How would you change RIM's BlackBerry Storm?
By Darren Murph 
posted February 13th 2009 9:11PM
posted February 13th 2009 9:11PM
posted February 13th 2009 9:11PM
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i JUST know that someone like iEye or paul or some other mac-crazed-shortminded person is gonna scream the most annoying phone that we all have heard only about A BILLION times..
RAZR!
About 99% of us are here just waiting for it.
Ahh, the RAZR, the worst phone I had ever owned... and yes 2 phones later... I bought an iPhone... hate on me if you want, but it's a good phone :) And never got a chance with the Storm yet unfortunetly.
@ ross.
true, you cant say the iPhone is a BAD phone. It clearly exsels at what it does.
The blackberrys escel at what they do. its like comparing a truck to a sports car.
****excel
Isn't it an incredible accomplishment when you are universally known and then consequently hated on an entire website? For that, I think that iEye deserves a round of applause.
Normally, I woulda screamed "MAKE IT AN IPHONE" but in all seriousness, The Storm has alot to like, but it feels like an UNFINISHED PRODUCT.
build it better. tighter seems where the battery cover is locked in, higher quality buttons, higher quality side case...and better firmware - firmware not shared by previous phones.
Just amazing -- and a bit pathetic -- how the iPhone is there when it's not.
Did someone mention half-baked. Talk about eatin' raw. This is supposedly the BlackBerry answer for the question nobody asked. BlackBerry users hated touch-screens. Maybe not, they just hated iPhone touch-screens. The Apple just sticks in their mealy craws. RIM should stick to keyboard handsets. It's what they do best.
@ Kamil:
You know, people *talking* about iEye and Paul Chapel has become just as annoying as iEye and Paul Chapel.
Please. Stop.
@ImaYam
Or like comparing a phone to a phone.... also you spell "escell" "excel".
FAIL
Better Firmware, Get the damn app store thing up, a separate graphics chip, and holy shit where's the wifi.
But besides those its a pretty good phone
Needs more WiFi
Sheesh, all of these massive developmental wishes, and yet people complain ferociously about the lack of cut/paste on the iPhone...
get rid of the chucklefucking clicky thing under the screen and wifi =\
I would never have made it! What Rim should have done is add a touch screen to the standard profile. I have to ask, is a BB about media? Not really... The iPhone is, and the device nicely fills the space.
There are many great things about the BB, and as an iPhone user the device is pretty attractive. Competing head on with Apple was a mistake. That said, an OQO-ish like BB based on the Storm would be pretty cool. But, ditch the reliance on a touch screen.
I'd bet money that missing wifi was VZ's fault.
Wifi
Better Browser
No click screen
Click screen definitely is better than non. Honestly it makes a lot of sense once you've used it for a while.
Amen.
We seriously need a good, stable, flash-enabled, capacitive-aware (on supporting platforms), web standards compliant, cross-platform browser, YESTERDAY.
Everybody making their own webkit browser isn't bad, but it ends up being more work for everyone. Here's to hoping Fennec comes close to closing the cross-platform mobile browser gap.
i've used the clicky screen for a while and it adds nothing to the user experience and is definitely my biggest gripe. I'd def say scrap the click screen.
The click screen is definitely a pain in the ass. My friend works for Verizon and brought over a storm the day they came out so I could play with it, and it's painful. To type you have to click every letter which slows you down considerably.
I've thought up a few ways they could keep the click screen, but make it useful. You need to be able to tap too. I know people won't like me mentioning the iPhone, but the iPhone's keyboard is so much easier and faster to use because you can just lightly tap each key and type very fast. The storm needs this.
The click can still stay, but use it in a way like allowing you to drag your finger around almost like a cursor, and click while you're dragging, as long as everything still has the ability to tap for speed. I think that would increase the usability quite a bit, and it's certainly easily done in the software.
Other than that, the phone felt really slow and buggy to me, like someone else said, like unfinished software, but I was using the original firmware, so I can't say much as to what's updated since then. I feel that the Storm was a great first attempt by Blackberry, but like almost anything, the first version always sucks. Hell, the original iPhone was worthless until 2.0 (no 3g, no apps, basically just a simple phone with an expensive touch screen for little reason). I think that a Storm 2, or whatever it ends up being, will be a very good phone.
@Andrew:
Your schtick on the click screen is spot on. The first thing I thought when I played with my friend's Storm was that the clicking action of the screen should've been implemented as an analogy to right-clicking on a PC. You suddenly have a two-button touch screen/mouse! But making that the primary was a fail.
iphone... haha pwnd @kamil
Base it on SnapDragon, make it razor slim.
it might just be because i have big hands but i really dont like thin phones, it feels like im ganna break them. i dont own a storm but when i was playing around with one it had a very nice hand feel, i wish i had more time to play with it to see what other function i would like corrected
and snap dragon does sound good if it doesnt become vaporware
The clickable screen is more of a failed experiment- I like the iPhone touchscreen more for everyday tasks.
I'd recycle them into iphones and Palm Pre phones.
ughh! i dont know if i should downrank you or up! so confusing!
clickable screen ftl
clickable screen ftw.
I tried the BB Storm, and the clickable screen is a great way to view menu items before clicking them. Trying it in the store though, typing messages with a 'click per letter' felt tiresome. Is it already possible to turn off the 'click requirement' for the keyboard only? Or would that conflict with any functionality?
I like the Storm except the lack of apps in the Application Center. Apple has the corner on the market when it comes to this. That is the direction that smart phones are going. More than just a phone with email and web capabilities. More like an all in one, connected platform of information.
I've had mine since the second week they were out. The first firmware sucked big time. The update to 4.7.0.75 has been very nice. My only gripe: lack of apps like the iPhone. If the new iPhone in June is anything like the rumors, I may just switch, jail break it over to Verizon [3G now in the States] and just eat the cost of the Storm.
http://corebrewing.com
Verizon 3G runs on its CDMA network, there is no way the Iphone will work on Verizon (or Sprint for that matter) unless Apple releases one with the necessary CDMA hardware (fat chance).
LOL.,.,what the!!!!!!did this guy just say iPhone on verizon?!?!?!?!?!?!?wow. He must be a storm user, says something about knowledge n judgement,.dee dee deee!!!!!!!!!!
I wish Apple would bring the iPhone to Verizon. It could only help them. If 10 million people use the iPhone on AT&T, 10 million more would use it on Verizon. Carrier lock-in sucks. But, Verizon might cripple the iPhone like they do with other multi-carrier phone.
Back on topic... I just bought a Blackberry Curve. I'm not impressed with the Storm. Two of my friends have it, and I don't like the click screen. I probably could deal with the iPhone touch screen if they had the iPhone on Verizon. I hear you get used to the iPhone after a while, and I'd love the iPhone to replace my iPod. But, for now, I'm a Curve user. It was only $30 with my upgrade!
P.S. The Curve is my first smartphone. I really like having a full keyboard... so maybe the iPhone isn't for me. Maybe in 2 years Verizon will get the next iPhone! Time will tell.
@michaelscrip . AT&T n iPhone have exclusive right till July of 2013. Its a mega million dollar contract .So after that all carriers will be able to carry the iPhone , then it will reeally start to take off in sales. Imagine every single carrier on the planet having subsidies on it. It would seriously only be like a $10 phone here in the states.insane!!!!
Yeah, but those contracts almost certainly have exit clauses if Apple wants to bail out early.
Still, the likelihood of Verizon getting an iPhone is low. We'll see what happens if they unveil a 3rd gen iPhone (guess we can't call it a 3G, heh)
From my understanding of it, Apple went to Verizon first, before going to ATT, to contract as the sole carrier for the iPhone. Verizon, however, wanted to put their crippling crapware interface on it and would not compromise (I guess they didn't see the potential success of the iPhone). Apple, of course, would have nothing to do with that, so they went to the more amenable ATT. I wish Verizon would have acquiesced...their network is much better where I live. Oh well...still love the iPhone.
Glad to see that Engadget commenters haven't changed a bit...
@philosopher
Here's a question for you to ponder:
Would a real philosopher actually quote Carlos Mencia?
"dee dee deee!!!!!!!!!!" ftl!!!
Cook the firmware a bit longer and get the app store online. Other than that, love the phone.
fire
I agree, the ability to shoot fire would improve this phone ten-fold.
iphone fanboy: "My iphone's 3g is lighting fast!"
Storm Owner: "Really? Cause mine shoots lightning and liquid fire at morons." *vahwooooooosshhshsh*
-*insert screams from Paul Chapel's screams here.*-
freaking typos... bah...let Jason sort it out today...
Somehow have an option of whether or not you want to use the click touch screen. Like an option you could turn on/off in the UI.
that is such a major fail of an idea that its awesome. thats like saying "i hate that end call button below the screen. i should just be able to change a setting 'in the UI' and have it go away".
i think what you're going for is either remove the clicking screen completely, or make two versions, one with, one without. i support the former, as the latter is highly unlikely.