RIM BlackBerry 9530 Smartphone

I refrained from writing this review for over 6 months because I truly wanted to love the Storm.  I've been a Blackberry user for over 5 years now thanks to my job.  I've had several versions of the device on different carriers.  The Storm is a definite improvement but it's not as good as some of it's competition.

Traditional Blackberry Functions:

Even though the Storm has a touch screen and new interface all of the core Blackberry features are still there.  Push email, calendar, to do, they all work the same way they always have.   The mobile document readers seem to be improved over previous versions and the ability to change to landscape mode makes trying to read documents much easier.

The phone interface is "ok" but this is the first place where the touch screen becomes a hindrance.  When on a call the screen does not lock and since it's one big button you have to make sure you don't press it against your face too hard.  There are free apps that will change this behavior but they introduce a new set of problems.  When you are on a call and need to press a number (like a voice mail password) you have to switch to the number screen... which is not big deal since the screen isn't locked but become cumbersome with a third party app that locks the screen.  I don't know if there is a "fix" for this, it's an either or, pick which one annoys you the least and deal with it I guess.

Typing on the Storm is not too bad.  I had a Curve just prior to the Storm and I did not have much trouble typing accurately on the touch screen.  If you try to type too fast though the screen is prone to lag and print an incorrect character.  The lag is probably the biggest problem with typing that is not controllable by the user.  If i make sure and type slowly and divide the keyboard evenly between right and left I usually don't have any issues. 

The Storm has both a full QWERTY and Sure Type Keyboard.  The predictive text works exactly like it does on the Pearl.  I can't say that either is better than the other, I like to use the Sure Type keyboard for SMS but I use QWERTY for "real" email.

The default message box contains messages of all types.  I prefer to separate my sms, email, and IM messages and it's easily changed in the preferences.  Blackberry Messenger works the same as any other device.

The Blackberry Browser is much improved in the Storm.  It's the best one I have used on a Blackberry to date.  It's still frustrating though and leaves you looking for alternatives.  There are a couple of third party browsers available but they don't integrate with the touch screen and accelerometer very well.  For example: Opera Mini, which is a highly regarded browser, does not automatically open the keyboard when you select a text input field.  I have to press options and "show keyboard" type what I want and the press options and "hide keyboard".  I tend to use the default browser for this reason, at least it's integrated with the OS better.  The browser has improved but it has a long way to go to catch up with some other mobile browsers.

Battery live on the Storm is not too bad considering what it can do.  If you use it for web browsing or anything that uses the GPS the battery life is one day max.   I've found that if I just use it like I always have (email and occasional phone calls) I get about three days but if I use it for browsing the battery drains quickly.

The Storm comes with a new game called Word Mole in addition to Brick breaker.  I only mention the game because it's an outstanding app.  It's one of the best things about the Storm and the only thing I can say is better on it than any other Blackberry.  The Tour, Curve, and Bold have the game as well but without a touch screen you can't enjoy Word Mole as much.

The Camera on the storm was horrific initially.  They've upgraded the OS and now it's at least usable.  Picture quality is not great but it's usable for snapshots.  It can be used for recording video but it's not going to be great quality.  There is a built in led light for the camera.

The Media player is usable but I only bother with it when there I have nothing else to use.  You can actually sync play lists from your favorite software to it with Blackberry Media Sync.

Storm Specific Functions

Blackberry App World is where users can download new apps for their device.  Initially there were only a few apps available but the number has increased.  Browsing App World is laggy and frustrating.  If you don't want one of the "top apps" or know exactly what you are looking for it's just too much trouble to browse.  There are some decent apps for the Storm but don't expect the same apps you'd get with another touch screen phone.

Accelerometer -  The touch screen on the Storm can move from portrait to landscape on the fly based on how you turn the phone.  It works... but often it takes a few seconds to switch views and I've found that sometimes you have to hold the phone vertically for it to recognize the change.  It's especially annoying when typing on a keyboard, if you change orientation while typing it seems to always lag.  If you open a menu and change orientation the menu will often stay at the previous orientation while the rest of the screen changes.

Even though the touch screen has it's problems it will still spoil you.  Anytime I use a device that requires me to press a button to move around I feel like I'm in the stone age.  When the screen is responsive it's a joy to use.  Scrolling is smooth and application selection is just a touch (and screen press) away.  The problem is that half the time the screen is not responsive and does not accept the proper input.  For example, the screen may not realize that i have swiped up until I have done it 3 times or it may not accept that I have put my finger on the SMS app instead of Google maps.  If I press the screen to select the app, it opens Google maps or whatever app is recognized last.

No WiFi is included on the first gen Storm.  How on earth could that be omitted when the main competition has this feature.  Shame on RIM/Verizon.

Conclusion:

Overall the Storm is not a bad phone, if it were the only touch screen smart phone on the market it would be liked better.  Unfortunately for RIM, the competitors touch screen phones implementations are infinitely better.  The Storm works well for core Blackberry features but if that's what you need the hardware keyboard versions are much better.  If you want a multimedia/Internet phone there are much better options by other companies.

I prefer a hybrid phone with a touch screen and a hardware keyboard.  There is no question that Verizon has THE network in my area and as soon as my Storm contract is over I'll be looking for an alternative. 

Lastly, as of this writing the Storm is the lowest rated Blackberry device on the Verizon website.