RIM rarely veers away from its classic screen and Qwerty keypad combo which has done so well over many years. Making sure that it doesn't fall behind though, RIM has produced the BlackBerry Storm that features a touchscreen. But, unlike any other touchscreen, this one clicks.
Read our review to see if a clickable touchscreen is the best thing to ever be invented or if you're better off with the BlackBerry Bold. If by the end of the review you think you want a Storm, then you can pick one up from Vodafone for free on a monthly contract.
Design
Whether or not you're a veteran BlackBerry user, the first time you see the Storm you'll want to try it out. Its large touchscreen invites you to touch it and a sleek, curvy design slips easily into a pocket.
Similar to the BlackBerry Bold the BlackBerry Storm feels like a quality product made up of a combination of metal and high-quality plastic. It's solid enough to take a few tumbles and isn't too heavy or too light.
While many touchscreen phone manufacturers seem to borrow heavily from the iPhone's design the Storm manages to retain a strong BlackBerry identity and fits in well with the rest of RIM's portfolio.
The Storm's large touchscreen is one of the brightest and sharpest we've seen so far, providing a great video viewing experience. As touchscreens go, the Storm's is responsive to even gentle taps but you need to click it fully in order to select an option.
At first we found the clickable screen difficult to get to grips with, particularly when texting because you need to click each key and that can slow things down -- eventually we got used to it. Compared to the iPhone the Storm's clickable screen is definitely slower to use.
If you desperately want to make the transition to a standard touchscreen but like using mechanical keys then this could be the halfway house you've been looking for. We're not convinced that it's the best touchscreen system out there and feel it can be clunky at times.
Another concern we have regarding the Storm's screen is that there's a gap around the edge so that it has enough space to pivot, which we think will get filled with dust and dirt after a while and may cause aesthetic damage.
We're very glad to see that there's a 3.5mm headphone jack on the side of the Storm making it simple to plug headphones straight in and start listening to music -- a feature we would like to see on many more phones.
One area of the Storm's design that we weren't overly keen on are the mute and lock keys at the top that curve in and aren't always easy to find in your pocket, which is annoying if you're trying to silence a call in the middle of a meeting.
Features
The BlackBerry Storm runs a touchscreen version
of the BlackBerry OS with necessary touchscreen additions, such as
an-on-screen touchscreen keypad that can be set to be a standard
'Multitap' keypad, put into predictive 'SureType' mode or a full Qwerty
keyboard.
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Karp 6 January 2011
Good: It's so pretty..... *strokes*
Bad: The things that begin to fall apart first are the vital bits!!
Comment: I bought this phone 2yrs ago because it looks so lovely. I'm a girl so I don't have to justify these things. It's sleek, glossy and still looks smart enough to compete with the likes of the iPhone. The display is just amazing if you're not used to such a large screen. The overall style of this phone just makes you want to touch it. Beautiful!
I also love how BB combines every email account, myspace, twitter and facebook into one handy msg box. You can seperate them if you prefer but it's so handy. I no longer have to log into Facebook to see who's left a comment, it's automatically retrieved. I am a total fan of BB after this phone.The clicky touchscreen is a nice touch, for me personally,i am forever chucking my phone in a backpack and only when i take it out again i realise it's unlocked itself and had a 6 minute chat with my nan! No such happenings with this phone it's not overly sensitive to touch so no unexplained call charges.
The downside to this is that typing on the touchscreen takes ages, especially if you're used to a full key keyboard. after a while the whole system starts to slow down.. it used to be push icon, job done. now it's push icon... wait.... wait... my handset chose patches of restricted use on the touchscreen on a whim and no matter what position i held the phone in it wouldn't obey me! In the beginning it'd give in and after a few hours/days everything would be back to normal but now it will not let me key in the letters S,W or O... I'm a serial BBM/SMS fiend but no more. It's gotten to the point where I don't bother charging it or replying to people because it takes so long. The only other downside to this phone is the signal... if you live in a house with walls the phone thinks it's in a nuclear bunker and refuses to work. If you're out and about it's fine.
On the whole I love this phone and I love BB. The downsides are the things that seriously irk me because it seems to be all the bits you generally need in a phone that drop off first. The other thing that makes me dislike this phone on occasion are the fact that its so smug. It'll give you just enough signal to call someone then it'll cut out and you'll find reception again then it'll freeze up!
I would recommend this phone to someone, however i'd advise them to get the storm 2 in the hope that BB have done the decent thing and resolved the problems. The one thing i have learnt from this is that i'll never again be solely at the mercy of a fickle touchscreen type pad.
Kundai Ralph-Teflon Henney 22 October 2010
Good: I like the Touch Screen actually. Big Child like menu, and its many options to do things.
Bad: Signal, Signal and SIGNAL !
Comment: The signal on this is appalling at times. It can cut you off a call or make this funny sound. It cant find service most of the time in my house. But I have had it for about 9 months and to be honest I have fallen in love with this phone for its email service and its very easy BB messenger interface but if your gonna buy it just go for the Storm 2 :)
chris221273 7 April 2010
Good: The email is very good and quick, the satnav is awesome, and the new software upgrade is a vast improvement.
Bad: See below!!
Comment: I am currently coming to the end of my 18 month contract with this phone, and only now, since the new software upgrade, is it half decent.
My biggest problem with the Storm, is the screen.
As it is heat sensitive, apparently, if you have it in your pocket when its cold, or even when quite hot, the screen doesn't like it, so when you go to say press your email button, it flicks to another button, and just keeps doing it until it feels ready to play again.
That to me is no good when i rely on a phone for email.
The battery life is VERY poor. It won't last a working day if you use it fairly regularly for email and internet use.
Every few days it requires a battery removal and re-start as it freezes and takes ages for anything to open.
The Blackberry App store is, to be brutally honest, boring & rubbish, and i have never seen an app that i would feel is worth paying for.
Its nothing like the iPhone app's, and has no where near the quality, quantity i would expect from a phone that initially i bought, as i was told by the phone salesman it was supposed to make the iPhone look silly........i think not.
The 5mp camera isnt very good, it takes ages to actually take a picture.
I could go on and on, but in hindsight, i would not have bought this phone had i known it would have ended up being such a pain to use.
Its a shame, as it has the potential to be an amazing phone, shame blackberry haven't taken that into account
Bring on my iPhone 3gs at the end of the month.
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