[cross09]

Hello all,
I am a current Verizon customer and I am considering picking up a BB Storm next Friday. I have played around with it in the VZ store and I really like it.

I have also been debating between the Samsung Omnia and the HTC Touch Pro. I am very profecient with Windows on PC though I have no experiance with Windows Mobile or BB's.

I will be paying full retail for my new phone, and it is expencive so I want to make sure to pick the one I will be happy with.

I will use the email features, but not heavily. I want a good PDA type phone with good entertainment options and web browsing (Games, YouTube, Facebook, etc...OEM or 3rd party)

I know there are threads already comparing the Storm to the above phones but could not find one from recently.

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions!

(( Sorry for the typo in the titile!! ))

[mikestorm]

I spent 30 minutes with each phone before I made my choice. I'd recommend the same for you.

The Omnia reminds me a of a Taiwanese knock off of a much better phone.

The Touch pro had me squinting at the display, and I had a much tougher time navigating around.

The Storm has a much higher learning curve, but once you get used to it you'll find it's such a great device. Besides, if you're asking this question here it's pretty clear you have a preference. You're either looking for compelling reasons NOT to buy a Storm, or a reinforcement of your subconscious decision.

Just do it man!

[robdiggie81]

go with the storm i played with the touch pro navigation to me sucks
and the omnia why though is a good phone with 5mp and fm radio and you can get a beta of sky fire the texting on it blows and accelerometer bounces off the wall so i would personally recommend the storm thats what i have and i work for vzw like the guy said above its a higher learning curve but once you learn it its an awesome phone with more possibility down the road

[jayharper08]

^i second that!

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[NickyParsons]

Was facing the same decision myself a month ago.

Forget the Touch Pro. It's crippled compared to the same offerings AT&T and Sprint have.

I purchased the Omnia myself for a week. Use both in the store and you'll see that the Omnia just doesn't hold a candle to the Storm. The landscape keyboard alone shows that no brains were involved when designing the phone. Who the he!! puts the space bar to the far right of the screen? A poorly designed phone all around.

The Storm is the flagship device of Verizon. Definitely the way to go!

[shatiek]

All I can say is get a Storm and don't look back. BTW Windows new OS will be out this year and both the Omnia and the Touch will feel old fast!!! Plus the Storm has a kick *** Community!

[zazzified]

The Storm trumps them all, and Blackberries mean business. Play around with them of course but it wasn't even a question for me.

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[NickyParsons]

Seriously, who designs this? Hideous, outdated, AND illogical.

Omnia keyboard:

[NickyParsons]

Why the TP is out (for me):

courtesy of PhoneArena

"The major difference though is system memory. All other versions have shipped with 288MB of RAM and 512MB ROM, but inexplicably Verizon has stripped it down to 192/512MB. ISM (Intimate Shared Memory) - which lets the device use RAM more efficiently- has doubled to 64MB, but that doesn’t compensate for total loss of memory which is sorely felt. Verizon’s Pro is sluggish, and we found ourselves waiting to do just about anything. Most of what we loved about previous Pros is still available in the VZW version; it’s just that the reduced memory makes the overall experience less enjoyable. It’s like driving a Ferrari through a parking garage; you know there is so much more potential but you just can’t tap into it. Verizon has gotten grief in the past for crippling features, most notably for their handling of Bluetooth and their standardized UI, but this is the first time they’ve actually crippled hardware. Quite frankly it is unacceptable, especially since they skimped on the materials as well. What’s worse is that they have the nerve to charge $50-70 more than Sprint, AT&T and Alltel for a less-capable device."

[jklevin]

I had the omnia for a weel or so but didn't like the keyboard. Also there didn't seem to be the same level of support out there as there is with the storm. I got the storm and never looked back.

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[pkcable]

Having tried all three phones I can say without hesitation get the storm!

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[oakindustries]

I own a storm and my buddy owns an omnia and let me use it for a bit while at work. The omnia is a cool phone but there are a lot less of them and samsung has a bad track record with cell phones...anyone who has used a glyde knows what I am talking about. The omnia is also a lot more locked down than the storm is. I think in the long run the BB storm is going to have more support and more cool apps just because of the sheer numbers and companies behind the device. My vote is for the storm.

[zazzified]

I own a storm and my buddy owns an omnia and let me use it for a bit while at work. The omnia is a cool phone but there are a lot less of them and samsung has a bad track record with cell phones...anyone who has used a glyde knows what I am talking about. The omnia is also a lot more locked down than the storm is. I think in the long run the BB storm is going to have more support and more cool apps just because of the sheer numbers and companies behind the device. My vote is for the storm.

Oh my god the Glyde was a nightmare. I went from the Samsung U740 to the Glyde because I like the U740, and that was a HUGE mistake. I sold it on ebay after a few months (no idea why I kept it the 30 days in hindsight) and got the LG Dare. And now that I have the Storm I'll sell the Dare shortly. But yes, the Glyde turned me off when it comes to Samsung. Now that I'm hooked on BB it's a non-issue for the future though, lol.

[furgy667]

I used win mo for almost 2 years . Very outdated look and feel , and was hard to navigate. I actually spent a good deal of money to make it more like the HTC touch interface. There is a large amount of software out there for it though . Never touched a omnia so no help there.

Its been almost a week since I got my first BB. It won't be the last .

[jdoc77]

I will be paying full retail for my new phone, and it is expencive so I want to make sure to pick the one I will be happy with.

...

I agree that the Storm is the best of the three... but what worries me is... Just make sure you still get the full 30 day return guarantee. I am sure you will be happy with the Storm... but if you aren't... a $600 nightmare is a bad thing to wake up to...

[CarGuy#IM]

I can tell you that my buddy got the Omnia and took it back like a week later because he hated it. It worked well as a camera but not as a phone. He later got a Storm after he got to play with my Storm for awhile and has been ever so happy.

[NickyParsons]

I can tell you that my buddy got the Omnia and took it back like a week later because he hated it. It worked well as a camera but not as a phone. He later got a Storm after he got to play with my Storm for awhile and has been ever so happy.

Are you my buddy? That's my story! (Just kidding, I'm not a "he")

[CarGuy#IM]

Are you my buddy? That's my story! (Just kidding, I'm not a "he")

Not unless you live on Maui. I was visiting him and his wife so he got to check out my Storm extensively, after returning his Omnia, and went and got one before I left. I sold a Storm for Verizon...lol.

You can be my buddy though...

[Dbajpai]

I had an omnia for a month. It has bad resolution, reception, a scratchable screen, and a very clunky interface. I tried to like it because I read all the bad reviews of the storm but in the end I couldn't. I'm so much happier with my storm

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[pool_shark#CB]

The only thing the Storm has over the Omnia is the screen.

There are multiple keyboards available for the Omnia so if that was your main problem with it all you had to do was download another one.

You can adjust the accelerometer from as low as don't turn at all to as high as turn at the slightest tilt.
It has vibration feedback when you touch the screen and type on the keyboard, which can be disabled.

The Omnia has a full HTML browser with limited flash support if you install flash player 7, the browser can also be set to identify as a mobile device if you prefer.

It has full HTML email and threaded SMS (which can be disabled).

The Omnia is completely customizable, has 5 MP camera with flash, voice recording, voice command with message and incoming call announcements, and program launch, a business card reader, podcast app, and TV out viewer.
It has apps available for weather, musiciD, youtube, java, streaming mpg video, and many more.

The touchwiz interface can also be turned off since I know so many of you here don't like it, I turned it off the first day.

The only thing the Storm can do that the Omnia can't is click.
However, the Omnia can do more than the Storm.

[Dbajpai]

Sure it CAN do more than the Storm. It just doesn't do anything very well (except the camera). I tried all the keyboards, including third party ones, and none of them were nearly as good as the Storm's for me. It doesn't even have a 3.5mm jack for god's sake!

Sorry, after a month of dealing with that POS, I have a deep and abiding hatred for that thing. Sounds like you had a similar experience with the Storm?

[pool_shark#CB]

Sure it CAN do more than the Storm. It just doesn't do anything very well (except the camera). I tried all the keyboards, including third party ones, and none of them were nearly as good as the Storm's for me. It doesn't even have a 3.5mm jack for god's sake!

Sorry, after a month of dealing with that POS, I have a deep and abiding hatred for that thing. Sounds like you had a similar experience with the Storm?

I don't miss the 3.5 mm jack because I use BT stereo headphones, who the heck uses wires anymore to listen to music or talk on the phone?
It reads my incoming emails and text messages through my BT headset, that's awesome!

I just recently tried the Storm this past Thursday. I was all hyped about its release until I read the user feedback, that turned me off immediately.

The Omnia is very functional and easy to use. I came from a Treo 700P, so of course I had to overcome the learning curve, but I did it within a week.

The SPB keyboard is much better than the preinstalled Omnia keyboard, I don't know if you tried that or not.

To say that it doesn't do anything well is not true. Thursday while shooting pool, one of my teammates had a Storm, his is the one I tried. I only tested his accelerometer which worked just fine. However he used my phone the rest of the night to watch youtube videos with my youtube app because the video using his Storm on youtube mobile was hideous.

The Omnia is simply a PC in the palm of your hand. Maybe you just couldn't make the learning curve.

[tlomp11]

I will offer my 2 cents ; I was a loyal WinMo user and did all in my power to avoid a BB. I purchased a Storm for the touch screen and stayed for how well BB's operate.

I would encourage you to buy the Storm.

Look at it this way ; the Storm is relatively new and needs some tune ups; WinMo is relatively old and still needs a major overhaul.

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[NickyParsons]

Disagree.

There are multiple keyboards available, but why should I have to pay for a replacement keyboard? What's so hard about logically designing one in the first place?

The accelerometer seems snappier but the silly animations really make the speed equal if not inferior to the Storm.

I'll give you the default browser on the Omnia as it does appear a bit more advanced than the Storm's. That being said, navigation on that browser is a NIGHTMARE. Lots of small links clustered together ensures you will be hitting back over and over again until you get what you want. This is where the clicking screen of the Storm really shines.

Finally, there's the overall discombobulation of the device. It has a Samsung contacts manager and a Windows contact manager. It has a Samsung media player and Windows Media Player. It has its own proprietary browser and Internet Explorer. Some people will say "Great! It has options!". I will look at it in disgust and say "Why bother building it on the Windows platform if everyone dislikes Windows and are looking for alternate ways to navigate the OS and alternate programs to accomplish what they want?"

For all the criticism the Storm has received as a "not-ready-for-primetime-device", I'd say the Omnia fits the bill even more. Slapping on bandaids to hide the Windows Mobile sore just doesn't do it for me.

The only thing the Storm has over the Omnia is the screen.

There are multiple keyboards available for the Omnia so if that was your main problem with it all you had to do was download another one.

You can adjust the accelerometer from as low as don't turn at all to as high as turn at the slightest tilt.
It has vibration feedback when you touch the screen and type on the keyboard, which can be disabled.

The Omnia has a full HTML browser with limited flash support if you install flash player 7, the browser can also be set to identify as a mobile device if you prefer.

It has full HTML email and threaded SMS (which can be disabled).

The Omnia is completely customizable, has 5 MP camera with flash, voice recording, voice command with message and incoming call announcements, and program launch, a business card reader, podcast app, and TV out viewer.
It has apps available for weather, musiciD, youtube, java, streaming mpg video, and many more.

The touchwiz interface can also be turned off since I know so many of you here don't like it, I turned it off the first day.

The only thing the Storm can do that the Omnia can't is click.
However, the Omnia can do more than the Storm.

[NickyParsons]

It really shouldn't influence your purchase decision but like others have mentioned, there's definitely a much larger Storm community online.

Lots of people who own other devices will join in our forums to chime in.

You'll rarely find it the other way around. A big reason is because there isn't as extensive an Omnia or Touch Pro community.