[floydiannyc]

I've been a longtime Verizon Wireless customer. I've also never "bought" a mobile phone. I always took one of the free offerings Verizon had in exchange for a 2 year contract. At the beginning of this year, I was eligible for another upgrade on my phone. I had the LG-VX8550 (the Chocolate). For two months leading up to my upgrade, I knew I was going to switch to a Blackberry.

A few weeks before I was eligible to replace my phone, I started doing research into all the various BBs available and narrowed it down to the Curve and Storm. After reading all the reviews, I knew the Storm was buggy but decided to go with it anyway.

I knew when I got this phone that it was not a perfect device and that the hardware was way ahead of the software and that I'd have to wait for an improved OS release. However, I could not be more pleased with this device.

Yes, the Storm is a high maintenance gadget. You have to put some time and effort into getting it to work properly. If you're looking to buy a BB and have it functioning perfectly out of the box DO NOT GET THIS PHONE! However, if you're willing to put the time and effort into doing some research (Google searches...CrackBerry searches...etc) you can optimize this phone to the point where you won't notice anything other than its AWESOMENESS.

If you're new to this phone and are experiencing glitches and problems with it, take some time to read through troubleshooting threads. Take the time to learn how to upgrade to one of the better leaked OS (the 114 hybrid or the latest 113 release or even 109 is pretty good), take the time to learn how to clear your device of unwanted programs to free up memory, and above all, just take the time. I am certain that if you're willing to do that, you will be rewarded with an awesome device. If you're not willing to do this, it's your own fault for getting the Storm. You should have researched the product better and known what you were getting yourself into.

[milesmcever#CB]

You know everyone wanted a pocket computer now we got it and all the maintenance.

[MoenSean]

Spot on Floyd. I am one of those "new to the phone" and the whole BB thing. Storm is my first PDA/SmartPhone/BB/Mini computer i've ever got and it is by far in my top 3 favorite devices I own (next 52" Samsung LCD & Insignia BluRay ;-P).

Crackberry.com is my favorite website now and i've learned so much in the month i've owned the phone.

[Beleva]

I couldn't agree more! I knew after researching for months prior to getting my storm I would have to "work" at it to make it perfect. This is my first BB too and I just love it. Like any great relationship, it takes work

[mdude85]

If you're new to this phone and are experiencing glitches and problems with it, take some time to read through troubleshooting threads. Take the time to learn how to upgrade to one of the better leaked OS (the 114 hybrid or the latest 113 release or even 109 is pretty good), take the time to learn how to clear your device of unwanted programs to free up memory, and above all, just take the time. I am certain that if you're willing to do that, you will be rewarded with an awesome device. If you're not willing to do this, it's your own fault for getting the Storm.

WRONG.

It's actually RIM and Verizon's fault for releasing a phone so incapable of even basic function that it almost necessitates reading thru Internet threads, upgrading to illegally leaked OSes, and trouble-shooting with a high learning curve just to get it up to speed with other popular smartphones on the market. A phone should not cause more problems than it solves.

When I watch a Storm commercial and John Krasinski's 'smooth operator' voice comes on the tele, what does he say? "Wow, I can do quick mobile banking after only 3 hours of reading forum posts, clearing my error log daily and performing a scheduled quickpull every 8 hours!" NO. The thing just works. And that is the expectation when you buy a phone. It should just work. Stop making excuses for the Storm!

End of story!

[zazzified]

I love to tinker with electronics so I love my Storm, lol.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[domestic violence]

im a new BB user too. while i wish the OS was quicker/snappier, i knew before i got the phone that it SHOULD improve. (i hope)

[M3Berry]

I agree with the OP, although this is not my first bb (used an 8830 before) For those who purchased the storm mainly to use as a phone, there are better options out there. But as a PDA, its one of the best. It's not going to replace your desktop or laptop and the OS takes time to learn, just like anything else. I actually enjoy the technical aspect of figuring out the problems it has- keeps it fresh for me. And as for the illegal leaks, I am in the camp that thinks its real world testing of betas.

[Exorcist]

So true having a pocket pc that crashes like a real pc

[jeffmvr]

Worth the effort? No.

[oifvet1967]

WRONG.

It's actually RIM and Verizon's fault for releasing a phone so incapable of even basic function that it almost necessitates reading thru Internet threads, upgrading to illegally leaked OSes, and trouble-shooting with a high learning curve just to get it up to speed with other popular smartphones on the market. A phone should not cause more problems than it solves.

When I watch a Storm commercial and John Krasinski's 'smooth operator' voice comes on the tele, what does he say? "Wow, I can do quick mobile banking after only 3 hours of reading forum posts, clearing my error log daily and performing a scheduled quickpull every 8 hours!" NO. The thing just works. And that is the expectation when you buy a phone. It should just work. Stop making excuses for the Storm!

End of story!

+1....and is why I gave up and went to the Curve. I NEED something that is functional and actually does what its supposed to without having to spend countless hours on here trying to get updates, leaks, fixes, etc. Alot of folks got the storm for amusement and because it was "The new sh!t" but alot of us got this thinking it was going to do what the commercials said it would and be the ultimate blackberry to use primarily for work and to have some fun with. Blackberries are buisness driven hence why the US government is the largest "community" of BB users. IMO RIM should be SPANKED for being pressured by the carriers to release a device that wasnt ready.

[km2783]

Any device should work out of the box. ESPECIALLY a BlackBerry.

That said, my Storm never had any real hiccup until last night when it reset at the WORST POSSIBLE TIME and I wasn't able to get on to a conference call. I heard the reminder go off, I hit the back button to light up the screen, and instead the LED came on and I realized the phone was resetting. As agonizingly LONG as we all know it takes for a BlackBerry to reset, you can imagine the frustration.

If it makes this a habit during these first 2 weeks, it'll have to go back, as much as I otherwise love the thing. If it was my personal phone I would deal with it, play with it, and love it as a berry should be loved. But it's for my business, and I need a phone that's rock solid for that.

[ocgreenmachine]

Worth the effort? No.

Haha thank god you went back to the curve... Now, all you need to do is find the curve forums again. It seems you took a wrong turn and ended up here.

If you read the threads regarding satisfaction in this forum there are actually more people who are happy with their storms. That isn't to say that we aren't looking for slight improvements or the official release of the OS update. There seems to be a very vocal minority who troll these boards even though they either don't own a storm or have switched to another phone.

Did my storm work like the commercial out of the box? Nope. I read the reviews prior to release and played with it in-store, so I knew what to expect. I also had owned a 8830 world edition prior to the storm so I was no stranger to blackberry forums(newer to crackberry forums). I knew how to look for solutions to any issues I had and quickly found fixes for all the issues that were present out of the box.

I love my storm. I enjoy having a large touchscreen for great internet browsing and file editing. I really like the surepress keyboard. It was one of the predominant reasons I chose the storm over the treo or the iphone. Lastly, I found verizon's network to be best coverage out of all carriers in my area by a long shot.

There is room for improvement, but then again, when is something you find absolutely perfect and not wanting in any department?

[lvumlow]

I've been a longtime Verizon Wireless customer. I've also never "bought" a mobile phone. I always took one of the free offerings Verizon had in exchange for a 2 year contract. At the beginning of this year, I was eligible for another upgrade on my phone. I had the LG-VX8550 (the Chocolate). For two months leading up to my upgrade, I knew I was going to switch to a Blackberry.

A few weeks before I was eligible to replace my phone, I started doing research into all the various BBs available and narrowed it down to the Curve and Storm. After reading all the reviews, I knew the Storm was buggy but decided to go with it anyway.

I knew when I got this phone that it was not a perfect device and that the hardware was way ahead of the software and that I'd have to wait for an improved OS release. However, I could not be more pleased with this device.

Yes, the Storm is a high maintenance gadget. You have to put some time and effort into getting it to work properly. If you're looking to buy a BB and have it functioning perfectly out of the box DO NOT GET THIS PHONE! However, if you're willing to put the time and effort into doing some research (Google searches...CrackBerry searches...etc) you can optimize this phone to the point where you won't notice anything other than its AWESOMENESS.

If you're new to this phone and are experiencing glitches and problems with it, take some time to read through troubleshooting threads. Take the time to learn how to upgrade to one of the better leaked OS (the 114 hybrid or the latest 113 release or even 109 is pretty good), take the time to learn how to clear your device of unwanted programs to free up memory, and above all, just take the time. I am certain that if you're willing to do that, you will be rewarded with an awesome device. If you're not willing to do this, it's your own fault for getting the Storm. You should have researched the product better and known what you were getting yourself into.

I am glad you are happy with the device. When asked about the phone, my response is to compare the Storm with a relationship - you forgive the little imperfections for the greater love of the device. With that being said, I now have to include that it has been a quarter of a year of bugs and basic functionality problems that even I am sick and tired of upgrading all the time and doing someone elses job (development testers). I work with many devices and have to say that I setup an 8900 the other day and could not help but to feel surprised when everything I tried to do worked perfectly and immediately. This would not have felt unusual had I not been so de-sensitized by the constant bugs and lag of the Storm OS. Unfortunately, if I am asked for my opinion I will have to recommend another phone to most people because as it stands now, the Storm is not a good phone for the average user.

I am giving RIM/Verizon another month or two, then I am switching phones and it will be hard to say much that is good about the "Storm experience".

I dont mean to rain on your parade, I am actually happy you are hanging in there. I will try to do the same but it is not looking good at this stage.

[sghere]

WRONG.

It's actually RIM and Verizon's fault for releasing a phone so incapable of even basic function that it almost necessitates reading thru Internet threads, upgrading to illegally leaked OSes, and trouble-shooting with a high learning curve just to get it up to speed with other popular smartphones on the market. A phone should not cause more problems than it solves.

When I watch a Storm commercial and John Krasinski's 'smooth operator' voice comes on the tele, what does he say? "Wow, I can do quick mobile banking after only 3 hours of reading forum posts, clearing my error log daily and performing a scheduled quickpull every 8 hours!" NO. The thing just works. And that is the expectation when you buy a phone. It should just work. Stop making excuses for the Storm!

End of story!

Yep.

I'm really quite disappointed with how this phone works out of the box. I've never had to do so much research, OS upgrades, tweaks and battery pulls on anything I've every owned. Sorry, but if AT&T's service was better around here...this baby would be at the bottom of the lake!

My wife loves the phone, but isn't a power user like I am. The freakin battery pulls...4-6 minute wait for it to power back up...WTF? What's it doing? I just KNOW the phone is capable of booting up in 30 seconds (like ANY WM phone can), but RIM decided to have it check/recompile the code everytime.

Sorry...been a bad day with the phone today. 5 Battery pulls and serious lag on programs running. Not sure if the new .113 is the cause, but it worked great up until this morning. I think RIM sent a kill command to my device since upgrading.

-S

[lakergirl23]

Haha thank god you went back to the curve... Now, all you need to do is find the curve forums again. It seems you took a wrong turn and ended up here.

If you read the threads regarding satisfaction in this forum there are actually more people who are happy with their storms. That isn't to say that we aren't looking for slight improvements or the official release of the OS update. There seems to be a very vocal minority who troll these boards even though they either don't own a storm or have switched to another phone.

Did my storm work like the commercial out of the box? Nope. I read the reviews prior to release and played with it in-store, so I knew what to expect. I also had owned a 8830 world edition prior to the storm so I was no stranger to blackberry forums(newer to crackberry forums). I knew how to look for solutions to any issues I had and quickly found fixes for all the issues that were present out of the box.

I love my storm. I enjoy having a large touchscreen for great internet browsing and file editing. I really like the surepress keyboard. It was one of the predominant reasons I chose the storm over the treo or the iphone. Lastly, I found verizon's network to be best coverage out of all carriers in my area by a long shot.

There is room for improvement, but then again, when is something you find absolutely perfect and not wanting in any department?

LOL @ made a wrong turn

[oifvet1967]

Haha thank god you went back to the curve... Now, all you need to do is find the curve forums again. It seems you took a wrong turn and ended up here.

If you read the threads regarding satisfaction in this forum there are actually more people who are happy with their storms. That isn't to say that we aren't looking for slight improvements or the official release of the OS update. There seems to be a very vocal minority who troll these boards even though they either don't own a storm or have switched to another phone.

Did my storm work like the commercial out of the box? Nope. I read the reviews prior to release and played with it in-store, so I knew what to expect. I also had owned a 8830 world edition prior to the storm so I was no stranger to blackberry forums(newer to crackberry forums). I knew how to look for solutions to any issues I had and quickly found fixes for all the issues that were present out of the box.

I love my storm. I enjoy having a large touchscreen for great internet browsing and file editing. I really like the surepress keyboard. It was one of the predominant reasons I chose the storm over the treo or the iphone. Lastly, I found verizon's network to be best coverage out of all carriers in my area by a long shot.

There is room for improvement, but then again, when is something you find absolutely perfect and not wanting in any department?

Funny how certain things strike a nerve with some people. 99% of the time is because they cant stand the truth but this boils down to the old saying "To each his own". If you're happy with a buggy phone that only lives up to half their potential then more power to ya. As far as trolls....I agree. There have been folks that have never had a Storm that come in here to start sh!t. But having a storm from day one until a week ago, I know EXACTLY what people are going through and can share the frustration. Might want to read through the threads again because I think your satifaction survey is a bit off.

[Pr0metheus]

I love to tinker with electronics so I love my Storm, lol.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

:lol: same here! Wasting time for my high maintenance Storm actually makes me happy, because I know I am making my phone better.

Just as how I defragment my hard drive monthly, remove garbage files, cleanup the registry, etc. for my PC, and I've had XP on it for 7 years straight. (Yes, it's time for a new PC hehe).

[lvumlow]

...Might want to read through the threads again because I think your satifaction survey is a bit off.

+1

I think most of those surveys are from the early days and my vote is probably in there under the "satisfied" category too. I would guess that when you consider it is 1/4 of a year since its release, most people arent as tolerant as they were? Dont get me wrong, I still love the device concept but I cant help but to be frustrated anytime I work on any other Blackberry because they all seem to work as designed from day one. I have a mixed environment with everything from 8700's to Bold's and I have not seen any model with the same caliber of problems a full quarter after its release? Maybe it all comes down to someone releasing it too early?

[stormsucks75]

Does it make phone calls yes. Do you get your email yes. does the browser work yes. So whats the prob.

[oifvet1967]

+1

I think most of those surveys are from the early days and my vote is probably in there under the "satisfied" category too. I would guess that when you consider it is 1/4 of a year since its release, most people arent as tolerant as they were? Dont get me wrong, I still love the device concept but I cant help but to be frustrated anytime I work on any other Blackberry because they all seem to work as designed from day one. I have a mixed environment with everything from 8700's to Bold's and I have not seen any model with the same caliber of problems a full quarter after its release? Maybe it all comes down to someone releasing it too early?

Ya know...I truley loved my Storm as well but after the 4th device I gave up. Cant say that I didnt give it the ole college try but like I said before to each his own.

Here's a deal that would really cause a mass exodus "Verizon offers Niagra for $99 to storm owners"

[bbstorm_sciontc]

I love my storm, but the more negative threads i read, i start to hate it.

[anon4750645]

My "new every two" comes up in early June. When I went into Verizon last week and talked to the salesperson, he said "I never by a first generation device". I asked him if it is a hardware or just a software issue with the Storm. He bypassed the question, basically, and just told me to wait until the next version of the Storm is introduced.

I've not heard anything about a "next version" of the Storm...only the anticipation of OS updates.

Has anyone else heard of a new and improved Storm phone on the drawing boards?

[franklawl]

I love my storm, but the more negative threads i read, i start to hate it.

Agreed.
Although I loved my phone out of the box when I got it at the beginning of the month, it was HIGHLY discouraging that it would freeze what it seemed like twice a DAY! Now that I've deleted some app's that I don't use and do a battery pull every morning it runs much, much, smoother, but I can't help but compare it to all my friends' iPhones. I also can't seem to wait much longer for the official OS release, so I might be tinkering with .113 soon... Even though it is my first time and I'm afraid to mess with a "semi" good thing. But yes, it is high maintenance and has a high learning curve, but you can't help but appreciate what this phone can do, compared to my crappy chocolate, or my flimsy alias that I had before this thing.

[Dostovel]

So is my chick, that's why I keep her around....