RIM BlackBerry Storm 9530 Review

shooptek · Thread Author #1 12-10-2008, 09:39 PM

Hey all,
Thanks for coming to read my review of the Storm. I want to start out by giving you some background on my situation. I have been a long-time VZW customer and picked up the 8830 when it first came out. Then I moved onto the Curve this past May. Since the first rumors of the Storm began to leak out around last Christmas, I have been very interested in the device. Then this fall comes around and the release gets pushed back again and again.

Finally it is the evening of November 20th, and I am about to get my Storm the very next morning. I woke up at 5:30am and went to get in line at my local VZW corporate store which opened at 7am. I had my Storm in hand by 8am and rushed home to start setting it up and playing with it. I liked it so much, that by 10am I was back on the road going down to my local BestBuy where I had a pre-order to pick up another Storm for my father in Boston, where I was going for Thanksgiving. At this point I am SURE that this is going to the the phone I have for the next year, or at least until something better comes out for VZW, and here is why:

[EDIT] I want to say that I am in no way a fan or hater of the iPhone, but I do compare the Storm to it because they are in the same bracket of device, and like it or not, Apple has set the industry standards.

Display: The Storm has the most amazing screen I have ever personally seen on a cell phone, including the iPhone. Colors are vibrant and every image is crisp. The glass display doesn't get scratched easily at all, and is still in perfect condition. Watching movie clips is great, even on the small screen because of the high, dense resolution.

Keyboard: I think RIM did a good job with the on-screen keyboard. The SurePress is a really good idea, and does provide a satisfying button-press-feeling when selecting buttons. I found typing on the Storm to be much more satisfying and accurate than on the iPhone, but I still miss the speed and nearly perfect accuracy of my Curve/World Edition.

Web Browser: When I first got my Storm, I was using the BlackBerry Browser and got frustrated with it easily. I switched to Opera Mini for about a week, until OS .75 was leaked, at which time I switched back to the BlackBerry browser and couldnt have been happier. The browser was fast, loaded pages correctly, and the pages looked awesome on the Storms display. However, I still think that Apple has the upper hand with their Safari browser on the iPhone, especially when loading the desktop version of a web page.

Media Player: The video player on the Storm works fine, and the movies look great on the Storm's display. It would be nice if there were more supported video formats (DivX/XviD) but I can live with converting my files. The music player is the best of any BlackBerry I have seen yet, especially when combined with the Media Manager from RIM for PC's. Of course it is not going to be as good as a stand-alone MP3 player, but it is still good and easy to use. I am still disappointed that RIM has not released Desktop Manager or even Media Manager for OS X. My main music collection is on my Macbook Pro, and I would like to be able to sync my BlackBerry with that computer. It is a shame it has taken RIM this long to create a good syncing situation for Mac users. Lucky for me I am able to have a custom built desktop, otherwise I don't know how I could use PocketMac to sync.

Reception: Great. Just as good as my World Edition or Curve, and call quality was about the same.

Sound: RIM really stepped it up here. The sound quality from the speaker on the Curve and the World Edition was sub-par. The Curve was better, but still not as good as the Storm's external speaker. The rubber bumpers on the sides of the speaker was a great idea to prevent from muffled sound.

Camera: RIM has never had a really great camera app, and this is no different. I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the pictures when I transferred them to my PC, but it does work for a cell phone point and shoot camera when you want to take a quick snapshot.

Battery: I didn't have any problems with the battery life on my Storm. I could probably get through 1.5 days without charging, but I leave my Storm on the charging cradle next to my bed every night anyway, and it gets a full charge each night.

GPS: Not a fan of VZNav, but it is nice that VZW unlocked it for BBMaps (and hopefully GoogleMaps when there is an update). I also have a navigation system built into my car, so I don't have too much use for this. However, when trying to find my location from a fresh start, I was able to be located under a minute each time, with 7-8 satellites.

Usability: This is where the review starts to get messy, as this is where I explain why my Storm was returned to VZW this morning. What it comes down to is that the Storm is an AWESOME device, but really lacks as a phone. The phone application is not easy to use, even when the default screen is changed. There are many fewer speed dials (compared to every button on the Curve/WE) and it takes considerably more time to make a phone call than on my previous BlackBerry. Also answering a call is sometimes spotty, but that is something that can be addressed in a software update.

Another thing that really got to me was the amount of work that it required to type out a message. I always found that my thumbs were getting tired after typing out a few quick text messages or a short email, and that writing a serious response to an email was something better left until I got home to my PC.

Bugs: Don't get me wrong, I know that being an early adopter for any device makes you a sort of post-release beta tester. I understood prior to picking up the Storm on the morning of the 21st that there would be some bugs, and I am absolutely fine with that. It takes time to get a device perfected, which makes sense. I only had two random reboots for the entire time that I had the device, which is pretty good for the first month that a device is on the market. I updated my software to .75 the first morning after DonNguyen (sorry if that is misspelled) leaked it, and it did improve the device, as each update will.

In the end, the most important thing for me is that it works REALLY well as a phone. On top of that, for the amount of email and texting that I do, I was finding the touch screen to be a burden. If you think that the touchscreen is for you, then go for it, whether you pick up this device today and wait for updates or wait a month or so until VZW and RIM get all the bugs worked out, you WILL enjoy this device. As for me, I don't think I will be able to give up a physical QWERTY keyboard anytime soon.

crackvegas78 · #2 12-10-2008, 09:44 PM

Nice review. Just wondering. What did you go back to?

shooptek · Thread Author #3 12-10-2008, 09:49 PM

Curve 8330, and I am loving my physical QWERTY right now.

Terrigno · #4 12-12-2008, 02:49 PM

Very nice review. I have a curve before my storm and loved the keyboard on that either. But I have to understand what im stepping into when I buy a touch phone with no keyboard. Tougher typing! But other then that, fully in love with the Storm. Keeping the curve for a back up

Jesson · #5 12-23-2008, 05:17 PM

Nice review but im sorry to hear that u returned it. I had the LG Voyager b4 i got my Storm and i had a physical keyboard on the LG but i really don't miss the keyboard cuz i have gotten use to the keyboard on the Storm.

pkcable · #6 01-12-2009, 11:48 PM

For more storm specific tips check here...

http://forums.crackberry.com/f135/

jigsawsteve · #7 01-14-2009, 08:27 AM

Great review

chris2k5 · #8 01-25-2009, 04:30 PM

The screen is plastic...

Orakle44 · #9 01-25-2009, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris2k5

The screen is plastic...

nope, its glass

jhamilton3 · #10 02-02-2009, 06:37 PM

Good review.

Love the comparison.

localfinesse · #11 02-18-2009, 07:06 PM

Thanks for the review!

-allison- · #12 02-25-2009, 10:12 AM

Very nice review. I've had a Bold, and several other BlackBerry's. I really love the physical keyboard. I was seriously considering the Storm, because I love the touchscreen and it's such a beautiful piece of equipment... (I had an original iPhone for just under a year, and I loved it except for the missing features that I need). I think I will wait until they come out with a device that has both the touchscreen and a physical keyboard. Guess I'll hang onto my Centro for now and cross my fingers!! Thanks again for the informative review.

sircaesar · #13 03-12-2009, 10:08 PM

all i have to say, i got the storm, i got swooped into the hype, however prior to that i had the 8820 and prior to that i had the curve, and the storm as nice as it is.. i want my qwerty back.. here's the deal if your going to use the storm for watching movies, cable tv/satellite now possible with slingbox, and other media, hands down get or keep your storm, the graphic capabilities are astounding, also as allison mention the touch screen is awesome. but i found out when i got it, i am hooked on the qwerty still, if anyone is interested in that regard i am in the market to trade my storm(new condition in box with all accessories for the 8900 Curve.. just fyi..

DoctorNeutron · #14 03-12-2009, 10:29 PM

I have had almost identical experiences with my Storm: 13th one out of 20 from the Conroe Texas Store on 21-nov-08.

I downloaded and installed Media Sync as a separate app on my Windows Vista PC and I was able to transfer my entire iPOD music collection to my Storm. As you have said, the sound quality is excellent. I wonder if you could have somehow done an analogous operation with your MAC by burning your collection to DVD and transferring to a friend's PC to load up your Storm? O Well ! Still using 75 !

Doctor Neutron