RIM BlackBerry 9530 Smartphone

{{{{{{{{{{{{UPDATE:  NOVEMBER 30th 2008 -    RIM has released an update to the phone "Firmware 4.7.0.75 ".  Compared to the firmware version that shipped with the Storm during release, this firmware has patched numerous bugs in regards to rotation and response time of the browser and camera - I will upgrade the Storm by 1 star  to 4 STARS  if the next patch is even better.}}}}}}}}}}}}



BLACKBERRY STORM 2 - http://www.epinions.com/review/RIM_BlackBerry_Storm2_9550_Cell_Phone/content_491556867716







Less than 2 years ago, I owned a Blackberry 9000 series.
I loved this device because it offered – at that time- a decent web browser, a fantastic organizer for contacts and extra contact info (birthdays, addresses, multiple phone numbers, etc). All of this wrapped up in a convienient, pocketable device. Though the large, flat shape of the device made it a bit cumbersome to hold, adding a bluetooth headset allowed me to get around that problem.  Blackberry phones have always been high quality, solid devices.


Then,  the Apple iPhone came upon us all.
http://www.epinions.com/review/Apple_iPhone_3G_8_GB_Smartphone/content_436824542852 


I traded in that Blackberry because I was simply wowed by the iPhone. At the time of iPhone’s release, it had two features that I considered “must have”.  #1  it had the ability to watch Youtube over a Wifi connection  (and this can be a life saver if your in a public hotspot and bored to death)  and #2  I wanted a cameraphone that could upload photos directly via wifi – so I could email them to my personal email accounts or to friends.       I wasn’t specifically in the market for a musicphone, simply because  I only listen to music in my car nowadays,  but, the iPhone did come with a fast-access Solid State Drive that accesses music and videos far quicker than my old Nextel i870 and its micro SD card.

But, a lot of people were not willing to trade in their Blackberry for the iPhone because of  two main reasons.
#1 Their businesses in many cases furnish them with Blackberries (like mine did)  and those Blackberries are configured for Corporate Exchange servers  which allow “email push” .  With email push, new emails are automatically sent to their phone and they are instantly notified. With most cellphones, their corporate email accounts or their personal email accounts must be refreshed in a web browser before they will get new mail.
#2  The iPhone lacked a physical keyboard – instead having a flat touchscreen.   The problem with this new design concept is that there is no tactile response and it is very difficult to perfect the gross motor skills to press keys, and conversely to not press keys. If your finger touches  or brushes the screen, there are simply too many unwanted inputs.   

As I see it, it is possible for Apple to input a firmware update which causes the vibrator’s motor to spin its armature each time a key is pressed, but, then you run into the issues of battery life decreasing. And the iPhone 3G’s battery life is already not that great.   This is probably the reason Apple doesn’t do it.
My girlfriend’s LG Dare does exactly what I just proposed, and it works decently, but, it does result in obviously less-than-average battery life.

Blackberry has been hard at work producing two new phones to compete with the iPhone 3G – the “BOLD” and the “STORM”  now that the iPhone has risen seemingly overnight to overtake the Motorola V3 RAZR  as America’s number 1 selling  cellphone.   A lot of people have been waiting to see what Blackberry’s iPhone killer would be like and now its finally here, being sold in America exclusively on the Verizon network. 

For those of you reading this review in order to answer the simple question:

“IS THE BLACKBERRY STORM  BETTER THAN THE IPHONE?”   

You are torn between the two?
 
Let me simply reply by saying,  NO IT IS NOT. 

It is impossible to review the Blackberry without comparing it to the iPhone because I believe that if the iPhone wasn’t on the market, the Storm probably would not exist. The iPhone, whether you like it or not, is the benchmark for a touchscreen phone  and in many, many ways, the Storm’s designers have designed the Storm around the iPhone (starting from the bezels and  button design  on up).


HARDWARE DESIGN

The exterior design of the BLACKBERRY STORM 9530 is mostly curved rectangular with black glossy finish and a silver plastic bezel that surrounds the frame for cosmetics.   There is a single key on the left side next to the mini USB port, as well as a volume rocker plus another convenience key.    On the face of the phone there are  four face buttons:  Call, Return, Menu and End Call/Power on-off.
The back of this phone is a two piece deal. There is a brushed aluminum backing which functions as a battery cover  and atop that, there is a  3.2 Megapixel camera with its flash.
The phone also has a 3.5mm headphone jack  (the size of the  typical headphones you probably own).

The  Storm’s hardware design does not offer the same “brick-like” solid feel as either the iPhone or the 3G, but  there was still plenty here to like:
The battery is removable and user-replaceable.  With an iPhone, you can’t change the battery when you need to and are forced to send it to the company simply because the phone is very difficult to take apart.

The 3.2Megapixel camera has a flash, and it also has auto-focus, but, more importantly, unlike iPhone’s lower resolution  camera, it can capture video !

With a micro USB cable, you can easily buy inexpensive USB  cables or, most likely, use the same one you have for  your digital camera, which makes charging/synching easier since you don’t have to rely on proprietary cables.

Also, worth mentioning is that the Storm includes  Bluetooth Stereo audio (A2DP)  which allows you to use rechargeable wireless headphones  or wirelessly transmit to home stereo receivers if they have the feature too.



TYPING

The most important aspect of any touchscreen PDA/phone is typing. This is because whether you are browsing the net, text messaging or, more likely, typing an email, you will be coming in contact with the keyboard constantly. The Blackberry Storm makes use of a new screen technology, “sure press” which allows the entire screen to be clicked as if it was a mouse button.

There is actually a single button under the screen.
Clicking confirms the highlighted selection.

Along with this button, it uses a “capacitive touch” panel like the iPhone  (which notices the electrical resistance across the skin of the fingertip).  When typing, each key will light in blue, but you must fully depress the screen button before moving to the next key.

Typing on the Blackberry feels responsive, but, it’s a new feeling you need to get used to before you’ll be able to type with speed – and even then, you still will not be able to type with the confidence and swiftness as you could on a QWERTY  keyboard device like the Sidekick or the  Bold.

The Blackberry Storm’s major problem is that the software here,  is a ported version of its software from its other phones, and isn’t fully compatible (or intelligent) in the touchscreen environment.  

The last generation Blackberry used the trackball to help alleviate lawsuits of Blackberry thumb (carpal tunnel syndrome)  which was caused by the older style "job dial",  and now, they’ve simply added a firmware update to allow their screen to be like a "multitouch trackball" without the need of a cursor.  Tasks simple for my iPhone such as scrolling through pictures, or sliding through webpages is completely absent here.
The LG DARE had the exact same problem.

The Storm simply hasn’t been tuned well enough, but, its possible firmware updates can alleviate this in the future.  With the iPhone, there is a feel of inertia – if you slide your finger quickly, pages move faster, if you slide slowly, pages move slower. This level of motion detection is completely absent in the Storm and it’s a shame. Slide your finger on the Storm and the page stops scrolling on your exact point.
The Storm shouldn't have been released until this was fixed.

What I do like, is that the Storm offers the ability to tough a button and hold it - without clicking -  to “hover”. 
Hovering over someone’s email address will do an auto search for all messages received from that person...or you can hover on the subject to autosearch all messages from that thread. If you use the calendar feature, you can simply slide your finger left or right to move through calendar dates.



THE OPERATING SYSTEM and WEB BROWSING

The Storm’s web browser is a slightly improved version of the Bold's version4.6. A lot of work has been done to streamline the web browser to make it load faster and to create the page without errors like artifacting and text where it shouldn’t be.

Unfortunately, the browser doesn’t feel as solid as it should be which gives me the impression that they should not have tried to build it themselves by simply updating a browser from their last generation of phones and passing it off. They should buy rights to Microsoft’s I.E. or look into Firefox or Opera like many netbook designers are doing.

There are some very neat features however. 
If you press a special button on the browser, the phone gives you a cursor which you can control with your finger to point at specific graphic items with slightly more precision than on iPhone and the ability to “COPY / PASTE” is here too. And this is a big deal when you want to send someone a hyperlink. When you  “pinch” a link with your index and thumb, a small menu pops up asking if you want to copy/paste and then you move the cursor to where you wish to lay the data.
But, the web browser does suffer from an overwhelming feeling that the phone’s CPU is slow and that the software hasn’t been perfectly mated to the phone.  Movements between screens, folders, and applications such as the camera feel awfully slow sometimes. 

Wherein iPhone allows you to pinch or unpinch the page to Zoom in and out, the Storm's Zoom in and out is simply done by pushing a magnifying glass icon. But this feels aweful since the phone lags during re-rendering and the page's analog increments of magnification are hard to get just right so you can see it well.

 I think the slow response time could have been mitigated if the Storm had an SSD drive like the iPhone does. (Or perhaps this is a firmware problem that can be upgraded) Technologically, the iPhone has a faster CPU, faster graphics processor and the benefit of web pages actually being designed around it, rather than the other way around. 
Most webpages can be auto formatted to use on iPhone by simply typing “I.” in front of the page name  while other pages lend themselves to mobile gadgets by typing “m.”

Blackberry does offer its own email solution that allows you to have 10 personal email accounts and
BlackBerry Enterprise Solution -  which works to provide mailbox integration, and remote address book look-up, but, the feature I like most about my iPhone on iTunes is that iTunes allows you to synch the phone’s contact list directly to YAHOO ADDRESSES  which allows you to not only access the full contact list anywhere you have an internet capable computer but, allows you to edit that information as well.

The Storm’s main storage is a removable/expandable 8GB micro SD card but its OS, and internal memory is spread across 1GB of Flash memory.  The Storm is expandable to 16GB but, access times are slow enough when taking pictures or listening to music to be annoying.


THE CAMERA and the DIGITAL MEDIA PLAYER

While being able to capture video, for upload to my Youtube account, sounded exciting, this 3.2 Megapixel camera only manages to take "decent" pictures. Video quality is weak, at just 320 x 240. Captured audio during videos wasn’t much better.  Sound wasn't great in areas with background ambience. This was most likely do to lack of sophisticated multidirectional microphones for high definition sound.

What the Storm does have, is a client that allows instant uploading to Facebook or to FLIKR.  You can take a picture, type a caption and automatically send it directly to your FLIKR for example. Most likely, a Myspace application will follow which allows similar functionality.

The Verizon Media Player experience also far lags behind that offered by iPhone’s integration with iTunes.
Using iTunes, you can simply use a nearby wifi connection to purchase a song and download it instantaneously from the internet to your hands. You get the money for this using the iTunes gift cards, and since this music is formatted specifically for iTunes and filters down to individual Apple products, album info comes complete  with album artwork and is seamlessly added to your laptop or desktop.
Music on the Storm sounds just as good as it does on the other media playing Blackberries, no more no less. Downloads are handled through VCAST  but this will change since Storm’s aren’t only available on Verizon’s network, they are also available on Vodaphone, Telus and Bell Canada (spreading to China next year) 

VCAST's download service isn’t bad, but it just isn’t as cool as iTunes’/ App Store which has a massive network of podcasts and iPod dedicated downloadables. 

As I mentioned, accessing the 8GB micro SD card takes time. I wish they’d gone for a regular High Density SD card because then we’d be able to expand far more than the Storm’s current cap on 16GB micro SD cards.   The only feature that really places the Storm on high note is the fact it can be used with wireless headphones. Other than that, there isn’t much more here than on most cellphones with audio players.


DATA DELIVERY and BATTERY LIFE

The last thing I’ll say about the Storm is that it does have one major thing over the iPhone – it benefits from Verizon’s CDMA network in America. Verizon’s network, as I realized when my mother got a V3 Razr years ago, is probably the best network in this country  (neglecting Palin’s wilderness, Alaska  and down in Hawaii).  Everyone complained about the pathetic speeds of the original iPhone’s  AT&T EDGE network, and now, the iPhone 3G  does get far better reception and download speeds but, at a cost of battery life.   The Storm’s battery drains much slower than the 3G iPhone, and fortunately, you don’t end up having to turn connectivity off to save energy like you must on the iPhone 3G.

After a full 7 hours of texting and playing with the phone, it still had more than 40% of its battery life (though this may be because of more efficient circuitry as both the iPhone and Storm have a  1400mAh battery).

Call quality is also excellent…something I’ve noticed goes very well with Verizon. The 3G’s phone quality is very good too, but the original iPhone’s call quality was poorer.
Unfortunately, RIM did not include WiFi. Though Verizon’s coverage is pretty good, WiFi, allows you to skip cellular data delivery and use your home wireless router, such as my own FIOS wifi router, in order to download data at the highest speed possible – only bottlenecked by the phone’s own CPU.  
Why didn’t they include WiFi?

Slightly mitigating the lack of WiFi is the fact, the Storm may be used as a CELLULAR MODEM - if you use its USB cable, you can connect your laptop through its connection to the internet. This is a feature ALL high speed cellphones should offer (maybe even the EDGE models too). The first month of data tethering is free but there is a service fee per month after that introductory period.

The Storm has a maximum of 5.5 hours talk time, and 15 days standby.
1st generation iPhones  have a maximum talk time of  10 hours.
3G iPhone has a max talk time of 5 hours on 3G  (but can revert to 2G when 3G isn't available.
iPhone's Standby time is up to 12.5 days.



OVERALL

This device needs a complete firmware and software overhaul. People who have never used an iPhone will probably get used to the Storm and like it, but there is nothing here worth making me trade in my 3G for the Storm.

There are plenty of downloadable applications for this phone from Verizon but, there is no dedicated “App Store” like function like what's incorporated into the 3G iPhone.

To recap, the Storm does offer many things over the iPhone:
#1  replaceable battery
#2 video capture
#3 A2DP  stereo sound
#4 replaceable/upgradeable memory cards
#5 Verizon  VZ Navigator - which offers you turn by turn directions if you wish to use the Storm as your car’s GPS device...
#6 Use the Storm as a cellular modem for your laptop.
#7 Storm is a "Worldphone" available on GSM markets and comes "sim Unlocked".
#8 Storm features Microsoft Office viewing/editing like other recent Blackberries. (word, excel, powerpoint, .pdf)

...but, the clicking screen didn’t  impress me and at some points, it felt more troublesome to type on than the iPhone’s because you can’t actually press two buttons simultaneously until the entire screen is completely depressed.  It does have alot of potential once the bugs are out. I liked being able to "hover" a button.

I felt a lot of lag in the same functions that I  regularly use on the iPhone (such as scrolling) which gave me the impression that the Storm needs more development. It’s a great start, but it doesn’t do a whole lot to differentiate itself  from the numerous touchphones that have popped up on the market to challenge the iPhone – notably, the Dare, the Instinct and the Prada.

You will just need to personally test the phones to see which one works best for you. Blackberry’s Enterprise services cannot be used on the iPhone, just as Itunes cannot be used on the Storm.  This choice between phones will come down to individual preference and necessity. 

iPhone comes out the clear winner of the hardware/software integration comparison.
With a revision, I think the Storm will catch up quickly.
I think the biggest point Blackberry has missed is that ipod and iphones have become cultural icons and if they really wanted to compete with iPhone, they would need to make the Storm an easily recognizable, high quality icon that stands alone among their line. Why couldn't they have designed a simple icon for the phone - like those icons used on weather channels to denote a tornado or storm? This way, ehenever any shopper sees something with that icon, they know exactly what it is, and what its for. The Marketing Team at RIM totally missed the mark. 

The Storm is currently being sold for $250.00  on Verizon's 2 Yr contract price. Without contract,  purchased via mail-order, this phone costs almost $500.   The iPhone has a $50 advantage since its being sold for $199, but, because Verizon's plan for it is cheaper slightly (depending on your personal choices), over the 2Yr contract the iPhone will actually cost you alot more.  My uncle loves it because Verizon to verizon calls (him calling his family on their plan) is basically cheap since its calltime is incorporated into his plan.
As the Storm is useable as a celullar modem, a well tailored data-plan will allow you to get the maximum advantage in service for your hard earned dollar. 



iPhone contender... yes.  Killer?  Absolutely not.