[Beau79]

From Engadget dot com

While our experience says otherwise, we really hope that the practice of launching buggy smartphones hasn't been institutionalized. The Wall Street Journal just published a report about the "bumpy launch" of the BlackBerry Storm -- a handset that WSJ sources say sold some 500,000 units in the first month following its global release. Not bad, but well off the 2.4 million launch pace seen by the iPhone 3G -- the phone the Storm had hoped to unseat as sales champ. The WSJ speculates that the relatively timid response stems from buggy or otherwise "clunky software" that crippled the user experience and performance at launch only to be (partially) corrected later via software updates. An abysmal scenario which echos the buggy 2.0 software that accompanied the iPhone 3G at launch.

Now, instead of pleading for mercy at the feet of disgruntled consumers, RIM co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, calls the post-launch scramble part of the "new reality" of making complex cellphones in large volumes. A Verizon spokesman noted that return percentages are measurable in single digits (standard for a smartphone) adding, "The sales and performance of the device have lived up to our expectations." Fine, but when expectations are high that the consumer experience will be poor, somehow that doesn't sound like a victory to us.

Same topic posted on Gizmodo

At launch, the BlackBerry Storm was so buggy RIM promised patches before it even landed in consumers' hands. RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie now explains the situation perfectly: Buggy, busted *** smartphones are the "new reality."

That's right, the "new reality" is that your smartphone is going to be buggy as crap right out of the box because the maker scrambled to meet a deadline "by the skin of their teeth." In other words, beta culture is here to stay, and you better like it.

Sorry Jim, but that makes you sound like an ******* (even if you are a nice guy, like your co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, who I very much enjoyed talking to before the Storm launch). Both on the face of it�customers should get used to waiting for a patch to make the phone they just spent a few hundred bucks on actually work?�and because you're the CEO of the company that used to make the most bulletproof smartphones in the business. Granted, you have screwed up your last two major launches�the Storm, obviously, and the Bold, which AT&T held back for months in the States while you tried to work the bugs out�but now you're just giving up on the idea of products that just work right out of the box?

Here's a thought: Ship products that actually work! Google's crap is in perpetual beta and the G1 came out of the gate better than the Storm or the iPhone, phones from companies that are supposedly obsessed with user experience. W.T.F. I know you wanted to hit Black Friday and rushed the Storm to the market for Black Friday�where you managed to sell 500,000 in the first month, according to the WSJ�but think of every customer you lost because they heard how crapfrickintastic the Storm was.

If you're not even gonna bother trying why should we?

Pretty Sad...buggy software is the way of the future?

[collide.six]

This the same guy that is being investigated by RIM's own board for back dating stock options for himself and other CEO's, stealing from share holders. ....

I honestly want to return my Storm now. This is such BS. I'm also debating whether or not to allow anymore Storm's on our blackberry servers and I will also recommend everyone in the our company return their Storm's. I will also be very vocal to friends, family, coworkers and who ever will listen not to purchase a Storm.
Instead of fessing up and being honest about the issues RIM and Verizon are ignoring and denying it and telling us to get used to it! Unbelievable!

[Sooks]

sadly he is right tho , the new more complex tech is going to have bugs , we just have to deal with it until they get worked out .. it has been like that with every "complex" phone it is just the way it is.

[cereal killer]

What a disgrace. I hope Storm owners stand up to this ****** bag and return their Storms en mass.

Sells you shiat and is telling you to expect it? I hope people are smart enough to do the right thing and send a message to this company.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Sooks]

sad thing is we ALL DO EXPECT IT AND ALWAYS HAVE we know that no smartphone is going to be perfect out of the box.

[cereal killer]

sadly he is right tho , the new more complex tech is going to have bugs , we just have to deal with it until they get worked out .. it has been like that with every "complex" phone it is just the way it is.

You didn't just say that. The difference being they are not even striving to put out a near perfect product.

They are slapping it together and saying "we will fix it later" That's bs and unacceptable.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[collide.six]

sad thing is we ALL DO EXPECT IT AND ALWAYS HAVE we know that no smartphone is going to be perfect out of the box.

I don't expect it to be 100% perfect but I DO EXPECT it to work without crashing, rebooting and resetting several times a day. I think RIM is stretching it here. They might be able to fool some people in to thinking that these sorta things are "expected" but I'm not buying it.

[hanano17]

What OS are you using, if it's not .75 then your crashing problems are your fault and not RIM/VZWs. As far as I know, that is not a bug the majority experiences with .75.

Whatever the article says, i'm sure a lot has to do with the economy and the holidays. Is it right? No, but they probably saw it as acceptable to launch something they could fix and not waste time (that would cost them money) rather than wait. My phone is far from a failure, in fact I enjoy my storm a lot and I know it will be better in due time. Do I wish it was from the start, sure, but I don't fret about it all day and wish to return my storm.

[Sooks]

You didn't just say that. The difference being they are not even striving to put out a near perfect product.

They are slapping it together and saying "we will fix it later" That's bs and unacceptable.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I don't expect it to be 100% perfect but I DO EXPECT it to work without crashing, rebooting and resetting several times a day. I think RIM is stretching it here. They might be able to fool some people in to thinking that these sorta things are "expected" but I'm not buying it.

did you guys have the iphone ? iphone 3g , the samsung instinct ? the mogul , all of theses phones are not RIM and guess what they were bugged to **** out of the box.

[cereal killer]

There are bugs and then there is all out poor performance and build.

You guys are totally redefining the word "bugs" now.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[asmallchild]

did you guys have the iphone ? iphone 3g , the samsung instinct ? the mogul , all of theses phones are not RIM and guess what they were bugged to **** out of the box.

Well said. Let's not forget the iPhone was incredibly buggy until their 2.0 software was released MONTHS later.

With devices being this complicated now, of course there are going to be hitches in the release. If a company waited until everything was perfect, their product will be obsolete.

Watch: the Pre. If you are expecting a perfect product at launch, you are a moron.

Heck, take a look at something simpler like video game consoles. Even those are bug-plagued at launch. Xbox360 RROD anyone? PS3 freezing anyone?

And finally, what did you expect the CEO to say?

"Oh yea. We screwed you all. Tee hee hee."

[Sooks]

Well said. Let's not forget the iPhone was incredibly buggy until their 2.0 software was released MONTHS later.

With devices being this complicated now, of course there are going to be hitches in the release. If a company waited until everything was perfect, their product will be obsolete.

Watch: the Pre. If you are expecting a perfect product at launch, you are a moron.

Heck, take a look at something simpler like video game consoles. Even those are bug-plagued at launch. Xbox360 RROD anyone? PS3 freezing anyone?

And finally, what did you expect the CEO to say?

"Oh yea. We screwed you all. Tee hee hee."

agreed , as technology gets more and more complex companys cant wait 3 or 4 years to release a perfect flaw free device , because by the time they do , something new and better will be out and that perfect device is now old.

[cereal killer]

And finally, what did you expect the CEO to say?

"Oh yea. We screwed you all. Tee hee hee."

He just did
. He pisssed on you and told you it was raining.

Hey if your good with that so be it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[collide.six]

I've worked in IT for over 10 years and administer BES servers. Believe me, I've worked with my share of buggy products. The Storm is one of the WORST I've seen! The bugs that the Storm has are considered "Critical". Resets, reboots, crashes, laggy UI problems... etc.

[Sooks]

He just did
. He pisssed on you and told you it was raining.

Hey if your good with that so be it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

killer last i heard , you were getting the pre right ?? well when you go to open that box and turn on that phone expecting no bugs, and you get your first random boot , i want you to think of me lol.... also, wouldnt you rather have palm come out and say " hey this phone isnt perfect yet, but it will get there " ?????? i would rather know then go in blind.

[hanano17]

The resets and crashes are not a bug that plagues .75, if you are using a leaked OS, that is YOUR problem. Do not blame RIM/VZW for it. The majority of people who use .75 do not experience those issues, if you do then perhaps you have a defective phone.

Btw, I know a few people who couldn't stand the iphones random crashes and freezes(and then having to wait for the battery to die) and returned theirs for different phones. Oh, and my ps3 never freezes!

[derekflint]

The sad fact is that every single manufacturer is doing this now. Nokia recommend updating the firmware every month - as I was okay with my Nokia's performance, I never did, but the fact that Nokia manage to put out firmware upgrades for the N96 quickly (why bring out the damn thing when the N95 remains popular) indicates that this is not a practice that is going away - and seems to be acceptable to the industry as a whole.

[cereal killer]

killer last i heard , you were getting the pre right ?? well when you go to open that box and turn on that phone expecting no bugs, and you get your first random boot , i want you to think of me lol.... also, wouldnt you rather have palm come out and say " hey this phone isnt perfect yet, but it will get there " ?????? i would rather know then go in blind.

I do expect bugs sooks. But the Storm is plagued with more than just bugs : )

You more than anybody knows that to be true. How many did you go through 6 your on 7th now? : )

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Beau79]

6 or 7, 3 or 4..whatever replacement you're on, it shouldn't be required. With advances in technology, should we not expect advances in build quality, production quality, decrease in defective units? I agree with you, operating systems on a computer, or mobile phone will not be perfect. I run .75 for that very reason, its the most stable for ME. But why is it that when people run leaked OS's, so many different reports are turned in, the OS's work for SOME, but not for others? I also admit that I don't have the time or energy to read every post and thread on here. But I am disappointed with my Storm. Hopefully the next official OS is kick-***, and if so, I would forgive all of the hardships faced in the past few months.

[blackBerry bOb]

The whining cracks me up. I'd rather have a buggy storm than no storm at all, but then again I'm not from the instant gratification era.

Besides, any true crackberryer lives for the opportunity to play with OS's, find bugs, discover fixes and all that jazz.

I haven't bought a piece of smart tech in the last 10 years that didn't have issues out of the box, whether it's cell phones, reading devices, GPS's, laptops, HAM radios or even smart telescopes.

Get over it.

[Sooks]

I do expect bugs sooks. But the Storm is plagued with more than just bugs : )

You more than anybody knows that to be true. How many did you go through 6 your on 7th now? : )

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

lol , good point , yes ..... 7 lol.... but sadly that was hardware ......... and now that i have good hardware , which im sure the pre will aswell and i bet the pre phones will be more consistant then the storm in profromance, but i see the same bugs as the storm , on the pre ( havent physically seen the pre just guessing lol)

[collide.six]

The resets and crashes are not a bug that plagues .75, if you are using a leaked OS, that is YOUR problem. Do not blame RIM/VZW for it. The majority of people who use .75 do not experience those issues, if you do then perhaps you have a defective phone.

I've seen a brand new phone straight from verizon with .75 reboot several times a day. Yeah, it was my phone.

[asmallchild]

killer last i heard , you were getting the pre right ?? well when you go to open that box and turn on that phone expecting no bugs, and you get your first random boot , i want you to think of me lol.... also, wouldnt you rather have palm come out and say " hey this phone isnt perfect yet, but it will get there " ?????? i would rather know then go in blind.

I smirk at the fools who buy 1st generation technology and expect perfection.

[Beau79]

I smirk at the fools who buy 1st generation technology and expect perfection.

So I guess I should just pass over every big launch of anything ground breaking and say "eh, I'll wait until they re-do the whole thing, and oh wait, it'll be the 1st gen of the re-do so ill wait for the 2nd gen..." which sadly will have issues anyways...just like the macbook pro I had, and the iphone I had. this bloooows.

[hanano17]

No one is making you stay with the Storm, if you feel it isn't up to your standards take it back.

Keep in mind the xbox 360 is fatally flawed, I don't recall anyone calling it a failed product and saying microsoft is this and that when they admitted the RROD to be flaw and extended the warranties instead of fixing the problem as a whole. Yes, you could get it fixed, but you had to send it in and go through the process. Should the Storm have been a little less buggy out the gate, sure, but it wasn't so get over it and either stick with it and watch it improve or take it back so you don't complain about it everyday.