Say you're North America's largest wireless carrier -- how do you go about burying a product you're about to carry that you secretly wish didn't exist? One creative option would be to opt out of announcing it
when its manufacturer does, then quietly launch it on the same day that you're announcing the phone
you're calling the "must-have device of the year." Tricky, eh? Yeah, sure enough, by all appearances it seems that Verizon doesn't plan on celebrating the arrival of the Storm2 with the same fanfare it gave the Storm, despite the fact that the new device directly addresses the biggest complaints dogging the original model. It's a "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me" sort of situation, we suppose. Anyhow, it looks like pricing should come in at $179.99 on contract, though $100 of that comes in the form of a mail-in rebate that you'll get on a prepaid debit card, so you'll actually be laying out close to $300 before taxes when you march into the store on October 28. Hey, look at it this way: at least you can keep refreshing Engadget on your old Storm to learn about the Droid while you're waiting in line for the Storm2, right?
[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
posted October 23rd 2009 2:41PM
I agree with the ad. The first one was the epitome of impressive.
have you actually ever used the first storm? i'm not flaming or anything but that thing was an iphone wannabe piece of shit (or in your terms...the epitome of shite). the touchscreen sucked worse than anything i've ever used. i like blackberry and i hope they get this one right, but if it's equally as impressive as the first than i think i'll pass.
Didn't know that blackberry only made the storm 1 and 2... Hmmm... /sarcasm
I've had my Bold since release and never had a problem, and never had a crash.
btw, good luck using an iphone when you work in a big company which has an infrastructure only for BB. Thats like what? All of them? Thats what I mean by big boys, aka Professionals, not txt kiddies.
@n0ne
man you sure seem professional.
maybe one day the rest of us can be big boys and be as cool as you.
until then we'll all just sit around being kiddies and dreaming.
Any amount it too much for a blackberry... they would have to pay me $179.99 to use it.
Stick with your toy phones then... These are for the big boys.
@n0ne
yeah big boys like playing with a phone thats shit to type on and crashes....
yeah ill stick to a real phone like an iphone or any android phone
Don't forget Storm1 was released with BETA quality software just for the big boys!
If you go to Best Buy Mobile then the $100 rebate is automatically taken off.. Beats waiting a few weeks to months to get the rebate on a debit card!! Its with all phones if there is a rebate offered...
Does anyone really care about blackberries these days?
Yes. Obama, Paris Hilton and her sister, Jessica Simpson, Tila Tequila (nasty lady), Justin Timberlake, Lindsay Lohan, Beyonce, Kaney West (I honestly think that the Bold was a better phone), Miley Cyrus, Leone Lewis, Oprah (behind cameras lol ), the Kardashians (aka Kartrashians), also, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange, your neighbor (just, go take a look, I told ya), your first born (just wait), Monica from Starbucks, Sophie from Le Louvre, Maria, RIM investors, MetroPCS, and Head and Shoulders.
And probably every MBA grad out there in the world.
Unfortunately, BB Storm2 == FAIL. Droid going to whip their butts and Verizon-BB marriage is heading for a divorce from the original Storm debacle.
I don't, but I'm not a socialite like Obama or Paris Hilton.
Obama is a president my friend.
@beckhams777 I'm not your Friend, buddy!
Storm 2 != FAIL. Biggest issue with EVERY Android device for me is the downright terrible bluetooth/handsfree integration. For something so important for so many people, it should've been fixed for Cupcake and yet we still don't have a proper voice dialer in Donut.
And unfortunately for Android, that is the reason I'm switching to the Storm 2 instead of any Android phone.
f@sjis1
I'm not your buddy, pal.
If verizon didn't charge so much more for regular data plans than they do for BB data plans, I'd give an android phone a chance. The way their price is now, though, there's no way I'm switching from BB.
@daaper
What are you talking about... VZW dataplans are $29.99. Blackberry or other smartphones...
crap, now I'm confused. When you go to verizon wireless, their unlimited data plan talks about tethering. But their web and email feature says unlimited browsing. So is web and email still unlimited data, but not tethering?
Sorry, that's the way the dumba$$ sales rep at vzw described the plans to me. He said that since BB required web to function with updates, they cut customers a break and made the plan $30 instead of the $45 for unlimited on smart phones. Apparently, he either didn't know shit or just flat-out lied to me...either way, good to know I can consider android phones now :-)
@HotBBQ
I'm not your buddy, mate.
on a more serious note, if you're not already a bb person, the droid does seem the better phone.
ENGADGET: if you're listening, i wouldn't mind a comparison between the two phones!
but i think both the droid and the storm2 will be excellent phones. if my contract was anywhere close to up i'd be gnawing my fingers off trying to decide between the two. "unfortunately" i'm "stuck" with my tour, which is doing just fine.
that's funny. suck on that for releasing insufficiently tested phones, manufacturers.
@Proee I agree.. With the new android phones coming out from Verizon, I would just wait till November to get my hands on one of those..
"as powerful"? Isn't the goal for the second version to be more powerful?
Is it confirmed that the Droid is coming out on the 28th, or is that just a rumor? I know BGR threw up their review and said "a couple weeks," but we haven't heard an official listing.... right?
IIRC, it's supposed to be available on the 6th of November, though the full scale reveals and all that are supposed to be on the 28th.
Whew! I hate having to install Micro SD cards.
I'll decide once Droid and this comes out which one is better, my gut said Droid.
Storm2 don't, Droid does?
Unless Verizon 'secretly' hacked the Blackberry Storm to run Android 2.0, I'm going to have to pass on this 'deal' ;-)
Man...that has to be a major low blow to RIM. Verizon is quietly putting this phone in the system...while blowing the Droid out the waters. But I cant complain. As an Android enthusiast...I'm happy to see it's getting the press that it so deserves. Maybe this plus T-Mobile's press will vault this even further. I'm loving it.
Poor RIM. I've always had a lot of respect for them, but I am afraid that they represent the past rather than the future a this point. I hope they do something fast.
RIM isn't going anywhere though...that should be put out there. Just like WinMo...as long as there is the BB addicts. As long as there are businesses. As long as there are folks who still want keyboards. RIM will never leave.
I think the Blackberry Storm 2 will do well. I saw the reviews of MobileBurn and Salomondrin and the phone has an actually interesting new system of touchscreen feedback. I liked what I saw. If you have not seen them youtube them, it is worth watching, the new system uses some sort of electric haptic feedback instead of having the screen to press down.
RIM has a problem right now. Companies buy their devices because executives and others are familiar with blackberries and they offer great IT management solutions. Microsoft will eventually match this in some way, and likely Android and WebOS will have similar solutions. I don't know about Nokia or Apple on that end. It doesn't matter though, if the blackberry OS doesn't evolve to effectively compete with these other operating systems RIM will be in for some rough years. My company just got new tours into peoples hands and the OS is the epitome of average in the smartphone world.
Actually Windows Mobile integrates with Exchange a little better, more easily, and without somewhat pricey 3rd party software. As an admin, I loathe BES. The only advantage to the BB is more granular security controls...which are nice, but not essential for 99% of businesses.
WebOS, Android, and iPhone also support Exchange syncing natively (just some more limitations on what gets synced and how)...Blackberry is the only one that does not. So you are still right. They need to do a lot of changing or risk becoming irrelevant. The OS need some zing to keep up with things. They need to consider not making BES mandatory. But it is still a stable platform that is a very solid, competent, and easy to use e-mail device.
$540 unlocked is $179? would that make the $599 Droid $210?
Verizon's full price vs contract price is not exactly consistent. I bet the Droid will be $199.
Like Kamokazi I say $199 for the Droid. It's trying to compete directly with the iPhone and it wouldn't make much sense to be off by $10 when you can put that into the rebate if necessary. I don't think it will be cheaper than $199 because it seems the hardware is top notch (big high res screen, new processor, soft touch plastic, etc).
I have two opinions on Blackberrys. As a gadget guy, I really don't like them. The devices are boring, the OS is boring. Now, as the guy who is in charge of our corporate BES, they just work, and that's what my users want. Can't complain about that at all.
Now, I've had a demo Storm 2 for about a month now and I can easily say I love the hardware. Love it. The screen tech they are using makes it a dream to type on. I hate typing on any other virtual keyboard after using the Storm 2. Somebody should force all handset makers to use this piezo or whatever kind of tech they are using. It's really nice.
I still think the OS is boring... v5 is just like v4.. boooooooooring.
Dude, I am glad. The touchscreen of the Storm 2 is just pure tactile orgasm.
Ok, so if Verizon is having 'kittens' about the Storm 2 and advertising it like the Droid, then RIM should be allowed to port this over to Sprint and I'd be happy.
RIM.......give me a Storm 2 on SPRINT!!!!!!
I was at the Best buy in Nashua and they had the dummy unit out on display. Must be as close as we all think it is.
Isn't the Droid CDMA only? If so, there will still be a lot of people who might try the new Storm.. Options for a phone that works overseas are limited with Verizon.
I'd love to get the Droid. But I'm guessing I'd have troubles using it in some areas. Any thoughts?
There have been a couple posts floating about indicating GSM Sholes variants.
i was fooled when i bought the first bb storm. aint going to buy this one.
I think Android is probably better in terms of graphical interface and available apps, but if you think about os multitasking and speed Blackberry is much better. I think engadget should give a second try to this cellphone; although, everybody knows it won't be possitive.
I think I will buy this cellphone just because as far as I tested, it's the best option to do instant messenging and email without worry too much about battery life, and I have seen during the last months a lot of progress in the storm frimwares which it means rim is listening people's complains.
I wonder if anybody who had tested both os is agree with me?
Battery life maybe, but I don't think the Storm is necessarily faster than the Android phones (even the older ones like the G1). One of the biggest complaints was sluggish performance of the Storm. I don't think there were nearly the same complaints about the G1 (although the G1 can get sluggish after a while).
@jake Have you ever tried the speed with the last storm firmware? I tested the os with 5 apps running at the same time (Msn messenger, Google talk, Opera, and a twitter client) and it worked very well, Android didn´t let me to run more than four apps at the same time..