates for people like me! The curve/pearl definitely started it, but the storm with its rivelry with the iphone, is whats going to excel it.

[scougarb]

Since I am one of those late comers . . I will reply! I am a very heavy business (email, calendar, contacts.) user and have gone through 7 "smartphones" over my career . . this will be my first BB. I live on my phone . . . and not just for work but my whole life. i use it to look up movies, places to eat, directions, listen to music, watch movies.

I will second this. As an IT consultant in a mostly Microsoft world, I went through several windows mobile devices. Each time a new one came out, I would think... this is it... they finally got it right. Only to find out that it was the same crap in a shiny new box. And while I still think WM actually has BB beat in a couple of areas (including email of all things), it's hard to ignore the reliability and intuitiveness of the BB interface. So even though the storm was a bonus for me, it is NOT what brought me to BB. I was recently laid off and have been working a temp job at VZW (go figure). In the mean time, I have been looking for a permanent position and got an interview with RIM. Since I had no experience with the BB platform, I figured I better learn a little something about it before my interview So I bought an 8703e off of eBay. The rest, as they say, is history.

[armedtank]

I would fall more into the Business category, at a previous job, I was assigned a Blackberry 72 something, B&W screen with a phone, nothing special but very useful. I think I kind of revolted against Blackberry because of just how accessible I was. I have used dumb phones for years, relying on an old school palm pilot for contacts, etc. This year I just got tired of carrying a laptop, palm pilot, ipod and cellphone. I felt like I was just waiting to get electrocuted in the 1st heavy rain storm and decided I wanted an all-in-one device, iphone was nice but never really on my short list as I have been with Verizon for years and changing companies just to get a phone just didn't seem reasonable to me (no offense to those that have/will switch for the Storm or iphone, its your money and none of my business). Long boring story short, I was all set to go for a smartphone from palm, but everybody I know that has one never has anything great to say about it but just about everybody I know with a Crackberry goes into convulsions if they leave it home by accident. I loved the looks of the Storm pretty much the 1st time I saw it and when I read the specs, I was pretty much sold............