[qwertyman123]

I currently have an LG Dare and am pretty satisfied with it. However, I am looking for a more immersive expierience with my cell phone. I am considering getting a storm but have a few questions first if anyone would care to answer:

1) The internet browser on the LG Dare is kind of slow (not in terms of the EVDO speed neccesarily, it just seems sluggish). My question is, is the internet broswer on the storm pretty speedy? Is it very easy to navigate/scroll/click on links/etc.?

2) Alot of the posts I see on these forums show the Storm having many problems. I acknowledge that a majority of poeple who are unhappy with a product have the need to post on forums so I look beyond this somewhat. But should I wait a while to get a storm? Is it just not ready yet? Will the firmware updates make that much of a difference?

3) I dont use email that much so I am initially turned off to a blackberry. However, I am interested in the multi-media capabilities of the iphone yet I dont want to switch from Verizon ( I love verizon). Is this Verizon's Iphone? Even though I'm not business-oriented will I enjoy the Storm?

4) Games are a big factor for me on cell phones. Are there many free games/applications avaiable for the storm like there is for the iphone/ipod? I have heard of the upcomming blackberry application store. Any ETA on that?

5) Does the storm have protective screen plastics? I am obsessed with these on my itouch and LG Dare but cant find many options for this on the Storm.

6) Finally, how is the phone as a phone? Is the battery life good? Sound quality good? I have read cnet and other reviews but would like to get other opinions.

Thanks in advance for the answers!

[texas1]

First off don't try to compare the Storm to a LG Dare the storm murders it.

The browser on the Storm is awesome and way better than the Dare.

There are a few games but not as many as with the Dare but with time there will be.

The phone is a great phone for me its clear and everything i also use the phone as an mp3 player and its great.

The Storm have many things made to protect it depends on what you want.

Some storms have problems others don't mine has been great.

I hate Iphone but yes this is the closest thing Verizon has to the Iphone and it will get better!

The multimedia things the bb can do are great this is the reason most Storm users are newbies so you won't be alone!

[MPSmith1]

1) I think its pretty fast on the internet, but some have complained about speed. IMO, that is usually user error.

2) There are a few lingering issues, but the bugs are now limited. I'd go for it.

3) I have no comment on this point. ;-)

4) There are very few games yet, but there are some apps. Check the 3rd party software sub-forum. Give it a few months and there will be lotsa apps.

5) Its a glass screen and very durable.

6) I think it is fine. Some have complained that its hard to answer a call and the sound is muffled. I am not having those issues with leaked OS .85.

[passtheflask]

a search through the forum would have answered all your questions.

however, texas summed it up. the storm destroys the dare. the dare is a teeny-bopper target market. the storm is far superior. although there are bugs, updates will fix everything and as texas said, will get better and better. once the developers start being able to create apps for the phone, you will see a rush of new games and applications, some free, some not.
there are many protective things from Phantom Skinz, Ghost Armor, Invisible Shield and Best Skinz Ever to silicon cases, hard cases and pouches.

[ArmaK]

I too had the Dare before I bought the Storm, in fact I've owned every touchscreen that Verizon has offered at one point or another. But the storm isn't my first blackberry experience.

1) The browser on the Storm is way better than the one on the Dare. The reason for this is the storm is always connected to internet (hence the need for the mandatory data plan) unlike the dare which had to pull the information every time you went to a page. The browser works much like the one on the dare how you can tap to zoom, use your finger to scroll, etc.

2) There may be bugs with the storm but what device doesn't have bugs when it first gets released. RIM has done a great job of solving these bugs with the various leaked OS available. I can say that many of the problems that were present when i bought the storm on launch day are gone as of the last update.

3) I wouldn't say this is Verizon's iphone. A lot of people were saying that the dare was Verizon's iphone when it first came out too. But at this time, this is the closest thing to the iphone.

4) There a few free games and application available. Just like when the iphone first came out, there isn't much but that will change after the phone is out for a while. The full application center is suppose to launch in a few months, so we'll see then what is available. Look at the OTA app thread to get a sense of what is available.

5) The storm comes with a protective screen on it. I am still using it but it is starting to look a little beat up. There are various companies such as invisibleshield, ghost armor, BSE, etc that make screen and device skins.

6) I think that the sound quality is very good on the storm despite what the critics are saying. Everyone I talk to didn't even know I switched devices. The battery life management has improved greatly since the first OS release. I use to get about a days battery when I first bought the storm but can now get about 2-3 days without another charge.

As a previous dare user to another, I say buy the storm, you won't regret it one bit.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[qwertyman123]

Okay guys that was a great help. I have actually one more Q:

Can I get map directions from google maps application? Or can I only use the VZ Navigator for map directions. On the Dare it wont let me get directions from any other site (mapblast).

But all of your comments ssound real good at this point. I will most likely pick one up soon.

[ArmaK]

You can use any program for gps since the gps isn't locked on the device. I currently have BB maps and Google Maps on mine but there are more available.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[qwertyman123]

Oh alright thats awsome. Videos on Youtube about the Storm show it being very slow to navigate/clickonitems/switch from portrait to landscape. Is this going to be fixed soon? HAve they addressed that?

[texas1]

it will be fixed its new give it time i would say get the storm there is a learning curve with typing but other than that its great i promise i love mine and the more you learn how to do the more you begin to love it

[ArmaK]

Many of the videos that show the storm on youtube are running the older version of the OS. I promise you and you can find topics in the Storm OS/OS Beta section saying that the storm is a lot faster with .85.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[cray1000]

I dont know if this is gonna be the right phone for you to be honest.

your two biggest things from what i gathered is games and media capabilities.

and they are probably 2 of the weakest things on the device.
e-mail is not important to you, and as you already know, its the strongest point of this device (or any BB)

there are next to no games for the storm. but as mentioned they hopefully will be coming. but now, there isnt much at all.

media capabilities are kinda weak also. no where near an ipod. if you look around these forums you will find ALOT of bugs and limitations for media playback.

the phone is pretty solid though.

yes there are lots of issues but we are hoping they will be worked out.

you can get directions with google maps but not turn by turn and google maps does NOT work with the gps yet. it will only give you an approximate location using cell towers. you can get mapquest type directions with it though.

BB maps will give you directions using the gps, but there are no turn by turn voice prompts or anything like that.

there are lots of protection options though.

as much as i hate to say it, it sounds like the iphone with its superior games and media capabilities and lacking e-mail capability might be your best bet. yeah i said it, but just being honest. i think everyone should be happy with their device.

[qwertyman123]

Interesting. I will sleep on it. Thanks for all the input

[cray1000]

i should add that just because the iphone is superior in games (far superior when it comes to games, we can all admit that) and superior in media playback, you should know o all the drawbacks of the iphone too.

i bet you know them but if not some are:

1) cant replace or change hte battery - epic fail
2) no mms (i know, so weird)
3) no copy/paste (would notice this coming from a dare probably)
4) no a2dp (bluetooth stereo headphone support)
5) at&t sucks in many areas

i want you to have all sides of the coin, my last post sounded anti-storm, but the storm is awesome, just in its own ways. messaging is a big part of that of course. unfortunately messaging isnt important to you.

but maybe the iphone's cons are too much for you too.

[Jeremy1#WN]

The storm comes with a protective screen on it. I am still using it but it is starting to look a little beat up.

The plastic that covers the screen is not intended to stay on the phone. You're supposed to take it off before you use it, that's why it looks beat up.

[ArmaK]

The plastic that covers the screen is not intended to stay on the phone. You're supposed to take it off before you use it, that's why it looks beat up.

That is not always the case with a touch or click screen as in the case of the storm. Like I said in the beginning of the thread, I have owned every touch screen phone verizon has sold at one point or another and many other touch screen devices. For every one I have left the stock screen on until it needed to to be changed which in many cases was never. While the stock screen isn't designed to last as long as the ones you can buy in the store, it does just as good job as the ones sold in verizon stores. If you run a search you will see that there are many others (even long time blackberry users) that still have the stock screen on their device. As for when I said it looks a little beat up, I mean there are tons of finger prints from the people that I let look at it on new years eve. I just had to wipe it off with an eyeglass cleaning cloth and solution and now it looks still brand new. I don't mean to sound mean in the way I wrote this but I want to make sure that other people who are thinking about leaving on the stock protector at least know that they can.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[chuckh0308]

I wouldn't say that media capabilities of the iPhone are superior. Different yes, but superior? No.

Video playback on the Storm is smoother and the screen offers better resolution and better color depth. Movies look AMAZING! Sometimes size isn't everything!

The Storm has stereo bluetooth support for music playback.

The Storm actually records video, like most cell phones in the past 5 years or so.

The actual user interface for media is smoother and better on the iPhone.

The sound output and quality through the headphone jack on the iPhone is better, though the .83 and .85 OS upgrades greatly improved that function on the Storm...enough to get it close.

Games? Yeah, no doubt the iPhone kicks some serious a$$ there. Apps (useful or useless) are abundent for the iPhone. I doubt the Storm will ever have as many apps available. Hoepfully though, the Storm will have less useless garbage available.

Anyway, if games are hugely important then I agree, but I wouldn't let media capabilities play a roll. They are both equally strong in that department, just in different ways.

[Jaysus Cutler6]

I had a LG Dare before I got a Storm, and it doesn't compare with the Storm at all. The Dare was a good phone, but that's it.

[OffifyCab]

Just stopping by to say that the fourm seems to be a great place so i thought that i would signup and join in on all the fun

[honestlyx21]

I have just one thing to say.

If your looking for the iPhone in a BlackBerry shell this is not it. I think there are a lot of people who don't realize this isn't an iPhone. To be honest it isn't as "pretty" as the iPhone with the smooth transitions and such but its 10X better in my opinion. It does a **** of a lot better performing tasks (including multi with the iPhone doesn't have).