[usualsuspect]

To start I am a huge bby fan. I had a pearl for 3 yrs and would have the storm today if it was a good device because I love the suretype keyboard. I can fly on it. I also love the messaging capability.

So today I stopped by Verizon to test out typing again and also the device in general because I would still consider changing my iphone as I am in the window of being able to return.

So here it is. The Storm screen kept flipping from portrait to landscape. The pressing on the keys was too much I was getting tired. I do love think typing is more accurate though & I can fly on the suretype. Really miss that. Apps loading on Iphone 3gs are SO much faster! The browsers aren't even in the same league. The iphone was at least 4 times faster loading the pages. Also all the talk of Verizon being a faster network just didn't seem to be true.

Of course I miss some things about bby but I must say comparing the storm to the iphone is no comparison. I encourage all storm users to spend 30 minutes w an iphone - u will like it. And the typing on the keyboard is something u quickly get used to. After 2 weeks I am already very fast and the spelling correction is amazing...

[fastfinger]

Yea, but how do you like ATT? Were you ever with Verizon?

[eShawpm]

Network wise, Verizon stomps ATT in my opinion as far as reception and overall network speed. If you are in a strong 3G area, ATT is actually pretty fast however, 3G on ATT is not nationwide. On Verizon, the greater majority of time you are on their 1X or 3G network unless you are in the absolute sticks.

Phone wise, once Jailbroken and loaded with Backgounder (free) the iPhone is ok. The BB is still better overall at messaging however, the iPhone works well, is very smooth, and is extremely versatile. If I were getting a phone for work, no doubt, I would get a Berry on Verizion mostly due to network support. Similarly, if Verizon had the iPhone, it would be a serious toss up.

- E

[Duvi]

3G UMTS for AT&T vs. Europe and Canada, AT&T gets stopped. 3G UMTS for AT&T vs. Verizon, AT&T still wins. Even on EDGE, my internet isn't that much slower than Verizon's.

The reason AT&T gets trashed is because they aren't producing what they're capable of. Although, UMTS is faster than EVDO, AT&T is barely making the cut.

I am in NY/NJ market and I have had all wireless companies. I also constantly go head to head with a friend on Verizon. I win, but not by what I should.

Speedtests are nowhere near accurate. It's more accurate when going on a website you would actually visit. CNN.com or CrackBerry.com

[jdk2]

Speed, as relates to a network, is extremely location dependant. In the Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey area, they're both fast but as Duvi pointed out, AT&T is quicker albeit just barely. VZW's EVDO network is able to penetrate deeply into buildings where AT&T can't. Hence the need for Wi-Fi on AT&T.

[mpafr012]

Speed, as relates to a network, is extremely location dependant. In the Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey area, they're both fast but as Duvi pointed out, AT&T is quicker albeit just barely. VZW's EVDO network is able to penetrate deeply into buildings where AT&T can't. Hence the need for Wi-Fi on AT&T.

I actually find AT&T penetrates buildings better than VZW.

[cjohnson481]

I actually find AT&T penetrates buildings better than VZW.

wait til Q1 2010 with VZW having LTE. Game. Changer.

[avt123]

Hence the need for Wi-Fi on AT&T.

That's not why AT&T has WiFi on most of their devices. Even Verizon has WiFi devices, just not BBs.

[Duvi]

Speed, as relates to a network, is extremely location dependant. In the Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey area, they're both fast but as Duvi pointed out, AT&T is quicker albeit just barely. VZW's EVDO network is able to penetrate deeply into buildings where AT&T can't. Hence the need for Wi-Fi on AT&T.

Incorrect. The frequencies is the what penetrates buildings. The lower, the better the penetration. The higher, the further it reaches. AT&T deployed 3G UMTS on mainly 1900mhz. Now they are switching the EDGE frequencies to 1900 and putting the 3G on 850mhz. When I worked at Bestbuy in a mall, I had no coverage from Verizon or T-mobile. AT&T was the best and Sprint came a far second. Same thing happened with my building (expected as it's AT&T, but other companies like Smith & Barney were there) where I had little to no service. Verizon got better in my building, but it wasn't always that way.

[shawnomega]

I agree, I came from a Storm. The only reason I held onto it so long is the talks of the newest iPhone coming out. I didn't want to go with the 3G and then the new one came out. I am glad I waited. Its not really even about the touchscreen it was about the functionality. I am super glad for the people the storm works for but I was not one of them! I was worried about the sure-click to touchscreen. I was nervous when I went to the iPhone that it was going to increase my errors! But its the exact opposite. I make less mistakes, and over all I really find it to be hands down the best phone I had ever owned.

[jdk2]

Incorrect. The frequencies is the what penetrates buildings. The lower, the better the penetration. The higher, the further it reaches. AT&T deployed 3G UMTS on mainly 1900mhz. Now they are switching the EDGE frequencies to 1900 and putting the 3G on 850mhz. When I worked at Bestbuy in a mall, I had no coverage from Verizon or T-mobile. AT&T was the best and Sprint came a far second. Same thing happened with my building (expected as it's AT&T, but other companies like Smith & Barney were there) where I had little to no service. Verizon got better in my building, but it wasn't always that way.

I have a VZW and AT&T tower within visual range of the buildings that I work. AT&T cannot penetrate the building once deep inside. On the other hand, VZW has no such issue anywhere in the building. It may be frequency dependant but my guess is you were in an area that had poor VZW coverage and AT&T was stronger and closer.

Again, signal strength is location dependant and will vary wildly as each carrier's coverage changes.

[jbdale]

I used to bash the iPhone. Infact I really hated it. I had two coworkers that had 2Gs and because of their constant complaining about it, I knew I would never own one. Infact, my sig is an office joke about how bad the device compared to the blackberries. I still love my Storm, never had any problems with it, but I felt that I was abusing the fun side of it and it wasn't fair to be watching movies and playing games on it. So I was going to wait for the S2 or the Tour. Was not impressed with the either so I checked out the 3G (should have spent the extra money and got the S, but oh well). I don't like comparing the two, because their for different reasons.

[berryite]

wait til Q1 2010 with VZW having LTE. Game. Changer.

What is LTE you ask?

From Wikipedia ... original article here --> 3GPP Long Term Evolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

LTE (Long Term Evolution) is the fourth generation of radio technologies designed to increase the capacity and speed of mobile telephone networks. Where the current generation of mobile telecommunication networks are collectively known as 3G, LTE has been given the moniker of 4G. Most major mobile carriers in the United States and several worldwide carriers have announced plans to convert their networks to LTE beginning in 2009. LTE is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) which will be introduced in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 8. Much of 3GPP Release 8 will focus on adopting 4G mobile communications technology, including an all-IP flat networking architecture.

LTE could allow data transfer rates to and from mobile devices between 15 and 100 times faster than 3G networks.

LTE provides downlink peak rates of at least 100Mbit/s, 50 Mbit/s[1] in the uplink and RAN (Radio Access Network) round-trip times of less than 10 ms. LTE supports flexible carrier bandwidths, from 1.4 MHz up to 20 MHz as well as both FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) and TDD (Time Division Duplex).

The goals for LTE include improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum and reformed spectrum opportunities,[1] and better integration with other open standards. The architecture that will result from this work is called EPS (Evolved Packet System) and comprises E-UTRAN (Evolved UTRAN) on the access side and EPC (Evolved Packet Core) on the core side. EPC is also known as SAE (System Architecture Evolution) and E-UTRAN is also known as LTE.

The main advantages with LTE are high throughput, low latency, plug and play, FDD and TDD in the same platform, improved end-user experience and simple architecture resulting in low operating expenditures. LTE will also support seamless passing to cell towers with older network technology such as GSM, cdmaOne, W-CDMA (UMTS), and CDMA2000.

[berryite]

wait til Q1 2010 with VZW having LTE. Game. Changer.

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

— Richard Buckminster Fuller

So esoterically speaking, LTE evolves past and jumps over the competition between GSM and CDMA and makes both obsolute. In the process, it brings Verizon into being a global carrier without ever having to adopt GSM? Am I reading all of that right? If so, I agree with your "game changer" assessment.

[whowhat]

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

� Richard Buckminster Fuller.

i totally agree

[pilotnh]

AT&T cannot penetrate the building once deep inside.

Sounds like a personal problem. I'd suggest cellular Viagra.

[Miggwilson]

I owned the Storm for a long while. Don't get me wrong...I liked my Storm. I was looking for a multi-media device: pics, music, movies, games, email, etc. The Storm is just ok for that and the browser is beyond slow.

I had my eye on a 3GS iPhone for a long time. Finally sold my Storm and picked up the iPhone. So glad I did. The apps are super easy. The brower is fast. Even AT&T service in my area is great for coverage. In the woods...not so much!