Storm Owners, have the bad reviews affected your opinion?

Title says it all...I'm new to BB and I've always wanted one. So, I was super excited to find out about the BB Storm. But when all the reviews started coming in about the phone, I was a little hesitant about picking it up. However, I did go to verizon on release day and actually was able to pick up the Storm. I really like all that the Storm offers me...the internet is awesome, it's crazy fast for me, maybe I'm just in a good coverage area but I love it! The email is also great, I love it...I haven't really tried the other features yet such as downloading music/videos/movies since I just don't have the time to do it just yet. There are some negatives to the phone such as the os running a little slow (nothing to major), the random resets that come out of nowhere, and also the camera came on last night without me doing anything and didn't shut off until like 30 mins later (don't know what the deal with that is). Also, the whiggly screen and gaps around it is a little annoying.

Anyway, I'm still deciding whether or not to keep the phone. I know these little quirks can be fixed with a software update but all of these negative reviews are not making it any better. I almost feel ashamed of having one. Don't get me wrong, I really like BB's and this is my first one, just not sure if this is the right one for me. I really don't want to go back to my dumbphone until the new BB hits Verizon (who knows when that is going to be?) and will the new BB offer me the awesome internet capabilities of the storm? I don't know, just a little confused. I really like the storm and I know it can get better but I only have about 25 days left to decide.

I believe it is all user opinion. I'vw always had WM phones and loved them. I read up on BB and decided to try it. I'm loving the BB world so far!!

No, but the screen lag, freezing, cheek muting, slow camera shutter, and unresponsive touch mechanism did. Taking mine back today unless I chicken out. It is a gorgeous phone, but all beauty and no brains only lasts for so long.

yeah i agree, it all depends on the individual.

as for me the reviews didnt affect me at all. i still wanted one and im still keeping mine! all the bugs and stuff will only get better so just wait it out!

Originally Posted by Five

No, but the screen lag, freezing, cheek muting, slow camera shutter, and unresponsive touch mechanism did. Taking mine back today unless I chicken out. It is a gorgeous phone, but all beauty and no brains only lasts for so long.

yoooooou saqid it.....its live a porsche with a yugo engine...im keepin it because im shallow,,,and puuuhraaayyyying for an update

This is a great phone and it will just get better. Who cares what a bunch of morons said after having the phone less than a day. You feel ashamed??!!??

It is odd - I think it depends on whether your phone has issues or not. I played with one before I purchased that had no lag - so the reviews did not change my mind. Now I have on ethat is also perfect, no lag, no reboot, camera is good, in fact I have some enhancement requests but no bugs. So I am happy.

No. I still love mine. My only other option would be an iPhone and I already made a lengthy blog post on my site about how that didn't work out:
Why I Tried, But Failed, To Switch from Blackberry to iPhone 3G | Blog | ISO100

In short, the biggest detractor for me was the lack of proper Exchange messaging support. Blackberry is the only device that really hits on all cylinders in that department.

I would prefer a better browser that actually has Javscript support that doesn't suck... but I'm holding out with the hope that either the browser that comes with it will be updated... that Opera will release a mobile version for the storm and not just the Mini... or that Mozilla will produce Fennec for the Storm. ****, maybe some smart developer will grab up WebKit and make their own Storm browser based on that rendering engine but with the UI controls native to the Storm.

I'm probably just dreaming.

not one bit! its not perfect but it gets better every day!

Originally Posted by deanabmf

This is a great phone and it will just get better. Who cares what a bunch of morons said after having the phone less than a day. You feel ashamed??!!??

Ashamed was the wrong word choice...I really want to love this phone since it can offer me so much...I really like it, just not love it Yet...the more I use it, the more I like it. At first, I was so overwhelmed but then I just started to play with it and I really like it. It's just after reading so much negativity about it, I feel like wow am I missing something here? This is my first BB so I don't have anything to compare it to...I can tell you it's 100 times better than my Voyager, which by the way got so many positive reviews and I can't even begin to understand why..anyway, I'm still on the fence about it...I definitely want a BB, I'm in love with the BB platform and I don't think I can go to using a different phone after using a BB...I just don't want to be stuck 2 years with a phone that i'm Iffy about...I'll give it some time though

Hey everybody,

Just got my Storm yesterday, but I've been playing with pre-release versions of it for 4 weeks now. RIM is promising lots of firmware updates to clean up the problems. I just got mine yesterday, and I have not seen all of the issues you guys are describing. Maybe it's because you all need some firmware updates, but mine has been flawless so far. The only thing I miss is the ability to have Wi-Fi, but with the EV-DO network pretty much being anywhere I don't see that as a problem. If I notice anything, I'll post it but so far, so good. It's an impressive smartphone.

Reviews, as stated, are purely subjective. Yes I can agree with some of the comments made in reviews but then again you to think about the following points:
- What game do you buy for a PC these days that doesn't have a patch come out within days of launching and sometimes even immediately upon launching?
- The stuck to their release date; we wanted it, RIM gave it to us.
- They don't have thousands of people to Beta test the device for them like most software releases.
- The reviews have been typed within hours or days of the release, people haven't spent time trying to figure things out etc.

When I first got mine I was used to the Curve I use at work and a HTC WM touch screen using a stylus. As such I was useless at typing on the Storm, after some practice I can fly across the screen with significantly less errors.

People should judge it for themselves, it's been designed to crack the personal market and that's what it does. It wasn't designed for people who spend all day emailing people or writing reports on their device. I think RIM will now follow 2 routes with their devices. Keeping in line with the Storm for personal markets and the Bold style device layout for professional use.
Anyway, just my 2p worth.

Originally Posted by Five

No, but the screen lag, freezing, cheek muting, slow camera shutter, and unresponsive touch mechanism did. Taking mine back today unless I chicken out. It is a gorgeous phone, but all beauty and no brains only lasts for so long.

dude thats my avatar!!

The phone is great. I haven't experienced a lag or random resets so you may want to try uninstalling/re-installing OS to see if that helps. I had to use a friend's 8830 yesterday to join an international conference call because i don't have an international plan set up on mine right now and that phone felt archaic. Don't get me wrong, the 8830 is a great phone - I had one for a year and loved it. It is such a huge jump to the Storm that i have no intention of going back. I own an ipod touch, which came free with my boyfriend's new mac (i would never pay for any apple product, nor would i recommend them). It is fun, but it still has its limitations and i prefer the Storm over it any day. My boyfriend actually had an iPhone for a month and returned it because of instability and he now has a Curve and LOVES it! I wish the timing were right and he could have traded it in for a Bold so i could play with that too.

Don't be soured by negative reviews. Use the forum as a source of information and research to find out what others have done to work through some of the minor glitches until a new OS is released. Really, these things are minor and if you find you are having major hardware issues, call VZ and get a new model shipped to you because this phone has a lot of potential and you shouldn't give up on it so early. It hasn't even been out a full week for US users! If you think of how many are in production from RIM, there are naturally going to be some that come out with a few hardware glitches, but those are the minority.

Originally Posted by deanabmf

This is a great phone and it will just get better. Who cares what a bunch of morons said after having the phone less than a day. You feel ashamed??!!??

I completely agree. The only shortcomings for me are the camera and the browser is a bit slow. These things will only improve. I did try Opera and it shows just how fast the browsing experience can be... OMG.

Yeah, there's about a 1-2 second lag going from landscape to portrait. So far the lost time hasn't interfered with my daily schedule.

I guess if you cant wait a week or so then you would return it. But i really don't get the psychology of people who thought it was going to be perfect day one. You can go back and read through any tech device launch and see similiar stuff. I think that many of the people dissatisfied are not used to the RIM OS and quirks, or they are just leaving all apps open which is making the platform unstable. I am still looking for an easy way to shut down open apps ....this is my major non launch quirk

Don't be soured by negative reviews. Use the forum as a source of information and research to find out what others have done to work through some of the minor glitches until a new OS is released. Really, these things are minor and if you find you are having major hardware issues, call VZ and get a new model shipped to you because this phone has a lot of potential and you shouldn't give up on it so early. It hasn't even been out a full week for US users! If you think of how many are in production from RIM, there are naturally going to be some that come out with a few hardware glitches, but those are the minority.[/QUOTE]

great post, thanks for the insight. I love this forum by the way, it not only provides great information on how to get the most out of your phone but it also provides some much needed therapy for those BB addicts out there. I think i'm becoming an addict by the way...lol :)