Review: BlackBerry Storm
Browser
The Storm has a full HTML browser that is matched to Verizon's EVDO 3G network. The pair is a winning combination. The browser opens Verizon's home page quickly. You can choose to consume the content offered by Verizon, or jump to the open Web.
There are five buttons running along the bottom of the screen. The first brings you to a navigation page. The nav page has an address bar at the top, followed by a search bar, your bookmarks and history. I really like how this page is organized. It makes navigating to what you want quick, because everything is rolled into one page.
There is also a button that lets you view the page in a single column or in standard mode. With full HTML browsing, the standard view really looks good. The column view makes a mess of some Web pages.
The third button opens a cursor for browsing. Rather than pan around with your finger, the cursor can be used to click on links that might be too small for your finger. I didn't really see much point in it, but I am sure others may find it useful.
You also have the ability to easily zoom in and out with the "+" and "-" keys.
Browsing speeds were great. Full HTML Web pages loaded in a snap. This is best browsing experience I've had on a BlackBerry. This is a change from when we saw the demo units of the Storm in October. RIM and Verizon have sped up the Storm's browsing speeds a bit.
Customize
The Storm can be customized about as much as any of its BlackBerry predecessors. It lets you re-arrange the main menu as you see fit. You can hide applications, stuff them in folders, or move them anywhere on the screen. You can set pictures as wallpapers, music as ringtones, and customize when the phone goes on/off, turns the radios on/off and so on.
You can add words to the dictionary at will, you can tell the dictionary which word to pick more often when you type a key combination that could be two or more words, and make adjustments to how the spell check app functions.
Both application keys on the left and right side of the Storm can be customized as short cuts to your favorite or most used applications or settings menu.
The options menu lets you alter the phone as you would expect most phones for personalization. You can change the fonts, the size of the fonts, whether or not they are bold and more. This alters the view of your inbox and the majority of the text-only menus you interact with on the Storm a great deal.
Because BlackBerries typically targets business users, there are literally hundreds of ways to configure the phone, set limits, and so on. Most of these will be completely unused by normal people.
RIM's First Touch Device, the BlackBerry Storm, Emerges
What is C Band 5G?
Hands On with Teams-Certified Bluetooth Earbuds
Beats Drops Buds
CAT Puts Android With Play Store in a Compact Flip Design
BlackBerry Storm 9530
