Yes, I was one of those crazy people who stood in line at 6:30 a.m. to snatch one up. Luckily I did and here's my take. After reading a lot of the negative comments by reviews online I still decided to go ahead with my purchase. Visually the phone is stunning. No doubt a great looker. A bit on the hefty side, but not so much to be a turn off. The one big thing that everyone seems to be knocking is the screen and that it acts as one big button when you press down. No doubt it took some getting used to. After about a day I realized that by setting the keyboard millisecond response time to its lowest setting, I could accurate type just as fast as my iPhone (actually a bit faster) when using suretype. In landscape mode, I seem to make more errors as the keyboard seems a bit tight. But after some practice with the "hover and click" I'm loving the keyboard and can bang out emails instantly. Here comes my next point: messaging. This is what a BB is all about. My iPhone 3G which I switched from was very glitchy when it came to email. It was painfully slow even on wi-fi. Dropped calls every day (maybe it's AT&T, maybe it's Apple or a combination of both). When I got frustrated with the iPhone I switched to a Nokia E71 - excellent phone no doubt. But it dropped calls as well - not as much as the iPhone. I realized that I had missed having a BB. It acted as an excellent messaging system AND a phone. Go figure. The iPhone no doubt has changed the landscape of mobile telephones. I'm an Apple fan and only use Macs. But I think the iPhone tries to be too much. So now I'm happy with my Storm and an iPod touch that can basically do everything the iPhone can do except making calls and use GPS. So back to the storm. I am not experiencing any lag time with any of the operations. Even with few bars, this sucker grabs a signal and holds on. Crystal clear calls - very good speed on the standard browser - and it hasn't left my hand for a few days. Yes, I'm obsessed with it. But I think that it has stayed true to what a BB is - a messaging device. In that regard, it's stellar. The screen is beautiful, bright and pictures and videos look stunning. The camera is decent. The iPhone had a better camera in my opinion even with less megapixels. Hopefully RIM can fix this with a software update. Battery - Pretty good results, but not EXCELLENT. I can get a days use out of it with combined emails, web browsing and phone calls. All in all, I think this is an excellent product and would recommend it to anyone whose primary use would be as a messaging device and cell phone. So in one pocket I can have my BB and in the other my iPod touch - the best of both worlds!
I too had an iPhone. I also agree with everything you said except for the camera on the iPhone being better. I totally disagree, but in most cases its a matter of lighting. One thing you have to admit though is that without proper lighting the iPhone doesn't stand a chance but the Storm has a flash that could blind Stevie Wonder. My iPhone's screen was going black on every call and had to be reset after every call to get it to come back. I am a CFO and I need my e-mail at least 5 minutes after its been sent to me and with the Storm it comes in less than 2 minutes. With the iPhone sometimes it came 4 or 5 hours later. I can't afford to get payroll information 5 hours after I've left the office. Do you have any idea what it feels like to tell an entire company that they will not be getting their checks on time? You don't wanna do it! Believe me! To each his own, but that's my Storm and I'm stickin to it!!!
Good read. After owning the Storm for a while, do you feel you still need the ipod Touch? My storm has replaced my ipod classic. I'd be interested to know what features you prefer on your Touch over the Storm. I'm a first time Blackberry owner and I absolutely LOVE my Storm. Im on OS .90 and while it does still have bugs, its very snappy and the accelerometer is nice and quick, which doesn't make me envy the iphones accelerometer so much anymore.
The BB Storm is a fantastic phone/messenger. This is my first time to the BB world after being hesitant to go to BB's. That being not knowing what it was all about.
Despite some flaws which I think are few and small I highly recommend this phone to anyone who takes the time to learn it. To me this phone has change the way I deal with the ongoing tasks I do throughout my day. It has far exceeded what I thought BB do.
On top of that the storm is so far better then the other phone in every way. I can almost guarantee that after the same two years the storm will truly be supreme over the other phone.
Everyone just needs to relax and give this phone a chance to get up to speed. Three months and people are wanting the phone to make breakfast for them.
The way I look at it is to ask yourself "can this phone do everything I want it to?"
My answer is yes. Maybe not as streamlined and as fast as I would like but it will happen in due time.
I love the storm and to me its by far the best out there for a full all around device.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
The storm is my first blackberry, mainly because I never wanted to switch away from Verizon. I have had verizon my entire (cell phone) life. I live in the woods, and the other major carriers, T-Mobile/Sprint/AT&T all have at best what I would call sketchy service.
Has anyone else noticed that the screen will occasionally freeze in the cold? meaning that it won't switch between portrait and landscape view.
I am glad that Verizon and Blackberry took the time to really develop this phone to the extent it has been already. The iPhone was a monster in the industry, and I think that if the storm was released earlier, it could have destroyed the model. A good solid release was just the thing that I believe will help the storm skyrocket past the iPhone.
I just upgraded to .90 two days ago, the camera is ssssooooo much better now!!!! Its quick and the pics are way better. (So......if your not diggin the camera, maybe.....................?)
