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Engadget Rewind 2008: BlackBerry Storm
Smartphone makers were still reeling from the arrival of Apple's touchscreen-only iPhone when 2008 rolled around. Research in Motion (RIM), a mobile manufacturer best known for its BlackBerry line and QWERTY keyboard prowess, was at the top of its game and primed to jump into this emerging form factor. That year, it launched the BlackBerry Storm smartphone -- a direct rival to Apple's handset. As RIM's premier effort in touchscreen smartphones, it offered an interesting spin on the interface with what it called SurePress. This was a touchscreen you could depress or click; an innovation RIM hoped would bridge the gap between the company's current physical keyboard-accustomed clientele and the next generation of smartphone buyers. The Storm was RIM's attempt to solve the "problems associated with typing on traditional touchscreens" and leverage its longtime experience with clickable keys. While the phone had a sleek and solid build, a vibrant 3.25-inch display and was backed by Verizon's network, that SurePress technology ended up doing more harm than good.
BlackBerry Touch / Monaco gets manhandled, said to get official in May
Our interest in the BlackBerry Touch (codename Monaco) was piqued when we first caught wind of the device, and we had a feeling it'd be making its way into the wild ever since one showed up in Verizon red around mid-Feburary. Now, BGR has managed to procure an unreleased prototype, and we've gotta say that we like what we're seeing. According to the pub, it should get official at BlackBerry World in May, and it'll run OS 6.1 underneath that 800 x 480-pixel screen. The new BB6 is said to use a BlackBerry ID in place of a PIN for certain key functions -- a necessary move for non-BB platforms rumored to be getting BBM (a historically PIN-based service). BGR also claims it won't be getting the Storm nomenclature, so we apologize in advance to the SurePress fanboys. Either way, we've got an inkling that we'll be hearing more as we get closer to May, but unfortunately our dreams of a super AMOLED-equipped Torch running stock Android with a BBM app will just remain figments of our imagination.
More BlackBerry Bold 9800 pics surface: AT&T and virtual keyboard in, SurePress out?
You might've been intrigued by the previous show of the BlackBerry Bold 9800 slider, but this new series of images blows those all out of water. The Berry Fix has a plethora of pics for your perusal, chief among them a showing of the virtual keyboard to complement the physical QWERTY. We gotta say, every announce of good design sense lost on the 9670 must have been spent on this guy; we're really intrigued by this one. If that wasn't enough, we've got two more details that'll tickle your fancy: an AT&T splash screen for one, and claims from the article's author (via Twitter) that RIM's not using SurePress here. That'd actually be quite a relief, but until we get our hands on the sucker, let's just curb our enthusiasm, mkay?
RIM tweaking Storm2's SurePress underpinnings, Verizon units getting swapped out
We hadn't heard that the Storm2's unique piezo-actuated touchscreen was acting up in any statistically significant way, but apparently, there'd been enough with dodgy lower left corners to prompt RIM to do something about it. BerryScoop and BlackBerry Leaks are reporting that Verizon stores have been ordered to return their existing stock in favor of new Storm2s with "silicone actuators" added to "to improve touchpad performance and tactile response," and don't worry, current customers -- it seems you're more than welcome to exchange your old unit for an upgraded one provided you're "experiencing touchpad performance issues" (wink, wink). Unfixed handsets need to be out of stores by March 11, so it looks like you can definitely find the new ones hanging around this week -- let us know if you can tell the difference.
BlackBerry Storm update landing tomorrow, bringing lots of good stuff (update: now with changelog!)
Hey, you -- yeah you, the BlackBerry Storm owner over there. You listening? Good. That mythical software update we heard about just last week is obviously the real deal, and a screen grab from Verizon's internal systems has shown up to prove it. We're told that it should go live tomorrow (that's October 25th for those in strange, potentially illegitimate time zones) at 6PM. On the whole, it'll make your Storm act a lot more like the forthcoming Storm2, but specifically you can expect a "faster, more accurate and more natural text input experience, word completion, a virtual QWERTY keyboard in portrait view and enhanced sensitivity when editing, copying and pasting." You'll also get the ability to "enable Auto Correction as opposed to Word Completion in landscape view." The full changelog should be coming soon, so hang tight! Oh, and cancel those plans for tomorrow night, okay? [Thanks, Anonymous] Update: Check out the full (purported) changelog after the break!
Original BlackBerry Storm to get flick scrolling, better browsing through firmware update?
Despite Verizon's best efforts to ignore the obvious, RIM's BlackBerry Storm2 is not only official, it's (un)officially destined for Big Red's airwaves. If you're one of those slightly disgruntled Storm 9530 owners, however, you could be looking at a rather nice firmware update coming your way in the near future. According to phoneArena, the Storm and Storm2 will eventually be "practically identical" in terms of software, with a forthcoming update to add flick scrolling, tabbed browsing and threaded texting to the original. Of course, we should probably wait for VZW to confirm the existence of the Storm2 before expecting any formal word on this, but feel free to go about your day with cautious optimism.
Vodafone puts BlackBerry Storm2 up for 26 October preorder
And it's out. The BlackBerry Storm2 just made its first official carrier appearance with Vodafone. The promising followup to the much maligned BlackBerry Storm will be free on pay-monthly contracts from £35 on up. Specs include a 3.25-inch 360 x 480 pixel capacitive SurePress (new and improved) touchscreen display, 802.11b/g WiFi and 2100MHz UMTS/HSPA data, 256MB of flash memory (double that of the original Storm), 2GB of onboard memory with microSDHC expansion, 3.5-mm standard headset jack, 3.2 megapixel camera with video recording, built-in GPS, Bluetooth 2.1, and 1400mAh battery giving about 6 hours of 3G talk. BlackBerry OS 5 too, of course, when it lands on October 15th in the UK, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, and Spain -- France, Italy, and South Africa in time for Christmas.Update: Now on official RIM page too with a detailed comparison against the original Storm. %Gallery-75629% [Thanks, James]Read -- Press ReleaseRead -- Pre-order
BlackBerry Storm 2's voodoo-powered screen torn apart, raises more questions
If the Storm 2 seriously uses newfangled piezoelectrics to provide localized tactile response on its display -- something the original Storm lacked with just a single clicky button mounted underneath the screen's center point -- then how come we're coming to find out we've got four buttons mounted near the corners this time around? At this point, this picture posted of the Storm 2's sensitive innards probably raises more questions than it answers -- we're clearly looking at four buttons here, which as CrackBerry says would facilitate the "multi-press" necessary to engage key modifiers like Alt just as you would on a regular keyboard. The problem is that this doesn't even being to explain how or why the screen hardens up like a rock when the phone is off, because the four buttons plus traditional capacitive touch sensitivity would realistically get the job done without alien technology. We're looking forward to a thorough briefing from RIM once the phone gains some official recognition, but until then, let the theories fly. [Thanks, Doughy]
Video: Storm 2's new touchscreen tech explained with mindblowing clarity, WiFi confirmed
The last video we posted of the Storm 2 doing its SurePress thing has been unceremoniously pulled from YouTube, but this new video really makes up for it. It turns out the screen uses piezo electronics to detect pressure at any point on the screen, instead of the all-or-nothing click button on the Storm 1, and our video host was kind enough to explain this in painstaking detail in the video embedded after the break. The screen actually stiffens when it's off or locked, and has a sort of spongy give to it when alive. He also confirmed in no uncertain terms the GSM and CDMA versions of the device will be packing WiFi. According to his Twitter account, we should be expecting a video about the OS soon as well. [Thanks, Kristjan]
Video: BlackBerry Storm 2 gets yet another prerelease review
Still not convinced that the BlackBerry Storm 2 is alive and kicking in places outside of RIM's "secure" labs up in Waterloo? How's a seven minute long video showing off this perennially-leaked device for all you skeptics? The blur-free video shows off the updated SurePress screen that only clicks when the unit's actually in use, as well as some size comparisons with the Onyx and Tour. The mystery man behind the camera says that even though his OS is super old -- at least by pre-release firmware standards -- it's much faster than the previous-gen Storm. Also interesting is the fact that WiFi doesn't appear to be present in the "Manage Connections" screen, although we can almost say with 100% certainty that there will be WiFi at launch. The full video's posted after the break, conspiracy theorists: go wild. [Thanks, bighap]
RIM CEO: "SurePress is here to stay"
In a scandalous, but not entirely shocking turn of events, RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis has declared from the stage of D7 in no uncertain terms that "SurePress is here to stay." The trouble is, there's no clarification of what he means by that, since the Storm 2 we've been toying with quite obviously lacks a click-screen mechanism. Our best shot-in-the-dark guess is that RIM has developed some alternative to a physical click that may or may not duplicate the functionality adequately, while hopefully removing some of the frustration experienced by the physical click of the Storm. What is clear is that apparently whatever face-saving technology that turns out to be, Mike and co. plan on calling it SurePress.
BlackBerry Storm 2 dropping SurePress screen?
When we brought you those exclusive Storm 2 pics and details just a short while ago, we touched upon the "new approach to text entry," but unfortunately didn't have any details. However, lightning has struck again, and our source has gotten back to let us know that the Storm 2 does indeed have a stationary screen "just like the iPhone's," which lines up with what Boy Genius Report is hearing. That's right, it looks like RIM is axing its SurePress technology in favor of a more conventional touchscreen, though our tipster says the model he has may allow for some type of haptic feedback to be enabled. This should be great news for all you folks having dust-under-screen issues on your first-gen Storms, but obviously, we'll have to wait and see until this thing gets, you know, legit.[Thanks, BBninja1389]
Exclusive BlackBerry Storm 2 shots!
What's this we have here? A trusted source just hit us with a slew of beauty shots of the Storm 2 that leaked a little bit ago. Not much else to say at this point until we can get one in our hands -- the photos really speak for themselves. But seriously, what are you still doing here? Get over to the gallery and see all the tasty (and frankly, familiar) shots! [Thanks, BBninja1389]
BlackBerry Storm 2 gets pictured early
We knew it was coming, and just like its relatives the Onyx and the Gemini, yet another unreleased model has managed to escape the confines of RIM's Waterloo headquarters. This time, however, it's the Storm 2, which we've heard has been internally codenamed "Oden." We've also caught wind that this model pictured is of the GSM flavor, and yes, it's indeed packing WiFi in addition to GPS according to one of our sources. As far as that rumored "new approach to text entry," it sounds like the keyboard has been tweaked but isn't a radical departure from the first generation. From the photos, it seems that RIM has advanced in the war on buttons and axed the bottom four in favor of some touch-sensitive controls. The real improvements, however, appear to be under the hood, as the whole device reportedly runs much faster and smoother than the current model. We can't confirm these specs, but with the Tour coming this summer, and the Storm 2 hopefully making an appearance before the holiday shopping season, looks like you Verizon BlackBerry fans might not have to be that jealous of your GSM brethren after all.
