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BlackBerry Storm 9530

 

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Wait Until the Beta Testing Is Complete

 

Dec 8, 2008 by hoosier_mac

I got a Storm the first day it was available and kept it until Saturday December 6. I read the User Manual cover to cover and installed the software upgrade the day it was available.

For the serious business user, this phone has serious problems and will result in negative productivity. While the upgrade helped somewhat, there are still serious lags in various usages, the response of the touch screen is totally inconsistent and there are numerous other issues to be dealt with.

Pros:

- Screen is fantastic
- If it worked, device has lots of features and power

Cons:

- Many lags when using the device
- Response of touch screen is inconsistent causing mistakes and requiring back tracking
- Battery life mediocre at best
- OS unstable, lock ups requiring battery removal occur frequently followed by lenthy bootup
- Mechanical buttons require very hard push. Often difficult to tell whether the delay is due to the OS or due to the button.
- I had concerns about the long term reliability of the device due to the moving touch screen and the pressure required to activate the mechanical buttons.
- Random OS anomalies such as apps activating without being touched, etc.

RIM and Verizon reacted to the iPhone poorly by rushing a product to market prematurely. This phone may be fine for the light user looking more for a media and email device than a heavy duty business phone. But the traditional BB power user will be very, very disappointed.


Wow Thank You Guys For All The Warnings

 

Nov 28, 2008 by rckstr4life

I havent even got this phone yet becuz of of technical verizon error with my upgrade so im not getting mine til the second shipment is received by verizon but luckily my friend got his this past on monday so I checked his out and to be honest... Here goes

pro's
1. Bright screen
2. 8gig memory card included
3 fancy box
4. Im taking it back and reversing my upgraded the first day I get it... 5. Good call clarity due to verizons network
6. Better camera
7. Only 249. 99 (for a reason) see cons for details... Cons
1. The screen moves up and down and side to side. 2. The screen has an all aeound river like bridges for dust and other stuff to get inside it. 3. The screen clicks clicks and clicks... So what if it gets stuck one day huh then what!!! 4. All around menu is crappy compared to the curve easy navigation all around menu... 5. The touch screen navigation would be better if u didnt have to click the damn screen in... 6. Freezez constantly or lags too much when going to a diffrent icon... In simple words the iphone 2g when it first came out had alot of damn bugs and issues but then again it was apples first and only phone... So then the iphone 3g came out and the con about it is that it skips back and fourth from 3g to edge and cant send mms messages... So I bought myself and iphone 3g and am happy but I still use my curve with verizon for call quality and clarity... Rim has been making phones for a long time and jsut a small suggestion... When developing a touchscreen phone make sure it full touch screen and not a click click click click click phone ok... I give the lg dare more respect for its full touch screen phone and not a click click click phone... Goodbye all and thanks for all the warnings to stay away from this phone...


Disappointment

 

Nov 27, 2008 by jacksonnick

Painfully slow to type on!

If it weren't for this aspect of the device, it could possibly live up to the level of hype, but based on the keypad alone, I think the Storm is a major disappointment.

Returning.


Crippled phone

 

Nov 24, 2008 by thedeadknight

Had this device for about 7 or 8 hours. Lemme get this out there. I work a high intensity job for HP. My personnel phone is an iPhone and my corporate phone is now a BOLD. Having had these two, lemme describe why I bought the storm and why I ported my nuber back to AT&T the same day i bought my "storm".
No MMS on the iPhone is a killer. Can't stand it. Fortunately my friends and colleagues are smart enough to know how to mms their photos to my email address instead of phone number so lately this hasn't been a huge issue but "eh".
I carry my bold on me all day everyday. I get up and shower,get dressed and then my bold doesn't come off till its on my night table where it gets plugged in. I get about 60 emails a day..to which I reply to every single one of them. I'm also on blackberry messenger with my workforce throughout the entire day. My workforce relies heavily on communication.
This is where the storm falls flat. If you want a reliable phone the Storm isn't for you. Mine crashed 17 times on me within a 7 to 8 hour period..thats 17 times too many especially on what happened to be a "light" day. On my BOLD I'm a whiz on the keyboard. Its reliable and there is NO waiting for the keys to pop up. On the STORM everytime you push a letter down you have to wait for the screen to come back up. This is insane if you are already fast on a physical keyboard. I'm used to having my bold also on wifi. The Storm has no wifi. I know verizon says "you dont need wifi on the nation's largest 3G network". Well quiet frankly you do...for one Verizon's 3G isn't fast by any means and my wifi will always be faster than what any network can provide.
Call clarity. This is a joke. For being on a "3G" network I should have crystal clear "3G" voice. This storm does NOT have it. My bold DOES.
Phone doesn't seem powerful at all. If the phone freezes up just on the normal home screen what makes users feel confident it can run a power hungry app? So glad I have my Bold back.


MOST FANBOY REVIEWS IV'E EVER SEEN!

 

Nov 23, 2008 by evilhomer

With the amount of hype that prefaced this device, I figured that the fanboys were going to be throwing 5 stars at this device even if the darn thing didn't turn on. And it seems like that is about the only thing it does as promised. After turning it on, it's mostly downhill from there.

If you want the honest, unbiased review of this device, I'm afraid that you aren't going to find it from most of the posters here. I would read the reviews from nearly every tech blog in the internet worth its salt, which are overwhelmingly negative. Although the phone has some positives, there is NO way that this device could be touted as "perfect" and given five stars except by a true, dyed in the wool fanboy.

I had very high hopes for this device and pulled some favors to make sure I had mine at launch. The very first thing they did after taking my money and my 2 year commitment, was to take the phone and DOWNGRADE the software. Yes, they actually downgraded the software which took and extra 30 minutes to complete. Why? Security flaws. The same company, RIM, who's recently could not launch the Bold before we all grew a long gray beard, managed to push the Storm out of the gate with a major security flaw. How many years has RIM been doing this? When is the last time you had a company downgrade your software. It would be funny if it wasn't pathetic. Now before you take me for a RIM hater, I think the Bold is a great device and well worth the extra money.

Other than the call quality and brilliant screen, there is little else to like about this device. You can believe the bad press on the software, touchscreen etc.

I wanted to like this I really did. I'm going to hang on it it for a few weeks but it isn't even close to other touch devices. And I don't just mean the iPhone either. I think the Dare has a better touch interface than this disaster.

If you have any hopes of owning and actually enjoying this device, PRAY and I mean PRAY for some MAJOR firmware fixes soon!


Wow, definitely not an Iphone killer, or a suitable device to type with as well

 

Nov 25, 2008 by pamela80

Well, I'm stuck with Verizon so I couldn't get the Iphone. I figured that Verizon would get some sort of Iphone equal at some point. The Iphone isn't perfect definitely not but you really do get your moneys worth with all the free apps you can get for the phone and all the multimedia streaming you can do that is easy to do in the first place, and hopefully the next gen will have some needed features but the Storm won't be the phone to compete with the current one.

Pros
-Beautiful screen (sharper than Iphones)
-Great Build Quality
-Plays movies like an HDTV with great sound
-Nice UI
-Great call quality
-Blackberry email reliability
-Easier to initiate a call with then the Iphone

Cons
-The keyboard was a HUGE mistake. RIM should have just made it a simple touch screen and not the push in screen. I made so many typos and my fingers were hurting from the push screen after some use.
-The browser pales in comparison to the Iphones and has no multimedia plugins as the Iphone does. It's basically the Dares browser enlarged.
-Speakerphone wasn't as loud as the curve
-Not for a business user, your fingers will be cramped by the end of the day and all the typos in your emails will get you fired.
-Verizon's faults with the phone are below-
-Visual Voicemail is $2.99 a month, if you want to compete with the Iphone and this is what Verizon was really trying to do, include it for free like the Iphone has!
-No youtube app like the Vodaphone Storm version has as well as the Iphone.
-Basically this is just a phone with email that you can watch videos on but nothing exciting, nothing that a consumer wouldn't be bored with after a day.

This phone had so much potential but RIM's horrible idea of a push in keyboard killed it and Verizon's nickle and dime you and no sense of fun kicked the dead phone into the trashbin. I've been waiting since the Voyager, the Dare, the Storm for an Iphone killer. I don't see it happening and I'm just not going to bother hoping anymore.


Not great, but very good...

 

Dec 8, 2008 by gooshjkc

I wanted to use this phone for at least a couple weeks before submitting my review. Overall, I am very pleased with this phone. Very well thought out phone. Of course, RIM and Verizon will still need to fix some of the issues that plaque it. Even with the upgrade of the firmware, it still has a little bit of a lag, the Accelerator is still a little touchy (just a slight tilt will change it from landscape to portrait and vice versa, and the camera is still way too slow (the object/person your taking would have to be still for at least couple of seconds - forget about taking any moving object/person). Now, I trust RIM and Verizon will continue to work on the firmware to address the issues and when they do this phone will definitely be a phone to be reckoned with. Now, I understand this phone is not for everyone nor is the provider that it is with. That's why there's hundreds of other phones and several other providers to choose from - go there if you're not satisfy with either. My suggestion to RIM and Verizon is to work on the issues, but don't stop there continue to upgrade it (that's the great thing about touchscreen phones, you can change everything about it if you want to - display and so on). I know it's in the works, but bring out an official Blackberry Apps store soon, where owners will be able to download applications, as Apple has done for the iPhone.


Lots of hype, but not all its cracked up to be...

 

Jan 19, 2009 by jesseplan

Decent phone. But there are a few quirks with this "Touch Screen Model" of the Blackberry. The touch screen is not as responsive as most "Touch Screen" wireless devices. The menus are neat, but not as customizable as, let's say, an iPhone. Business users, I highly suggest you get a Blackberry Bold instead, because the touch screen feature on this "First Version Blackberry" is not really require or convenient for you.

Wi-Fi? No. This version of the Blackberry does not have Wi-Fi capability. Users that are planning to go from AT&T over to Verizon for this device will be greatly disappointed.

I own with an AT&T phone and a Verizon phone, (One my company pays for and the other is personal). If you do a comparative analysis with a Blackberry Bold, you will see the only advantages this phone touch screen and a 3 Mega pixel camera, as opposed to the Blackberry Bold & the iPhone's 2 Mega pixel camera. Personally, once you get up above two mega-pixel, wouldn't it be more feasible to use the small real camera you own in your pocket or purse?

Construction. I have not heard any durability problems with this phone as of yet. I can, however, see that in the future you are going to be seeing posts about the buttons going out or the screen being damaged before your "Wireless Contract" is up after purchasing this device. It is made of a lower-grade plastic, and how long it lasts would depend on how much you were willing to spend on a case for the Storm. I brought my Storm back after only using it a week or two, and decided to go with a Bold instead. This may be the world's first touch screen blackberry, but touch-screen technology to RIM, the manufacturer of this device, is still new to the company. I look to see a better model within the next year or so to fix the problems RIM will have with this device, just as they did the first generation "Pearl". It's up to you, but be sure you go look at the phone before you buy it and shop around.


Verizon BB Storm

 

Dec 16, 2008 by PeteP

Having purchased the "Storm" the day after its release, I was extremely excited, given the hype of this phone. It felt good and I "got into it. The main problem I had was the "self shutting down and restarting". This was before the "patch". After the system was updated with the "patch", I was deeply disappointed that I still had the same problems. I called Tech Support and the phone was "wiped" clean. This did not solve the problem, thereby causing more frustration on my part. I took it back to the store and changed back to the old reliable "Curve". Once the "Storm" upgraded to the point of complete reliability, then it will be the "Perfect Storm". My suggestion is to not let "want to have" overshadow common sense, and wait until the bugs are ironed out.
Pros: nice size and shape, good interrelationship of the systems, very reliable other than the big problem mentioned above, very cost effective with the price and rebate, nice touch.
Cons: the extended battery in the making by Seidio should be standard, typing/texting slowed due to the touch aspect not always on target, if the "patch" is not fully ready, don't make it available.
Even though I was frustrated with my Storm, it may have been just a lemon. However, I was not ready to have this continued frustration but I continue to have "Crackberryitis".


What a joke...

 

Nov 24, 2008 by mattmgeorge

I've been waiting for this phone for quite some time now. I have always loved Verizon and Blackberry phones. Needless to say, my expectations were a little high. I must say I am thoroughly disappointed in this phone.

The touch screen is very hard to use. Even when using the alternate keyboard entry method, it is still too hard to type on. In the business environment, there really is no time for this.

The lag on the phone is unbelievable! I can't understand why they would put a phone on the market that operates so slowly. It is very frustrating.

The call quality is good, but that is to be expected with Verizon. I would say that this is the only "pro" on this phone.

My last complaint is regarding the availability of the phone. December 15th??? After only being in the stores for 1-day. Someone screwed up on the planning there.

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