1XEV means the phone has EVDO coverage. The Storm uses EVDO revision A which is the fastest 3G technology Verizon has (comparable to AT&Ts "3G"). 3G is actually just a marketing name used by AT&T, the actual technical term is HSDPA. EVDO and HSDPA are both 3G services as per the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). If you've got an EVDO signal then you're getting 3G coverage.
If it shows 1XEV, that means you are getting EVDO coverage, which is the CDMA equivalent to 3G on GSM networks. AKA...3G=1XEV. You will never see 3G on your Storm.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
no, it is not silly...if it was so self explanatory the user manual wouldn't show "3G" with the rest of the possible signal indicators as if the screen could show 3G as well