Blackberry Storm

[wildcard451 0]

So I can't find a good thread on it here.

Who has one? Love it? Hate it? I'm happy with verizon's service so as much as I would like an iPhone I am not switching to AT&T.

So I'll take opinions on it from people who use one.

Thanks a bunch.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

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I'm happy with verizon's service so as much as I would like an iPhone I am not switching to AT&T.

The same situation is here in Canada with Roger's network having a monopoly on Iphones. I think Apple has mad a serious strategic error.
Sorry to hijack your thread.

[d_squared431 0]

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So I can't find a good thread on it here.

Who has one? Love it? Hate it? I'm happy with verizon's service so as much as I would like an iPhone I am not switching to AT&T.

So I'll take opinions on it from people who use one.

Thanks a bunch.

I have the curve and have started having problems with it. Went to verizon and asked about the storm and I want it. It has a lot of great features and looks cool too...

TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1
I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH
You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly

[CSpenceFLY 1]

I don't have one but have used one. I liked it and seemed pretty user friendly

[Orchid 0]

I've been thinking of getting the Blackberry Storm...I would also like to find out more info.

I have a Blackberry Pearl now for 2 years...loved it, been using it too much so it's falling apart on me...can't decide on getting a new same phone or go for the Storm.

"Love is doing small things with great love."

Lacrosse: Legally beating men with sticks since 1492

[McBeth 0]

I don't have one... but am looking at getting a new phone in mid- Jan and want to stay with Verizon too. I was looking seriously at the Storm, but from all the reviews I've seen I think I am going with the Pearl. Looks like it is just not ready yet. I don't want to deal with bugs on a phone.

[d_squared431 0]

My curve has bugs. Verizon has received several calls from me this last week. One more issue I get to upgrade early to the storm. Main problems they have corrected from the curve to make the storm work better are:
Browser issues- browser won't work or icon goes missing.
Receiving text pic msg with sound
And freezing up. Then when you make or receive a call you can't hear the other person . You have to pull the battery out and restart you phone. Pain in the ass.

Can't wait to upgrade.

TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1
I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH
You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly

[mwabd1 0]

I got the wife one for xmas...........so far she likes it and the software update seems to have fixed the typing issues.............it was very easy to set up email on and works well.

.......I hereby reject your reality and instead choose to insert my own!

[livendive 8]

I got one the day they came out (about 6 weeks ago) and like it a lot. They were probably a little early on the release, but RIM is good at updating OSs to fix glitches and they have been doing so. I'm going to install the newest version this weekend just to get rid of some camera lag, but overall I'm very happy with the purchase and performance. Gawain ought to chime in here pretty soon too, as he bought two on the day of release (one for his wife). We've been messaging back & forth on updates & new apps as they come out. If you have any more specific questions, I'll try to answer them.

Edit: And for the record, visual voicemail rocks! The display & sound quality are fantastic, typing is easy enough, the camera takes great pictures (but needs the lag improved), the interface is pretty intuitive, and the email capability of a blackberry is SOOO much better than a "dumb" phone. I still get an occasional temporary freeze when I plug into the car charger while doing anything else (typically 10-20 seconds) and have had to reboot maybe once every week or two but haven't had any problems requiring a store visit or even a call to customer service. If I had to sum up what I perceive the difference to be between the storm and the iphone, I'd say the storm is a communication tool with plenty of entertainment options built in whereas the iphone is an entertainment device that can also make phone calls. You can also sync your iTunes to the Storm, though there's an extra step to remove DRM from any songs bought directly from Apple iTunes. The fact that an iPhone can't tether to my laptop or MMS a picture to someone's phone, plus AT&T's network being inferior to Verizon's made my choice pretty simple.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[poe62 0]

I went to go buy one last week, and I played around with the display one. I went with the voyager instead. I'm sure the Storm is great, but it bugged me too much.

~Nikki
http://www.facebook.com/poe62

Irgity Dirgity

[wildcard451 0]

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I went to go buy one last week, and I played around with the display one. I went with the voyager instead. I'm sure the Storm is great, but it bugged me too much.

In what way?

[marks 0]

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I don't have one... but am looking at getting a new phone in mid- Jan and want to stay with Verizon too. I was looking seriously at the Storm, but from all the reviews I've seen I think I am going with the Pearl. Looks like it is just not ready yet. I don't want to deal with bugs on a phone.

I have been using it for a few weeks. I like it.
at first with the operating system it came with it was almost unusable. but RIM has been releasing beta operating systems and it is getting better REAL fast.
if your looking for mid january, I would say it is a safe bet it will be ready by then. it is getting HUGE improvments each week. RIM is doing a great job in turning this phone into a baddass phone.

if you do get one, send me your PIN number on blackberry messenger.

[McBeth 0]

Well now I'm back to leaning towards the Storm. Might as well spend some more money.

[livendive 8]

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Well now I'm back to leaning towards the Storm. Might as well spend some more money.

Erin has the Pearl, and though she really likes the fact that it's pink, my guess is she would trade it for a Storm if she was eligible for an upgrade. She's gotten really used to the SureType thing (2 letters per button vs 3 on a "normal" phone)...whereas I haven't. With full QWERTY available on the Storm simply by rotating it, I only use SureType to enter my password when unlocking it.

I've still got my VX8700, and this was a huge upgrade from that in terms of utility, interface, and entertainment. And with the Blackberry plan, it actually ended up being cheaper for the same services.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[Gawain 0]

I bought one on day one, waited in line in crazy cold weather to get it too...it was worth it.

RIM has been fast with the updates, and I'm very happy with it. I have until the 15th of January in my "guarantee" if I want to switch it out to another model. Here is a summary of my rants and raves:

Raves:
- Form factor
- Click screen
- Functionality
- Push email
- Camera takes great pictures
- Typing is fairly easy (whether landscape QWERTY or SureType)
- RIM reliability
- VZW's network is top notch
- Best RIM browser so far

Rants:
- There's a memory leak, which impacts functionality over time, requiring a battery pull regularly (this is one of two big issues for me)
- The accelerometer is a little twitchy in switching to landscape mode
- The camera is slow (but the OS updates have helped it get a little more responsive)
- Battery life isn't as good as other berries (my work 8800 on AT&T can go a week +, but it doesn't have the abilities of this one either), the OS updates have helped with this too
- I'm discovering some difficult areas where the click-screen doesn't click well, requiring multiple taps to execute a command (this is the other big one for me)
- Typing is fairly easy (whether landscape QWERTY or SureType), BUT, I can't type as fast as on my work 8800 and I get more thumb fatigue from extensive typing with the Storm. I think this is because since it's a click/touch screen, the rest of my hands don't maintain as much leverage while typing.
- I wish there was more "themes" available for it, I'd like something a bit more "organizational" like the "Today" theme, etc.

Having said all that, I'm more inclined to keep the Storm and see how it holds up. I think the memory management will get better as new OS updates come out (there's been three leaked, one official update so far). However, if I feel I can't get the screen-click issue resolved, I'd consider the 8330 Curve. I like the size of the 8130 Pearl, but I think I'd get tired of it quickly. Though, VZW is selling Pearls now for $20. If Verizon released the 9000-series Bold/Niagara in January...that would make my life difficult.

Blackberries are awesome...I wouldn't compare the 9530 Storm to the iPhone because each have way different pluses. I like the iPhone just fine, but as the time has gone on with them, they don't seem to be all "that". The Storm will end up in the same boat, but I think it's overall functionality surpasses the iPhone by a wide margin.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[Samurai136 0]

I wanted one until I found out Verizon crippled the device; No Wi-Fi.

"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian
Ken

[ryoder 1,513]

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I wanted one until I found out Verizon crippled the device; No Wi-Fi.

Standard Operating Procedure for Verizon; That is why I dropped them.
Back when I wanted to buy a Razr, they would only sell it with the Bluetooth crippled so it could not be used with a computer.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[turtlespeed 212]

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I wanted one until I found out Verizon crippled the device; No Wi-Fi.

Standard Operating Procedure for Verizon; That is why I dropped them.
Back when I wanted to buy a Razr, they would only sell it with the Bluetooth crippled so it could not be used with a computer.

What would the point of that be?

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[Gawain 0]

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I wanted one until I found out Verizon crippled the device; No Wi-Fi.

Per RIM, there wasn't room on the motherboard for it. Vodafone's 9500 Storm doesn't have it either.

VZW has plenty of smartphones with Wi-Fi in it: Samsung Omnia, HTC, etc...

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[ryoder 1,513]

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Quote

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I wanted one until I found out Verizon crippled the device; No Wi-Fi.

Standard Operating Procedure for Verizon; That is why I dropped them.
Back when I wanted to buy a Razr, they would only sell it with the Bluetooth crippled so it could not be used with a computer.

What would the point of that be?

Instead of transferring files (photos, video, ring-tones) directly between your computer with Bluetooth, they want you to do it through their cell system so they can charge you minutes.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Gawain 0]

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I wanted one until I found out Verizon crippled the device; No Wi-Fi.

Standard Operating Procedure for Verizon; That is why I dropped them.
Back when I wanted to buy a Razr, they would only sell it with the Bluetooth crippled so it could not be used with a computer.

What would the point of that be?

Instead of transferring files (photos, video, ring-tones) directly between your computer with Bluetooth, they want you to do it through their cell system so they can charge you minutes.

That would make sense if they charged minutes for data usage. They charge by the MB now. They have plans that alleviate those charges (Blackberry plans all have unlimited data). Is it more expensive than the other carriers, yes. However, Verizon, unlike its competitors, has turned all that towards reinvestment. Their network is proof of that, as is their subscriber growth. Their customer service has always been great with me (their tech support is frustrating I'll admit though).

Bottom line is this: Most of the consumer handheld/flip phones don't support full bluetooth capability, unless you buy an unlocked GSM phone at full retail.

Verizon does not place a mandate on whether or not their phones have Wi-Fi. The reason why they don't, is because, unlike AT&T and T-Mobile, they don't maintain any hot-spots at all. Using a PDA/Smartphone/Blackberry requires a data plan on VZW anyway, so using Wi-Fi doesn't mean anything to them.

If you look at all the CDMA carriers, none of the RIM devices they sell have Wi-Fi. There's one exception, the new 8350i with Sprint, however, it's a "NexTel" phone on the iDEN network...pretty much means garbage coverage. In fact, there are plenty of GSM models without it too (and without 3G). For the CDMA carriers, there are plenty of WinMo based devices with Wi-Fi...if Wi-Fi were that important to me, I know my choices (but it's windows...yada yada)...

I am fortunate enough to be able to compare VZW and AT&T every day, since my work BB is with AT&T. It's a no-brainer in terms of network coverage and capacity.

Now, this won't convince any of the super-VZ haters out there and that's cool. Don't worry about the Storm either because the 9520 is coming to Roger's Wireless in Canada sometime this quarter. It's a GSM only, with Wi-Fi, and if you buy full retail at $600-ish, you can probably get it running on AT&T. However, AT&T has been having a hell-of-a-time with their 3G HSPDA (as evidenced by the roll-outs of the iPhone and BB Bold indicate), so don't set your expectations too high.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[ryoder 1,513]

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Instead of transferring files (photos, video, ring-tones) directly between your computer with Bluetooth, they want you to do it through their cell system so they can charge you minutes.

That would make sense if they charged minutes for data usage. They charge by the MB now.

[Gawain 0]

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Instead of transferring files (photos, video, ring-tones) directly between your computer with Bluetooth, they want you to do it through their cell system so they can charge you minutes.

That would make sense if they charged minutes for data usage. They charge by the MB now.

It was over two years ago this issue came up. My old phone died, and I needed a new one. I learned from HowardForums that VZW was crippling the Razrs they provided. I even went into the local VZW office and confirmed it with the tech guys there. Then I went to the local Sprint office and signed up for service and bought EXACTLY the same model of Razr, but FULLY functional.

When I went back to the VZW office and canceled my service. The guys there understood fully and sympathized with my reasons.

VZW was the only cell provider I ever used until that point. If they wanted to keep people like me as customers, they should have thought of that before they decided to screw us.

I also completely understand why people wouldn't want to deal with that. That's why I finally upgraded to a smart phone because they aren't as locked down, and more versatile than the traditional "GUI" found on the "plain" phones.

I considered leaving them over this too, but where was I going to go? T-Mobile or Sprint? Well, I need some coverage. AT&T? I like it when my calls go through more than half the time, and have access to 3G. Mileage varies I suppose...

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!