[Gnome_Sayin]

If you're interested in the phone, get it now. Why wait for the soon to be released SW? Updating to the new version is painfully simple.. and if you think the next official release will be the end-all be-all of updates, I think you will be disappointed.

I'm guessing that when Verizon releases an official version of the OS, there will be beta versions of the SW available for us to play with. I got my phone on release day and have put EVERY version of the 9530 beta OS software on it... it really is a simple process. Once you try it, you'll be hooked on betas too! Besides.. if you don't like the version you tried.. you can always go back to a previous version!

This is my first smart phone and I love it, for the most part. There are a few quirks that bother me, but overall I am very happy. I don't mind the typing, which I find much easier than the iPhone. I am very used to the click!

[just txt and calls mam]

keep your money and wait

although the storm has been a big marketing success the mount being returned shows they released it well before it was ready..think of windows vista

wait till the summer to see if they release a mark two or a upto date one that doesn't need so many fixes and unofficial leaks to make it what it should have been in the first place

as for the touch screen I feel blackberry will be privately admitting they have a lot to learn from the competition so hopefully they will

[Doc750]

while I have a love-hate (70-30) relationship with my storm. I tell everyone to hold off on buying it, if their looking for something that works right out of the box. If they enjoy tinkering with their phone, then the storm is perfect for them.

[RedBerry8830]

It is up to you. Many people are telling you to wait but I am telling you to make the call yourself and take the jump. I was a release date Storm owner and used it for business. HATED IT !!!!! because of service issues but LOVED the touch screen idea. Went back to a curve for a while and said the h*ll with it and came back. Updated my OS with leaked versions and spent countless hours here searching and let me tell you I am a power email user. more than 100 a day and I am constantly making notes for my business and I LOVE the device. It is your personal preference. I would take the advise that others have given you and come up with a decision. remembering that every person may be using a different OS and their phones that may react different based on how they loaded it, if they wiped it etc.. Good Luck

Again, I appreciate all the feedback. But especially yours, medic... I, too, crank out a lot of emails, and that was a reservation of mine. A big knock on the Iphone has always been that it isn't really suitable for corporate use. I'm glad to hear the Storm has been able to be that productive for you.

I guess I'm intimidated by the leaked OS updates. While I'm no technophobe, I'm the farthest thing from a hacker. I can follow directions well enough, but you do hear about people who wipe their phones or turn them into bricks. I haven't updated my 8830 since the day I got it, but evidently, VZW doesn't really have any updates for it anyhow (but it's truly a great phone).

I don't expect this next update to be the end-all, be-all.... but if VZW is releasing it as an official update, odds are that it will improve the phone's all-around use. For that reason, I may wait. I'm definitely not waiting for the summer or for another version of the phone.... but may wait out this update. The thing I wonder is how long will the Verizon store on my street take to get the Storms that will have this new update pre-installed on them.

I guess something I need to figure out for myself is if leaked updates are low risk and simple enough for those among us who aren't idiots, but aren't techies either.

[Doc750]

dont let the OS leaks scare you away. It really is just a matter of downloading a link, connecting the phone to the laptop and click ok. The DM does all the work for you. If for some reason you manage to screw this up, the steps to fix your phone are posted here in the forums.

Just do all of this updating at night, and not during the day while your phone is in use.

[AaronMoorcroft]

excellent time to buy a storm if you have any questions feel free to ask had mine a week and i would recommend them to anyone

[deevel79]

If you love your 8830, dont do it. I went from a curve to the storm, and returned my storm only 2-weeks later for another curve. If you like simplicity, the storm isnt the phone for you. My suggestion.....Wait for the niagara 9630 to drop. Something as simple as making a phone call can be a task with the storm. Constant lag, screen freezes from time to time, constant battery pulls, etc.... Nice device if you have the patience to work with it, but going from the 8830 to a storm is going to take some getting use to.

[RedBerry8830]

Many thanks for the advice, all.... I hear ya, deevel. The 8830 is quite a different animal than the Storm. But the touch screen really intrigues me, and I do like having the ability to send MMS. Again, I absolutely love new technology. It's just that I'm not skilled at "tinkering" with it. Since I figure I have the patience to work with it, I'll give it a whirl. What the heck, I've got 30 days... if it's not for me, I'll take it back.

A little update... popped into my neighborhood store, and I asked the guy how long it would take for the pre-installed updated Storms to hit stores once the update is released, he said it could take a while because they'd have to flush out their inventory first. His opinion was that there's no reason to wait for a phone with the update pre-installed because the over-the-air official updates are very simple and worry-free. Granted, he may be saying this because he'd like the sale before the end of the month, but I tend to believe him.

So, I think I'll pull the trigger next week. I figure that gives me plenty of time to play with it, see what it's like after the official upgrade is downloaded, and still decide if I want to keep it or return to a more traditional 'berry.