BlackBerry Storm2 hands-on and impressions
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Nov 12th 2009 3:00PM
posted Nov 12th 2009 3:00PM
At a glance -- particularly as a non-Storm user -- you might say "wait a second, that's just a Storm." And in reality, you wouldn't be far off with that assessment. Put simply, this phone is less Storm "2" and more Storm "1.1" -- a hardware service pack, if you will, designed to correct very specific shortcomings in the original model while preserving the overall concept. We doubt RIM would come right out and put it that way, of course, but the fact that the Storm2 makes essentially no effort to look different than the Storm should be evidence enough.
So, what are those shortcomings, exactly? The big ones -- the ones that could ultimately convince a Storm user to upgrade -- are the addition of WiFi and a thorough revamping of SurePress. On the original Storm, SurePress consisted of a single mechanical switch mounted below the center of the display, leading to wobbly, uneasy clicks and -- far more devastatingly -- an inability to actuate more than one screen element at a time, which made the keyboard more of a hassle to use than it should've been. Don't get us wrong, we can understand RIM's impetus in creating SurePress; the company prides itself on producing devices with fabulous physical keyboards that make mobile email as painless of an experience as possible, and it wanted to port as much of that experience to a soft keyboard as it could. Ironically, in doing so, it actually made the transition harder for ex-8300 and 8800 users than a traditional soft keyboard would've. SurePress was so bad, in fact, that rumors had initially suggested the Storm2 would abandon it altogether in favor of a screen that stays in place when you press it (imagine that), but co-CEO Mike Lazaridis insisted that the technology was "here to stay." Indeed, the Storm2 keeps SurePress around but thoroughly revamps it by replacing the single mechanical switch with four piezoelectric ones mounted beneath the display's four corners.
The net effect of the Storm2's rethought SurePress is that it's unquestionably better -- but frankly, we still don't get it. Multiple keyboard actuations are now possible (shift plus a letter, for example), though it's not perfect -- things start to get flaky as your second press gets physically close to your first one, which makes some sense considering that the switches are placed at the screen's four corners. It generally works, but it's still a novelty; we can't think of a single good reason why you'd want your touchscreen to be able to click like this. What's worse, the Storm2's implementation requires a surprising amount of effort to actuate, meaning that long messages were a chore to type out -- not only do they wear out your fingers, but it gets old hearing the screen's loud "thunk" each and every time you type a letter, which we find considerably more noticeable than the traditional click of a physical QWERTY keyboard. It's also unclear why RIM bothered using fancy piezoelectric switches rather than simple mechanical ones, because they're not doing anything with the technology other than letting you click -- when you turn off the phone, the switches "harden" and prevent you from pressing the screen, but there's no option to keep that effect going when the device is on. For anyone who finds SurePress as distracting and unnecessary as we do, that omission alone could be the difference between buying a Storm2 and a Tour when you walk into the Verizon store.
Going back to the physical appearance of the phone for a moment, it's not necessarily a bad thing that it looks like the original Storm; apart from the fact that it's got a bit of infamy to outgrow, the old model was a pretty sharp-looking handset and the Storm2 refines that look in all the right ways. We're liking both the black chrome bezel and the touch-sensitive buttons, which eliminate virtually all of the visible gaps on the front of the phone to give it that smooth, slate-like appeal that full-touch handsets typically want to shoot for. The phone also feels great (SurePress click notwithstanding) -- as solid as the best-built physical QWERTY BlackBerrys, we'd say, but with the added benefit of tastefully rubberized volume, camera, and voice control buttons and a smooth, solid display covering almost all of the front of the phone.
Turning our attention to the software, the Storm2 runs BlackBerry OS 5.0 -- RIM's latest -- but as with virtually every new BlackBerry OS version in modern memory, it takes a keen eye and a long history of BlackBerry use to ferret out what has actually changed. As with the hardware itself, the Storm2's interface is all but identical to the Storm's 4.7 builds; the devil lies in the details, and to be fair, those details will be important for some users. Strictly from a usability standpoint, 5.0's addition of inertial scrolling throughout the platform makes a world of difference -- it works smoothly and effectively, and should be an effortless transition for anyone moving from another platform (like iPhone) that supports it. If you didn't like the Storm's overall look and feel, though, don't expect a revolution (or, really, even an evolution) here.
We don't want to harp on SurePress too much, but since there's a decided lack of physical QWERTY in play here, the Storm2's soft keyboards bear another mention. If you can get past the muscle fatigue-inducing clicks -- we couldn't, but who knows, we could be particularly weak-thumbed -- the layout and function of the keyboards is mediocre at best. For one thing, they don't look particularly good; white-on-black is always a tough scheme to pull off, and RIM didn't do itself any favors by skimping on the anti-aliasing and leaving keys looking exceptionally jaggy. Whatever, though; keyboards are about functionality, not appearance, right? We found ourselves making more mistakes than we should've on the portrait full QWERTY mode because the Storm2 lacks character pop-ups like you find on Android and the iPhone -- there's a blue glow cast on the key, which is all well and good except that... well, you're thumb isn't transparent. In portrait mode, even a small thumb can easily cover two keys, so it's impossible to tell with certainty which key is actuated. We also noticed that the keyboard doesn't contextually customize itself enough; from the screenshot above, for example, you can see that "Go" replaces the normal Enter key in the browser and there's a period key in place of the spacebar, but when entering email addresses, there's no @ key. Not a deal breaker, but again, for a company that prides itself in elegant input methods, this should be the best soft keyboard on the market today.
As much flak as the BlackBerry browser takes, we actually found it acceptable on the Storm2 -- likely a direct effect of RIM's alleged improvements made in 5.0. Inertial scrolling worked reasonably smoothly and new regions of the page that scroll into view load relatively quickly. We like to use Engadget as a baseline for testing devices because it's a fairly complicated page that tends to choke some mobile browsers, but it loaded drama-free on the Storm2. That's not to say it was a perfect experience: it takes forever to get past the "Requesting" phase and graphics look truly awful -- both a result of BIS' magic, we suspect. Ultimately, we'd take a good WebKit browser over this any day, but the platform just isn't there yet.
Wrap-up
As more modern mobile platforms become enterprise-savvy, RIM's on the cusp of losing its identity -- and products like the Storm and Storm2 prove that it's well aware of the situation. Only problem is, Waterloo is clearly woefully unequipped to handle the creation of exceptional, effortless usability that's demanded of a lustworthy mobile device these days. The Storm2 oozes most of the same personality traits espoused by its older brother -- traits that suggest a "Bold with a touchscreen" attitude -- and when you're fundamentally rethinking your device's user experience, that's not the right attitude to take.
For existing Storm owners who've been saying "if only this damn thing had WiFi" through clenched teeth for the past six months, the Storm2 makes an elegant, hassle-free replacement. For the rest of the world, though, we totally understand why Verizon has elected to bury the phone's launch beneath a pile of Google -- it's an underwhelming experience for today's multimedia-centric, ADHD-afflicted buyer.
anyone care to go toe to toe on bird law?
No, but perhaps we can swap recipes for milk steak sometime. Or maybe we can discuss the merits of raw jellybeans.
So the end conclusion is that BB needs a more iPhone like user experience?
Yeah end it now because anything that's not iPhone or Android base is fail in Engadgets eyes...
is your cat making TOO MUCH NOISE????
Do wasps make honey?
Bird Law, in this country, it's not governed by reason.
I would be interested, this could get dirty, allow me to sip this riot juice first.
Yes, I would like to. But we must be riding in a U Haul trailer to do so.
I don't know about this particular device, But enjoyed all my passed Rim Jobs.
Why's that guy in giant jacket? What is he hiding?
Riveting stuff...
who carries chestnuts around in their car?
Why don’t I strap on my job helmet and squeeze down into a job cannon and fire off into job land, where jobs grow on little jobbies?!
Well you know what they say ...
"You've got to pay the troll toll..."
Bird Law? You mean...Harvey Birdman?
"Fool me once", RIM...
Bottom line is the web browser is still a year away from being on equal footing with any other major touchscreen phone. Stick to what you're good at, RIM - plastic key qwerty messaging.
I guess I could never be an Engadget "reviewer" because I think the browser is decent. I haven't had any issues visiting my favorite sites. And if you don't like it, download Skyfire or Opera. If you're an iPhone user and don't like Mobile Safari go download, oh wait, you can't...
I agree, why didn't they just stick to what they know.... And (browsing issues aside) why didn't they make it so there's a mechanical switch under every key as opposed to one piezoelectric switch in each corner????
What sort of monkey designers do these people employ???
@Jaystar: this whole "oh wait... you can't" is getting a bit old. And in this case missinformed.
There are like 30 browsers in the Appstore, but i wouldnt know if they are any good, cause i never felt that Safari needs to be replaced. There are many things wrong with the iPhone, but Safari aint one.
Browser is bad - but I have a better time with it than with Opera or any of the other couple I've tried (still have one installed, but just don't use it.)
And SurePress is something you either get or don't get. I LOVE it - and just can't figure out why I wouldn't want what I call "two stage click" - to me (and to the other Storm lovers I know) the question is "why would I want to move my cursor AND click at the same time. . .?" This gives me a discrete separation between navigation and selection.
But it's different for different people. I don't figure the "other" method is better - it's just for those who like it. Which is awesome for them - sucks for me.
The BIGGEST problem, and the real killer for me, is the lack of EAS support (Exchange Active Sync) which EVERYONE but RIM now has. There are two third-party clients for Blackberry and they both suck (imho). If RIM would write one and make it work as well as their other apps, it would be a winner!
And I love my custom and automated skins - try that iPhone! :D
i don't understand what all the bitching about the shift key is about. there's 2 shift keys on the keyboard. if you're typing a letter close to one end, use the shift key on the other end, and vise versa. a real keyboard is like that too...
"And SurePress is something you either get or don't get. I LOVE it - and just can't figure out why I wouldn't want what I call "two stage click" - to me (and to the other Storm lovers I know) the question is "why would I want to move my cursor AND click at the same time. . .?" This gives me a discrete separation between navigation and selection."
I don't have a Storm or Storm2, but yes, this is exactly the reason (besides the keyboard) that they have SurePress and I can see the utility in that. The fact that it wasn't mentioned in the review leads me to believe that Chris had something of an axe to grind here. But oh well, reviews are opinions and at least he explains his thinking for the most part.
And i just got a Storm 3months ago...sucks to be me...
Make sure you upgrade to 5.0, this gives you all the Storm2's features except the improved SurePress screen.
Most people research before dropping Benjamins.
Some of us get money to purchase by a certain time and we have to get what we can when we can. It's why I got the Storm 1 - no Droid, no Palm Pre, and Storm 2 on some horizon we weren't quite sure about. . . so we gets what we gets.
If we did research and then waited for the next best thing, we'd always be waiting.
Not really. RIM has big things in store next year. Possibly the Dakota/Magnum will be released as will RIM updating it's browser etc... It already bought that webkit company and has signed on with adobe for flash etc...
Besides, the Storm2 is more like Storm1.5
If you own a Storm, there's not much incentive to upgrade. Yes it has more memory, WiFi and tighter surepress typing but it doesn't justify the upgrade just yet.
I own the Bold 9000 and there's no way i'm getting the 9700 which increases memory and camera, but decreases size and has weaker speakers. Trackpad is nice though.
some people got one for free. she likes it.
I think if you're not a power texter or typing e-mail's it's ok...
but how many people like that exist would get a BB, which is, essentially for power texters/mobile e-mailers.
the piezoelectric screen is cool, but doesn't feel the way I thought it would. It doesn't take away the need to press-release-press to type. They need to program it so some actions require the surepress ("Are you sure you want to do this?", menu selections, app opening, certain game actions, alternate key functions/characters), while typing just needs the touch (typing, browser scrolling).
Otherwise, just do away with the surepress.
sosay I.
(sigh)
I meant to say "I have a who got one free; she likes it."
oh, just @%@! it.
Damn, guess its 0-2 for the storm. It's a shame, I was really hoping the storm 2 to kick some but, better luck next time I guess.
Lets hope it does better than the V's latest offering:
http://wp.appadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/chart3.jpg
OUCH!!
Unfortunately Verizon used up it's marketing budget on the Droid, so the Storm2 isn't going to get any love from VZW. The Storm2 is a kick ass phone in my opinion.
@Frank: What was that? WW sales for the iPhone vs. US-only sales for Droid? Skewed much?
Those numbers are probably right... Apple sold about 2.4 million of the first gen iPhone in it's first quarter -- that's approximately 800,000 a month. VZW sold over 1 million Storm's in it's first quarter. Not too shabby. I doubt Storm2 sales will come close to the first Storm though because Verizon desperately wants you to buy the Droid, which so far has barely sold 200,000 units.
@Sanskrit,
1st gen iPhone sales number for launch weekend is US-only, at least.
The first-gen Storm I have runs great on the v5.0 platform. Definetly upgrade.
Too bad they're 11 months too slow for most...
If you look at the original Storm review compared to this hands on of the Stom 2 the things they complain about are night and day differences for the most part. I don't know if it's just me but whoever wrote this article came off with a lot of bias.
Compare this iPhone to iPhone 3G hands on it's night and day difference even though they are essentially the same phone..
yeah, but what has always put me off about the storm is the moving screen to press. the video shows that it recognizes contact, it is a capacitive screen, but why not allow the option of just typing capacitively? Perhaps this is more of an "iphone experience" but I have never understood why a capacitive screen, which is incredibly accurate, needs to be supplemented with the button underneath. The wifi and newest software is awesome, if surepress had changed to a purely capacitive screen, I would buy one. But if the button is now even harder and louder, not for me.
It separates navigation from selection. It's just something you like or you don't like. Personally, I can't stand the "other" way - I always clicked when I was not intending to. . .now selection is a deliberate action - and I guess my thumbs are strong enough: I don't get muscle fatigue when texting a lot. . . :D
If only Engadget was this brutally honest all the time.
when do they sugarcoat reviews? Are they not allowed to actually LIKE a product, without being called biased? If they give the iPhone a good review, it's because it's a good phone, not because they're in Apple's pocket. Same thing goes for any other product.
A proper iPhone review would be how they blasted this phone and instead of saying "there's an app for that" scream out it's unacceptable...
Brutally ridiculous is more like it. It's clear from the beginning they just don't like the storm. I've owned 7 or 8 smart phones over the years, and sure-press is the best thing to ever come to a full touch screen phone. The only people who don't like it are people who base their opinions on 5 minutes of playing with the phone. "[B]ut frankly, we still don't get it," clearly you don't. If you are too big of a iphone fanboy to do a fair review, then find a new job.
I*click*r*click*e*click*a*click*l*click*l*click*y*click**click*l*click*i*click*k*click*e*click**click*m*click*y*click**click*s*click*t*click*o*click*r*click*m*click**click*2
That's an enterprise feature especially aimed at cafeine induced
stressed managers... it relaxes them when their phone gives them some
confirmation.
Let's do it in a Canadian way:
click*eh*click*ehh*click*ehhh*click* ehh* click *ehhhh* click* ehhh*click* zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
"but the fact that the Storm2 makes essentially no effort to look different than the Storm should be evidence enough."
ya cause the iphone has looked sooo different every generation right?
Exactly! The iPhone's form factor has remained unchanged since the first gen except the color of the back. The Storm2 has a Carbon-colored trim, vs the Storm's Silver trim. There are some physical changes, but the size and shape is the same. And unlike the iPhone, you can change the battery!
But the point I was making was that it's not a problem -- the Storm was a sharp-looking phone to start.
oh ok just making sure you werent knocking it because of tht ;)
What happened to being able to rate writers up and down?
This happened: http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/10/hey-google-failing-to-spellcheck-android-2-0-can-have-undesir/
@JayStar >> "Exactly! The iPhone's form factor has remained unchanged since the first gen except the color of the back."
Once Apple reached a big glass screen with one button... where else can it go?
The Storm2 did change the color of the bezel... and the change to 4 electronic sensors behind the screen. But some people question the whole idea of the click-screen anyway.
Apple doesn't change the iPhone much at all... yet it keeps selling. Thoughts?
"Once Apple reached a big glass screen with one button... where else can it go?"
Well, that's a pretty obvious one. It can go to a big glass screen with no buttons. Wave of the future!
@Commenter i thought this a peculiar point as well.
"Amazingly smoothly"? I don't think that' correct.
Should it be:
consumer space went amazingly smooth, thanks to
or
consumer space went smoothly, thanks to
Oh here's another, correct me if I'm wrong:
"For exiting Storm owners..."
Should that be: For existing Storm owners...
http://bit.ly/swpl-grammar
Grammar correction fail.
I love my Storm2... The SurePress screen is definitely different compared to other touchscreens, but personally I like having a physical click when I'm typing. It's the same thing as having the screen vibrate when you click it, the difference being that you actually click the screen to get that feedback. I can understand why some people may not like this for TXT messaging or mobile email. I find that SurePress has the added benefit of preventing unwanted clicks when your ear is against the phone, because you need to apply pressure to click... I really have no complaints about this phone. The Storm2 is very responsive -- everything opens almost instantly. The UI is logical and easy to use. And I think the form factor is great. It also has cool accessories like the desktop charging dock, which can double as an Alarm Clock... I definitely recommend this phone to anyone who is looking.
I went to Verizon last night to try my hand at the new Droid phones, afterwards I played with the Storm 2. Typing on the Storm 2 in comparison to either Droid phone (Motorolla or Eris) is really bad.
My experience was that you had to make a really firm press on the Storm 2 for it to click and register. That really slowed me down and It was not registering my presses when I tried to speed things up on the typing.
If you love Blackberry's, really you should just stick with a Tour, or Bold or something. The Storm 2 still sucks in comparison to other options.
Bobo-
The Storm2's keyboard is actually very responsive and comfortable to type on. I've never had it not register a click, but it does take some pressure to click. You will get used to it pretty quickly though... Keep in mind the demo unit at the store could have been a pre-production model or has old software. Regardless, if you don't like it then so be it. Get that phone you like the best.
Ha! I knew Blackberry sent you guys a review unit. You should really see the Storm 2 diatribe some pissy tech blogger on Gizmodo wrote. The article claimed that you guys didn't get a Storm 2 review unit, and were just as pissed as Gizmodo. Check it out:
"RIM's never really liked Gizmodo or Engadget, or blogs in general. They gave review units to the NYT and WSJ, who went ahead and panned the phone, just like we would have. I don't mind when we get put to the back of the list for that reason, the preference of old media over new. But this wasn't just an anti-online decision—they also gave a phone to Crackberry, which far fewer people read. I don't mind that website at all, but clearly RIM is pissed about something we specifically did."
http://gizmodo.com/5383539/blackberry-thinks-youre-all-motherfckers
There is NO "we", just Gizmodo. What an excuse of a website.
With all that "it's not an iphone so it sucks" it make me wonder how dense they are to not realize the real reason.
If you read around the 90 thousand references to surepress (which you either like or you don't), you'll find that its a pretty solid phone with a crap browser that can be replaced.
If they gave you the option to disable surepress for typing and only use it for menu selection (which it is great for) there wouldn't be many problems with this phone to speak of.
I have it and I love it however:
Delete all the VZW crap
Install BBM 5.0
Install Google mobile maps
And make sure your GPS is turned on
ENJOY
youtube.com/drqxx
Some of the VZW apps are worth keeping. Visual VM is awesome. And My Account is a great way to check your minutes, bill, etc...
I wouldn't pay for visual voicemail when youmail gives me plenty of functionality for free.
First, let me say I am not a Verizon or a Blackberry user. I had a complete opposite experience from this reviewer. I went into a Verizon store to check out a Droid and ended up really liking the Storm 2. The keyboard is a personal preference, but the Storm 2 keyboard is much better than Droid's tiny keyboard. The Storm 2 keyboard was fast and accurate in my testing. The 5.0 OS is fast.
Blackberry is about security first. I like that and many other do too. With OpenGL announced this week and a new webkit browser coming to BBerry very soon, the Storm 2 is leveraged to take advantage of it all. Maybe it is because I am not a BBerry user, but I like the look and feel of the BBerry OS on the Storm 2. Easy to customize things such as fonts and size. Try that on just about any other phone. Plus, BBerry push technology is still better that anyone else's out there.
I like my iPod Touch, but I plan on buying the Storm 2 for my phone this weekend. Do yourself a favor and demo a Storm 2. You might like it.
well said im on ATT but i would love to get my hands on a storm 2 and test it out
I couldn't disagree with you more. The Motorola droids on screen keyboard was way better than the Storm 2 in my opinion. The Storm 2 requires way to much force for a press to be recognized. So it really slows your fingers down to press so hard. The Droid on the other hand did not require hard presses and allowed me to type much faster. Both phones have pretty good error correction but I think the Droids is better.
And I'm just comparing on screen keyboards, not the Droids slide out QWERTY which in my opinion was at best a draw with the Droid on screen keyboard. It was hard to type on the Droid QWERTY cause verizon has all these security attachments on the phone that made it hard to properly grasp the phone.
After only a few minutes with the Storm 2 my fingers were already fealing worn. I would strongly suggest anyone try out the Droid on screen keyboard in comparison to the Storm 2 before commiting yourself to 2yrs with what in my opinion is a clunky device in light of the copetition.
Don't hold your breath on a webkit browser "Very soon." They just started to explore webkit for BB recently.
They bought torch mobile or whatnot. Was a decent browser even in BETA. Guess that's what's coming to all you BB users.
I had the Storm and I didn't seem to be bothered by the things that everyone harped on so badly. I enjoyed that phone. Now I have the Storm2 (I really wanted that WiFi) and find it to be a big improvement of the first gen. The memory increase is a huge advantage for the device over its older brother. The new SurePress is better, but I had no problems with the old one. Anyway, I really like the new phone and it is on a much better network (for me anyway) than the iPhone.
Thanks, I was (kinda) considering getting one.
Engadget really needs to take a queue form gdgt.com commenting system. It allows for editing of a comment up to 5 minutes after posting which is great to catch typos and grammatical errors.
i'm looking forward to trying this one out
I definitely recommend looking at the Storm2. The best way to test out the SurePress screen is to go into memo pad and type something. Just single click on the blank area of the home screen, that brings up a screen with all the apps. By default, the MemoPad app is buried in the Applications folder so scroll down until you find it (you can easily move apps to any folder). Click on Add Memo and start typing... I prefer landscape. Also important to note, there are three available on-screen keyboards. The default is the "reduced" keyboard. Personally I like the "full" keyboard. If you're in the memo app, click the menu button (Blackberry logo, and choose the keyboard type from the menu).
I have the Storm 2 and I love it. Completely disagree with the article. I think it's the best touch screen I've owned to date, and that includes two iPhones and an Android.
Wow, the video looks really frustrating, sad, I had high hopes for the device
The only thing AT&T and Apple should get from Blackberry is their compression technology. It might make some images online look bad at first. But if it compresses some images, such as when you're using the wide view of a webpage, and then loads higher quality images when you zoom it, it would make browsing so much better on 3g and help with AT&T's bandwidth issues.
Let me just put it this way, I had a Storm1 and I typed fine on it. I tried using the Droid's virtual keyboard and I made tons of mistakes and I seemed to type to fast for it because the haptic feedback would skip letters and other things like that. I like SurePress.
Droid Eris > Blackberry Storm 2
I would like to say one thing about the SurePress. I realize many don't like the technology.. Maybe because it was here second..to the Iphone. But let me give an example of how this technology is superior. Imagine the Iphone as a larger device placed on your desk as lets say a keyboard. If you were to type on this device you would have to suspend your fingers above the keys until you were ready to type. Otherwise you would inadvertently be typing. On the other hand if you did the same thing with a SurePress keyboard you would be able to rest your fingers on the keys and they wouldn't actually do anything other than light up until you pressed on them. In addition. It might be worth mentioning that the SurePress can be software turned on and off. Giving the Storm 2 unlimited possibilities in configurations. I think if RIM were to give you the option to enable or disable it for the keyboard they would find they would have a better response to it.
I think if they stick with it. One or two versions down the line this device will be amazing.
I've been waiting for the Storm 2 since I split time between a two areas (one has good Verizon 3G coverage and one doesn't) so WiFi was a must for me.
We are migrating towards BES and Verizon has the best coverage in our area, so the Storm 2 seemed like a pretty good choice if I didn't want to wait for the Tour 2.
I've been using it for about two weeks now, and I was just scratching my head while reading this "review". It was almost like the reviewer was talking about a different phone. I really like typing on the Storm 2 (especially in landscape mode). I have smaller hands, so maybe that makes a difference but I haven't noticed any more typing errors than I would normally expect to make.
The browser is definitely crap trying to view full web pages, but most sites have mobile versions of their pages and other sites that most people frequent (Twitter, FB, MySpace) have dedicated apps that work as well or better than any web page.
Applications load quickly and scrolling is great. I haven't noticed any lag going between landscape and portrait modes and battery life seems to be pretty good. I've been getting 48 hours or so outside the 3G area with WiFi enabled and that's with fairly heavy usage.
The videos I've played look great and mp3s sound as good as most other handhelds I've used (an audiophile, I'm not).
With 3D gaming coming in the next year and supposedly a browser upgrade, I really think the device has a ton of upside. I'd love to have an iPhone or a Droid, but since I need a Blackberry for work, the Storm 2 fits the bill nicely for me. I wouldn't want to type a thesis or a novel on the thing, but if your thumbs are too weak to click the SurePress screen for a 160 character SMS, you probably need to either be seeing a doctor or spending more time in the gym rather than "reviewing" Blackberrys...
whoa whoa whoa whoa...stop right there. You said your Verizon 3G coverage was spotty in some areas? Blasphemy. Downrank immediately! AT&T SUCKS LOLZ!
Here's the thing: comparing a touchscreen keyboard to something like RIM's traditional QWERTY's or even the slideouts on the Android handsets is always a losing proposition. They're not just as good. I mean, my Tour wipes the floor with my iPod Touch (functional stand-in for an iPhone). It's not even close. That being said, the Storm2 falls somewhere in the middle. Not quite as responsive, accurate, and fast as a physical BlackBerry, but I'd take it over any other touchscreen solution on the market.
As for the browser, the line for saying it sucks forms back there. Yes, it sucks. Anyone that's ever used a BlackBerry knows it sucks. That being said, RIM acknowledges that it sucks and they're working on a WebKit browser (slated for 2010).
For an enterprise-class device (which the iPhone and Android handsets definitely aren't), the Storm2 is a pretty darn good phone. As a consumer smartphone, it's got some ground to cover, but does some things much better than it's competition.
How is the Storm more enterprise than iPhone or Android?
Also, don't use the full keyboard in portrait mode. SureType works wonders for speed because the keys are so big and you rarely get mistakes with word choice because there's only two letters per key which shortens the list of possible words. You can also use it pretty fast one handed which I loved on my Storm1.
I had a Storm.
Sold it for loss after just 1 month. There is NOWAY in hell I will ever go back regardless of the impovments.
Simply put the over all feel of the whole touch+click feel just was awfull.
Why in GODS earth would BB do this AGAIN !! It was terrible the first time.
I just don't get every other New or revamped Mobile device out there that is getting into the SMart phone Bussiness is going with the proven Touch screen as seen on the Iphone. It just works. Ive also tried the Pam Pre and it also was Nice.
Great look and feel and easy to use.
BlackBerry is heading towards becomming the NEW Motorola of yester year
What a train wreck of a 'smartphone'.
Disclaimer: I am limited to blackberry phones only, so I did not have much in the way of other smartphones.
With that said, I recently purchased the Storm2 (wasn't going to consider another carrier besides Verizon, their commercials are just too funny) on the premise I would try it out and return it for the Tour in a month if I didn't like it. Having been using the 8830 before, I was very skeptical of the Storm2. However, I absolutely love it. I love the largest screen Blackberry offers, the processing speed of the phone, pretty much all of it. However, I do recognize shortcomings such as the portrait typing (which I just cannot do at all). On landscape, I can pretty much type at the same speed (really) as my old Blackberry's physical keyboard but this leads into another problem. On landscape, when the keyboard comes out, you only get about 3-4 lines of viewing the e-mail/text/im you might be replying to. A bit annoying.
All in all, I think I will keep the phone now (I had been considering holding out for the Tour 2) because it is the best combination of multimedia and business Blackberry offers (well duh - its the only touchscreen they have).
http://crackberry.com/clarification-blackberry-storm2-and-curve-8530-are-only-market-devices-take-advantage-new-open-gl-es
I have the storm 1 and sure press is a pain!! Was hoping RIM went touch only with Storm 2 but they never did. I still don't get the whole screen click thing, it's annoying as heck.
yea, blackberry is wasting their time with sure press. Its pointless! thats what instantly annoyed me when i was using my friends storm. its such a same too, because blackberry has such a long history of good phones, if they released a smartphone that could really compete instead of trying to perfect a pointless technology. If blackberry really wants to make a killer phone, they need to loose the sure press and upgrade some of the hardware, and they either need to pour money into a mobile OS, or have it powered by andriod.
Overcoming objections is something you should expect from any salesperson, particularly those on commission.
Just switched from iPhone to This Blackberry Storm 2 (9550).. yea everyone's calling me crazy but I love the storm 2!
had orig iphone and then 3g.. was a great phone, time for something different though (u know?).. Same design phone after phone gets annoying (iphone speaking).. AT&T had too many dropped calls (in my area at least)
loved the iphone, but was really suprised with the storm 2!
Great phone! Highly reccomend it!
RIM just needs to make a slider already. Best of both worlds. Big touch screen and put their hardware keyboard prowess to use. Surepress, though a good concept, did and still does suck in implementation.