New Storm is missing magic touch; consider Bold alternative
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Wed Nov 26 08:26:18 2008 EST
Nov 26, 2008 (Chicago Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX News Network)
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With the touch-screen Storm, Research In Motion Ltd. offers a response to Apple
Inc.'s iPhone. Unfortunately, the Storm is more like a flurry, failing to add much
more than a trace of innovation.
If you use a BlackBerry, you quickly will grasp the basics of how to work
this phone. But if you're a smart-phone newbie - the kind of person RIM wants to
lure - who's looking for a touch-screen model, there are better choices.
The Storm is sleek and offers nice multimedia functions; videos look great.
But navigating the phone can be cumbersome.
The faithful BlackBerry user may be better off with the Bold, another RIM
model with multimedia muscle plus two fast network connections.
- The Storm
I was disappointed during my first few hours using the BlackBerry Storm,
which is on sale at Verizon Wireless for $199 with a two-year contract. But I started
to get comfortable the more I relied on it for messaging.
But let's get right to the point: The touch controls on the Storm do not
compare with the more responsive iPhone or Google phone. RIM should have included
a trackball with the touch controls, like HTC did with T-Mobile's Google phone.
Navigating the Storm is challenging because BlackBerry software is designed
for a trackball or scroll wheel, and RIM barely changed the interface here. An example:
When you want to reply to an e-mail, you hit the menu key to bring up the familiar
list of messaging options. The "reply" button is between "save" and "forward," both
of which I frequently hit instead, leading to frustrating back-tracking. A trackball
would have alleviated this problem.
The keyboard uses a technology called SurePress, also called "clickable"
typing, to simulate the feel of a virtual keyboard.
At first, I thought I was going to break the phone when I typed. As I became
more sure-fingered, my typing became more accurate. But it's not as good as the
iPhone's approach or a physical keyboard.
Also, there are three different keyboard styles on this phone, which is two
too many (on the iPhone, a QWERTY keyboard appears in the vertical position):
- A QWERTY keypad opens when the phone is held horizontally.
- Vertically, you have a choice of a "sure type" keyboard, where the "q"
and "w" share one key.
- You also can use a "multi-tap" keyboard, which looks like a standard phone
keypad.
As for pluses, the Storm is great for watching movies, thanks to its 3.25-inch
screen (measured horizontally). You also can shoot video, which you can't on the
iPhone, and the 3.2-megapixel camera is better than average.
The Storm will appeal to people who must have a touch-screen phone, but I
think users deep into a "crackberry" addiction would be happier with AT&T's
offering, the Bold.
- The Bold
The biggest drawback to the Bold, which went on sale this month, is its $299
price. (Can you say "holiday sale"?)
It's a fast, responsive device that has enough multimedia content to keep
road warriors entertained in a pinch. The keyboard is nice and firm, but I did find
it a little slick.
Navigating through applications and e-mail with the trackball is much faster
on the Bold than the touch-controlled Storm. This is a phone that remains true to
its roots with impressive results.
It's also a nice media phone; videos, music and photos looked good. The camera
offers only 2 megapixels, but you can shoot videos.
As with the Storm, setting up my corporate e-mail was simple. (I didn't even
need help from IT.) I had more trouble accessing my personal Web-based e-mail, but
I did get it to work.
The phone fits nicely in your palm, and typing messages with one hand is
a breeze. It runs on AT&T's high-speed 3G network, and you can access Wi-Fi
networks (thank you, AT&T), which you can't on the Storm.
If you're looking for a new BlackBerry, my choice would be the Bold. (Is
a sale on the way?)
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