[Rider-on-the-storm]

My phone works prety good, but what can I really do wuth it in business other than Email and PM's?

I just dont get it, they keep making these stupid apps to feel like iPhone users but I have yet to see real good power user apps for real work!

This is starting to make me think to many kids are getting into storm and not many professionals, and that will indeed spell doom for real growth and we may get passed up by other products in the marketplace.

You get the storm and see word to go and the like, but you try to actually use the dammed thing and find out that they are just viewers and if you pay more you can create a doc...pointless.

Google maps or a good mapping tool=fail.

I.P camera viewing without a PC involved? Even the paid apps have not worked for me.

Cheap or free word doc creaton=fail.
Invoices, fugedaboutit= fail.
exporting GPS co-ords in the geotaged pictures for business work= Fail?


Toys and gadgets! O yeah, we have that. Shoot, I think I just saw something about a flute app? WTF?

[asmallchild]

Well, the target audience is more consumers less professionals. That being said, I expect more and betters apps with the official launch of the store in March. I don't expect it to come anywhere close to what the iPhone has. Low expectations.

[bigman2]

Honestly, so long as we can stay above having a half dozen apps that do nothing except make farting noises, or some program that will "belch" anything you write (which is actually a reasonably impressive bit of AI programming) I think we're doing fine.

[RCCollins]

I honestly think the ship has sailed. The Storm is an ill conceived "Me Too!!" device in response to the iPhone, and with its hacked up OS and underpowered hardware it is going nowhere fast.

[asmallchild]

I honestly think the ship has sailed. The Storm is an ill conceived "Me Too!!" device in response to the iPhone, and with its hacked up OS and underpowered hardware it is going nowhere fast.

Glad to see you're on topic. I looked in vain for the word "apps" and oddly enough, it was nowhere to be found in your post.

[fcortese]

Well, the target audience is more consumers less professionals. That being said, I expect more and betters apps with the official launch of the store in March. I don't expect it to come anywhere close to what the iPhone has. Low expectations.

Glad to see you're on topic. I looked in vain for the word "apps" and oddly enough, it was nowhere to be found in your post.

Totally agree x2, LOL.

[lundquja42]

I'm not sure, but the flute app is created by one person that's just interested in developing some fun applications for the Storm.

If you are so concerned about the lack of certain applications whip out your own compiler and get cracking. You might even make some money if it's a killer app. There's plenty of iPhone business apps you can copy from.

[Oilbrnr]

Well, the target audience is more consumers less professionals. That being said, I expect more and betters apps with the official launch of the store in March. I don't expect it to come anywhere close to what the iPhone has. Low expectations.

So it is just a toy like the iPhone since it marketed to consumers?

Curious, what is the date in March for the RIM store opening?

[asmallchild]

So it is just a toy like the iPhone since it marketed to consumers?

Curious, what is the date in March for the RIM store opening?

Well, yeah, for those who need a hardware keyboard to get their work done, I guess they can consider the Storm a toy.

I've drafted 2-3 page emails on my Storm and as much as I like it, I get the feeling that task would have been completed quicker on a Curve/Bold. NOT a Pearl.

[bigman2]

So it is just a toy like the iPhone since it marketed to consumers?

No. It would be stupid to say that the Jesus Phone didn't inspire some aspects of the Storm, but calling it a "Me too" kind of device is incredibly facile, and intellectually lazy.

Curious, what is the date in March for the RIM store opening?

No one knows. We don't even know for sure it will be March. All we know for certain is that RIM plans to open one. All the other details are still up in the air. We don't know when it will open, what apps will be there at launch, how much apps will cost, etc. We don't even really know if one will ever show up, since "plan to" and "will" are two very different things. If you go back and actually read a lot of the articles mentioning the app store, they all say something like it will PROBABLY open around March... But naturally somewhere along the line that got turned into it's going to open in March.

Just like when the next official firmware will drop, we don't know when/if the app store will open.

[RCCollins]

Glad to see you're on topic. I looked in vain for the word "apps" and oddly enough, it was nowhere to be found in your post.

OK, let me rephase, everyone and their borther is developing for the iPhone, business apps, medical apps, games, media apps, fart apps, ect there are literarily thousands of apps. No one is developing anything for the Storm, because of their 1/8 baked development tools and their meager device. Why would anyone develop anything for it? Because they are planning a 1/2 baked app store? Apps for the Storm is a pipe dream.
Look back at the original launch of the iPhone, Jobs said that developers could develop "Web 2.0" apps for the iPhone, this is still miles better than what the Storm can muster almost two years later! The BB browser is so slow, clunky, lacking features and out if compliance that you can not even write a complicated web page and have it render anywhere near what it should. I would not even call the BB browser "full html".

[asmallchild]

OK, let me rephase, everyone and their borther is developing for the iPhone, business apps, medical apps, games, media apps, fart apps, ect there are literarily thousands of apps. No one is developing anything for the Storm, because of their 1/8 baked development tools and their meager device.

Well, at least you're on topic this right now.

Accuracy still suffers. I guess you haven't taken the time to scroll one link above the rant forum to check out 3rd party apps. I wonder if the iPhone enjoyed business apps, medical apps (Epocrates), games, media apps, GoogleMaps, Poynt, Vlingo, quicklaunch, and even fart apps before the launch of their AppStore?

I agree with you the Storm isn't going to match the iPhone in ease of use for (or even quantity of) apps. But to say it's finished before it's even started is downright stupid.

[RCCollins]

Well, at least you're on topic this right now.

Accuracy still suffers. I guess you haven't taken the time to scroll one link above the rant forum to check out 3rd party apps.

Yes I have, and no disrespect to the developers, but comparing THAT to the iPhone app store, Ok what is the word I am looking for, pathetic, laughable, pitiful, limp ****

I wonder if the iPhone enjoyed business apps, medical apps (Epocrates), games, media apps, GoogleMaps, Poynt, Vlingo, quicklaunch, and even fart apps before the launch of their AppStore?

Yes, it did.

I agree with you the Storm isn't going to match the iPhone in ease of use for (or even quantity of) apps. But to say it's finished before it's even started is downright stupid.

Time will tell, the Storm OS is not looking to promising, pretty shaky platform to develop for, wouldn't you say?

[asmallchild]

Yes, it did.

Considering you had to jailbreak the device first, I'd say that wasn't a promising start either.

[bigman2]

I'm still personally waiting for someone to give me some specific examples of apps that would be useful for everyday life, that you can't already do with the base suite of apps for the Storm.

I mean, sure, there might be 5,000 Jesus Phone apps, but how many unique apps are there? It seems like the same basic problem you have with Windows in the PC world. You have billions of Notepad type apps, which you can slap together in about an hour because VisualStudio does most of the work for you, but when it comes to more complex apps that are actually useful, there's select few. You have what 6-12+ apps for the Jesus Phone that do nothing but make farting noises? Every time someone makes some simple mindless app that hits it big for unknown reasons, then you get about 50 Me Too apps popping up within about a week.

So really, what are some SPECIFIC examples of things that you would like to see, and would actually use a minimum of 3X a week, that you can't do with the base suite of apps?

[RCCollins]

Considering you had to jailbreak the device first, I'd say that wasn't a promising start either.

Accuracy still suffers. Yes it did, it had Web 2.0 apps, which are basically complicated web pages that use ajax and such. No need to jailbreak to use the web browser.

[asmallchild]

I'm still personally waiting for someone to give me some specific examples of apps that would be useful for everyday life, that you can't already do with the base suite of apps for the Storm.

I mean, sure, there might be 5,000 Jesus Phone apps, but how many unique apps are there? It seems like the same basic problem you have with Windows in the PC world. You have billions of Notepad type apps, which you can slap together in about an hour because VisualStudio does most of the work for you, but when it comes to more complex apps that are actually useful, there's select few. You have what 6-12+ apps for the Jesus Phone that do nothing but make farting noises? Every time someone makes some simple mindless app that hits it big for unknown reasons, then you get about 50 Me Too apps popping up within about a week.

So really, what are some SPECIFIC examples of things that you would like to see, and would actually use a minimum of 3X a week, that you can't do with the base suite of apps?

GoogleMaps is nice (I know BBMaps is included but I prefer using GoogleMaps.)

[Oilbrnr]

I'm still personally waiting for someone to give me some specific examples of apps that would be useful for everyday life, that you can't already do with the base suite of apps for the Storm.

I mean, sure, there might be 5,000 Jesus Phone apps, but how many unique apps are there? It seems like the same basic problem you have with Windows in the PC world. You have billions of Notepad type apps, which you can slap together in about an hour because VisualStudio does most of the work for you, but when it comes to more complex apps that are actually useful, there's select few. You have what 6-12+ apps for the Jesus Phone that do nothing but make farting noises? Every time someone makes some simple mindless app that hits it big for unknown reasons, then you get about 50 Me Too apps popping up within about a week.

So really, what are some SPECIFIC examples of things that you would like to see, and would actually use a minimum of 3X a week, that you can't do with the base suite of apps?

Here are a few examples that have happened to me this past week, that the iTunes App store came in handy. Are they earth shattering, no, but convenient yes and not currently possible on the Storm.

1.) I got an old Chevy Blazer back on road again (hunting toy) and with the change in diameter of the tires, I was not sure how far off my speedo was. I kept forgetting to grab my Garmin, then I remembered the iPhone and in a matter of minutes I had a .99 app (HUD) installed that gives speed in MPH, km/h or knots, altitude, distance from start, heading and will also mirror the display so that you can put it on your dash at night. (would I, no but it is available)

2.) In setting up the rear pinion angle of the rear axle on the Blazer, I needed some way of measuring in degrees, the angle it was positioned in after the suspension lift, so that I could order some shims to correct the angle. Since I do not have the actual tool to do that measurement with, I was scratching my head for a few min. Went to the app store again, and in a matter of a few minutes had installed a FREE level that outputs in degrees. There were several to chose from actually, and it was nice to read some reviews on which levels worked better or calibrated easier.

3.) Dynolicious! This is the most expensive app that I have bought to date at a whopping $12 and worth it! (And it will be available on the Storm at some point.)

This quote come right from BunsenTech (developers of Dynolicious) and I think it pretty much sums things up:

What�s In A Platform?

Friday, January 30th, 2009

One of the most frequent questions the BunsenTech team receives is �Can I use Dynolicious on my [fill in handset here]?�, as well as other questions related to porting Dynolicious to various platforms. Many of our astute readers realize that the core technology behind Dynolicious can theoretically function on virtually any device with a screen and an accelerometer, including handsets from RIM, HTC, Motorola, and Samsung, to name a few. We�ve even fielded requests for more unusual devices, such as the new iPod Nano, various laptop computers, and even the Wii-mote. Based on the wide variety of interest, I thought it would be pertinent to discuss how we select which platforms to develop for.

bagsBefore the iPhone SDK was even released, BunsenTech developed several applications for Android, as submissions to the Google Android Challenge in the first part of 2008. These applications were received well (although none were prize-winners) and we developed a good deal of experience with the Android platform. Why then, one might ask, did we drop Android like a radioactive potato when the iPhone SDK became available? I can sum it up in two words: App Store. I will admit that after the learning curve, iPhone is a true joy to develop for, and there are many other reasons why I personally prefer it to Android and other platforms. However, it is the App Store that made the iPhone the obvious choice. The business case behind the iPhone is a direct result of the iTunes App Store and the system Apple has put together for small developers. Prior to the App Store, a small shop like ours would have to find a publisher who would dig deep into our profits, or try to publish independently which can become a nightmare. The App Store allows us to focus on what we love, creating innovative applications, while providing us with a means to get paid for our hard effort.

So what about other platforms? Currently, the only Android handset in the market is the G1, and the Google Marketplace currently only handles free apps. We will be re-examining Android as the market grows and the Marketplace matures, but for the time being there�s simply no business case. Windows mobile devices provide a variety of 3rd-party solutions for software distribution, but because of the fragmentation in this space (both in handsets and publishers) there is not a single compelling distribution channel, and the market is not as appealing. We love the new iPod nano, but unfortunately Apple has yet to release a public SDK for it. Finally, there is the new BlackBerry Storm. RIM, the makers of the BlackBerry, have announced an Application Storefront supporting paid applications will be opening it�s doors in March of this year. This seems like the most promising candidate for a secondary platform, which is why we�re currently working full-steam on porting Dynolicious to the Storm.

What platforms will BunsenTech develop for in the future? The answer will be very much dictated by the market. But if you want to see Dynolicious or any of our other products on your handset, feel free to drop us a note or post in our forums to let us know about it.

[Oilbrnr]

GoogleMaps is nice (I know BBMaps is included but I prefer using GoogleMaps.)

x2

I use it frequently to find or call businesses when on the go. Plus traffic on major roads, and streetview is a bonus. (I don't honestly know what the Storm version is like, it might be as good an implementation as on the iPhone, I have little interest in finding out either)

[RCCollins]

So really, what are some SPECIFIC examples of things that you would like to see, and would actually use a minimum of 3X a week, that you can't do with the base suite of apps?

Some Specific apps:

Cisco VPN client

SSH app

RDP app

A browser that is capable of rendering Cisco WebVPN

WebEx app

A decent wether app (sorry weatherbug)

A decent stock ticker

[fecurtis]

Accuracy still suffers. Yes it did, it had Web 2.0 apps, which are basically complicated web pages that use ajax and such. No need to jailbreak to use the web browser.

...do you even own an iPhone?

If not...you really are pathetic....these are f-ing phones. A measley, insignificant portion of my paycheck.

You're ragging on one thing and complimenting another, lol and you don't even own any of them.

Get a life, seriously.

[asmallchild]

x2

I use it frequently to find or call businesses when on the go. Plus traffic on major roads, and streetview is a bonus. (I don't honestly know what the Storm version is like, it might be as good an implementation as on the iPhone, I have little interest in finding out either)

Storm version is not as good as the iPhone version simply because GPS support is missing.

I understand there's a huge controversy on this. Some say Google hasn't programmed it. Some say Verizon locks it out. Who knows? Either way, cell tower triangulation doesn't cut it.

That being said, I rarely use it for directions anyway so I'm just whining.

I do like to search for restaurants/etc... around my current location so I usually end up typing the address anyway.

[bigslam123]

Storm version is not as good as the iPhone version simply because GPS support is missing.

I understand there's a huge controversy on this. Some say Google hasn't programmed it. Some say Verizon locks it out. Who knows? Either way, cell tower triangulation doesn't cut it.

That being said, I rarely use it for directions anyway so I'm just whining.

I do like to search for restaurants/etc... around my current location so I usually end up typing the address anyway.

Actually the latest version of Google Maps, released today, uses the Storms GPS flawlessly.

[asmallchild]

I just saw it. DLing now.

My jaw is about to drop off because I'm smiling so widely.

[asmallchild]

Time will tell, the Storm OS is not looking to promising, pretty shaky platform to develop for, wouldn't you say?

What a bad day to post this.

VZW BlackBerry Storm Now Supports GPS on Google Maps | CrackBerry.com

How odd. Google must have missed that memo. Good call.