Hey guys I have had my current phone for 2 years now and need to upgrade. I have never owned a blackberry before nor have i owned a touch screen. I was wondering if you think my first one should be the storm? I have done some research about it and it sounds pretty good, very comparable to the G1 and IPhone. any comments??
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Blackberry Storm
- Thread starter Eibach
- Start date
I'm STOKED about this phone. I already made plans with my co-worker. We WILL be camping out in the early AM for it. I cannot wait for the phone to be released. I already ordered the Invisible Shield for it! I was playing with my cousins dare today and for the first time used MobileIM. I though it was so cool, that I sat at my desk, sending myself messages from the phone to the PC. I just couldn't stop typing on the QWERTY keyboard! Coming from a Gen2 Chocolate...there's a HUGE difference!
It will be my first blackberry as well though. I say go for it!
It will be my first blackberry as well though. I say go for it!
I will say that touch screens are not for everyone. Some people love them, some people hate them. Personally, I do not like them. It just doesn't seem as if they're ever calibrated properly to me. I'd say go ahead and play with one first, then make your decision. That's always the best thing to do anyways.
I do love blackberry though. I'm not sure if they would get it right... but here's to hoping. Would be nice if the phone came to other carriers as I really HATE verizon.
I do love blackberry though. I'm not sure if they would get it right... but here's to hoping. Would be nice if the phone came to other carriers as I really HATE verizon.
bicycle_wreck
[H]ard|Gawd
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Played around with this today in storewhat a disappointment
Care to elaborate?
Played around with this today in store
indeed. i'd like to hear about it. i ordered my bold and am still waiting for them to port my number over and ship it out to me
Ok, I've been following this phone for about 4 months now and here's my take. You absolutely have to go in to this store and try it. Also worth noting, due to extremely high demand all purchases made between Nov. 16th and Dec 15th can be returned until Jan 15th as opposed to the normal 30 days.
The reviews have been all over the place. If you have ever thought about getting this phone do yourself a favor and go try it in person (whenever they get more in). The BGR review I think was the most even handed, the Time and CNET reviews were absolute hit jobs in my opinion, Engadget is apparently bipolar (last week they loved surepress, now its the worst part of the phone), and of course Crackberry.com and other fan sites are inside the BlackBerry reality distortion field.
I wasn't able to get a Storm today because stupid me I went after work instead of taking the day off, but a VZW employee did let me play with his Storm for a bit and I have to say it was good enough that I'm definetly grabbing one, and if after some solid quality time with it, it doesn't pan out I'll probably return it and get a curve instead I think I'm gonna like this phone though.
Smartphones are even better because you don't need to use Mobile IM (unfortunetly mobile IM uses text messages). It is better to you the native blackberry AIM or get a thirdparty like JiveTalk both of which use Data and not SMS.
The reviews have been all over the place. If you have ever thought about getting this phone do yourself a favor and go try it in person (whenever they get more in). The BGR review I think was the most even handed, the Time and CNET reviews were absolute hit jobs in my opinion, Engadget is apparently bipolar (last week they loved surepress, now its the worst part of the phone), and of course Crackberry.com and other fan sites are inside the BlackBerry reality distortion field.
I wasn't able to get a Storm today because stupid me I went after work instead of taking the day off, but a VZW employee did let me play with his Storm for a bit and I have to say it was good enough that I'm definetly grabbing one, and if after some solid quality time with it, it doesn't pan out I'll probably return it and get a curve instead I think I'm gonna like this phone though.
Smartphones are even better because you don't need to use Mobile IM (unfortunetly mobile IM uses text messages). It is better to you the native blackberry AIM or get a thirdparty like JiveTalk both of which use Data and not SMS.
Wait so I could text people using a blackberry without Verizon charging me for it but they demand you get a data plan? Or am I wrong ?
I just want a Blackberry with a decent payment. The fact Verizon makes you get a data plan is not cool with me. I want songs for free(Check), pictures for free(Check), and texting for free
() .../ stop rant
Wait so I could text people using a blackberry without Verizon charging me for it but they demand you get a data plan? Or am I wrong ?
I just want a Blackberry with a decent payment. The fact Verizon makes you get a data plan is not cool with me. I want songs for free(Check), pictures for free(Check), and texting for free
/ stop rant
Kinda confused why you would get a blackberry without a data plan? Everything on the phone uses data, except calling and texting. To answer your question, no. SMS works the same on a blackberry as it does on other phones. What I was pointing out though is that Verizons Mobile IM uses SMS to send your chat message (thus you are billed a text message for every IM you send and receive). If you download Blackberry AIM or some other AIM client for blackberry, it will use data (like every other app) instead of SMS to send your chats. As you are required to have a data plan on a blackberry this is preferable.
The cheapest blackberry plan you can run is 39.99 voice + 29.99 data neither includes texting which would be pay per message unless you added a texting package. You can get around this by using email instead of SMS as you can send an email in lieu of an SMS by using the various SMS<->email bridges (i.e. <phonenumber>@vtext.com for verizon customers). I don't text very often, but when I have to I do it using this method so I dont' have to pay for it.
i fooled with one today at CC. I wouldn't say disappointment. It had a great screen nice layout and was fast. The thing that was (kinda) a let down was the clicking screen. It worked and helps to give feel to what you were touching. Basically the whole screen goes down and clicks with the slightest pressure no matter where you touch. Its a bit odd but if you can ignore its pretty much intuitive.
I know it doesn't make much sense but I'm cheap and yet I still crave a Blackberry Storm or a Bold if I currently wasn't on a Verizon plan. I also get 19% off my plan for a company I work for. It just irritates me how companies like Verizon gimp phones and then charge you for using their features their way. I love to find work a rounds. like free speed from an OC. I just love it.
So I want a Blackberry but don't want data plan. I guess it's not gonna happen though...I know it doesn't make much sense but I'm cheap and yet I still crave a Blackberry Storm or a Bold if I currently wasn't on a Verizon plan. I also get 19% off my plan for a company I work for. It just irritates me how companies like Verizon gimp phones and then charge you for using their features their way. I love to find work a rounds. like free speed from an OC. I just love it.
you can get a blackberry and then cancel the data plan... they aren't NECESSARY... but often they are required in order to qualify for rebates. Although I must say having a blackberry without a data plan is pretty much pointless.
Well I just ordered one, the place that I went to only had 10 :/ The VZW guy told me the latest it would ship out was Dec. 5th, and now I'm hearing it won't ship out until at least Dec 5th. And to make it worse, there are rumors that it will actually be Dec 15!!! Talk about low supply. It seems they had an OS snafu and all launch phones are being reverted to an older OS (people are finding old version stickers covering up the new version numbers). To me, I think a smarter decision would be to delay the launch, and now they have Wii-type supply and demand. Sigh, and I was all ready to ditch my original Cingular RAZR.
debello_64
Gawd
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- Oct 18, 2004
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Got mine in the morning, played with it all day, the screen takes some getting use to, but I like it. The copy and paste function is a bit combersum, but the media play back is great. I really like this phone only thing I wish it had was the inertia scrolling that the Iphone has.
No you can't, not anymore. This point has been discussed ad nauseum on various mobile device forums. You cannot activate a blackberry on VZW without a data plan, and the system will not allow you to remove a data plan from an active blackberry.
I thought so. Also, almost $80 a month for a cell phone bill is too much for me. I'm a cheap bastard.
Well to make it easier for me to swallow, my Storm will be with a family share plan so it tacked on another 30 bucks to our plan (I'm the only person with data). I don't even use minutes all that much and the person I talk to the most is on Verizon anyways. I would love to have tethering but 5GB for 30 bucks is a rip.
If the Storm had Wi-Fi, I'd probably reconsider the data plan since I spend most of my time on campus (free wifi) or at work (also free wifi), which probably means I should've gotten a phone with wi-fi but I was pretty dead set on the Storm plus I had to be with VZW.
If the Storm had Wi-Fi, I'd probably reconsider the data plan since I spend most of my time on campus (free wifi) or at work (also free wifi), which probably means I should've gotten a phone with wi-fi but I was pretty dead set on the Storm plus I had to be with VZW.
maybe not with verizon, but you most certainly can do it with other carriers.
What one?
Just got back from playing with it at a Verizon store, said they had 34 come in and all were accounted for.
Mini review.. awesome phone, the txting would def. take some time to get used to but I like it a lot more then the iPhone. I really do like having to press down to actually get it to do something. The iPhone I have screwed up too many times hitting the wrong thing then back out then trying to hit the right thing. Could be a bit snappier but its within reason. It wasnt activated yet so couldnt screw with the browser, but man it almosts make me want to start paying for a phone again or find a way to convince my company to let me buy one. Also its a bit smaller then my current 8830.
Mini review.. awesome phone, the txting would def. take some time to get used to but I like it a lot more then the iPhone. I really do like having to press down to actually get it to do something. The iPhone I have screwed up too many times hitting the wrong thing then back out then trying to hit the right thing. Could be a bit snappier but its within reason. It wasnt activated yet so couldnt screw with the browser, but man it almosts make me want to start paying for a phone again or find a way to convince my company to let me buy one. Also its a bit smaller then my current 8830.
I went this morning and got my order in at the store, who knows when I'll get it. I played with the floor model for about 30 minutes. I really liked it, it was rough around the edges at some points but most of the minor irritations seem to be all things that can (and hopefully will) be fixed with software updates. I'll give it the 30 day try and see then, but I think I'm gonna like this phone a lot.
I'll post a better review a bit later, but I got the phone yesterday morning. Yesterday, I played with it for like 20 minutes, and I LIKED the phone. Today I played with it for about 6 hours and I now LOVE this phone. Honestly, the iPhone can kiss my ass. No need to jump carriers, especially when AT&T doesn't have 3G where I am.
However, for those complaining about screen lag...Go to:
Options > Screen/Keyboard
Set the Tap interval to 200 or lower. Set the hover to 100 if it isn't already, and set the sensitivity to 6 (High). BIG difference.
Also, when the keyboard is on screen, swipe your finger from the top of the keyboard down to the bottom. It hides the keyboard. Want to bring it back up? Swipe from the bottom nav bar, upwards. This way, you don't have to use the blackberry shortcut menu, which takes longer.
Hold in the blackberry/app button for 2-3 seconds, and it brings up the applicaiton switcher so you can quickly multitask between apps.
Touch (don't click) and hold an email or SMS/MMS message, and it will search for all messages (missed calls, voicemails, texts, emails) sent by the same person.
To correct a word in the middle of a sentence. touch (don't click) and hold near the sentence where you made an error, and your blue cursor changes to a black box. Slide the box to the letter you need to correct.
With a SMS/MMS or email message open, swipe left to right or right to left to go to previous or the next conversation/message. Just so you know, text messages ARE threaded!
I'll post up more with my review, including the annoyances, because yes...there are some
Oh and, the surepress idea (clickable touchscreen) is amazing. Much better typing experience then the iPod Touch/iPhone. Multimedia playback is insane. Video is amazing, the external sound speaker is amazingly good for it's size. The camera is lacking in functionality. When you get the perfect conditions, the quality is good. But there IS a lag to snap the picture, so motion blur is a problem. Hopefully this will be fixed in an update.
However, for those complaining about screen lag...Go to:
Options > Screen/Keyboard
Set the Tap interval to 200 or lower. Set the hover to 100 if it isn't already, and set the sensitivity to 6 (High). BIG difference.
Also, when the keyboard is on screen, swipe your finger from the top of the keyboard down to the bottom. It hides the keyboard. Want to bring it back up? Swipe from the bottom nav bar, upwards. This way, you don't have to use the blackberry shortcut menu, which takes longer.
Hold in the blackberry/app button for 2-3 seconds, and it brings up the applicaiton switcher so you can quickly multitask between apps.
Touch (don't click) and hold an email or SMS/MMS message, and it will search for all messages (missed calls, voicemails, texts, emails) sent by the same person.
To correct a word in the middle of a sentence. touch (don't click) and hold near the sentence where you made an error, and your blue cursor changes to a black box. Slide the box to the letter you need to correct.
With a SMS/MMS or email message open, swipe left to right or right to left to go to previous or the next conversation/message. Just so you know, text messages ARE threaded!
I'll post up more with my review, including the annoyances, because yes...there are some
Oh and, the surepress idea (clickable touchscreen) is amazing. Much better typing experience then the iPod Touch/iPhone. Multimedia playback is insane. Video is amazing, the external sound speaker is amazingly good for it's size. The camera is lacking in functionality. When you get the perfect conditions, the quality is good. But there IS a lag to snap the picture, so motion blur is a problem. Hopefully this will be fixed in an update.
epimetheus
Gawd
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2004
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- 815
I was cautiously optimistic that Verizon would learn from Apple's mistakes with the iPhone launches (stupid, I know). So anyway, I showed up at the Verizon store closest to me at 7:30A thinking that I could wait for 30 minutes. I didn't really know what to expect. Apparently people had lined up at 5:45A according to the store manager. Anyway, it turns out I was one person shy of their last Storm. So they offered to overnight ship one to me, and it would arrive on Saturday. They also waived to mail-in rebate and made it an instant rebate. I was satisfied with that, I figured I could wait a day, no big deal. So last night, Friday, I got the tracking email from Fedex and it showed Monday delivery. So I called and was told that since they had to ship so many that the shipping got changed to standard overnight, instead of Saturday delivery. (Lie #1) So I looked at the receipt and of course it showed standard overnight; wish I would have caught that at the store, as I do quite a bit over overnight shipping at work and I know that method of shipping does not do Saturday delivery by default. So finally, after a few more minutes of BS from the lady at the store, I asked her how many phones they actually had on hand for the launch. She said 10 or 11 phones. FREAKIN' 10 PHONES! I live in Houston, a city of millions, with more than 40 stores. Working on large assumptions here, that makes approximately 500 phones in a city of over 2 million. But hey, lets be generous and say 1000 phones. Why can't these cell companies have some common sense and get something right. How much good PR would they get if they actually stood by what they tell customers. How hard is it to see that they could have had a ton or PR by learning from Apple's mistakes? How hard is it to really launch a phone? Let's see - a good experience for the customers, plenty of stock, let's not forget a good product. Is that really that hard?
End Rant
End Rant
They only got 10 phones because of a software debacle. All of the Verizon phones had 4.7.0.82 on the phones. Just before shipping the phones, a security flaw was found in that OS version. All the phones had to be downgraded to 4.7.0.65. Apparently that takes time and thus the reason why so little phones went out. Nobody will now be getting the phones until at least December 5th, most however having to wait until December 15th.
Massacre215
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2007
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- 137
Well I ordered mine... hopefully it will arrive pretty soon here. They expedited the shipping and put a rush on it for me. There were some problems with ordering that they made up for with the expedited shipping. I'll keep you all informed!
I have used and played around with two of them at work the day they were launched, and it seems like a really nice phone. Very solid feeling and has a really big screen without making the phone too bulky..
I have used and played around with two of them at work the day they were launched, and it seems like a really nice phone. Very solid feeling and has a really big screen without making the phone too bulky..
debello_64
Gawd
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- Oct 18, 2004
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Didnt know that about the keyboard thanks
My store got 20 (indirect location) and we did a deposit preorder style. We had 30 people put deposits are my store alone. About 400 for my company of 8 stores. Verizon would only let my company buy 250 phones and they were "sold out" in the midwest with no news when we can order more.
This is 3rd hand information from the companies owners, there might have been an update they havnt emailed out to the salespeople yet.
But after playing with the phone and activated quite a few the main thing i really like about the phone that I havn't seen in touchscreen phones before is the 2 stage clicking(for lack of better words). You get to see exactly what you are clicking before you commit to actually clicking it. I have very large fingers and this has always been a problem for me and why I never would even consider a touchscreen before this phone.
This is 3rd hand information from the companies owners, there might have been an update they havnt emailed out to the salespeople yet.
But after playing with the phone and activated quite a few the main thing i really like about the phone that I havn't seen in touchscreen phones before is the 2 stage clicking(for lack of better words). You get to see exactly what you are clicking before you commit to actually clicking it. I have very large fingers and this has always been a problem for me and why I never would even consider a touchscreen before this phone.
Destonomos
[H]ard|Gawd
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- Jul 13, 2004
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I'm still in college but once I graduate and I get a few paycheck from a real job this is the next phone I want. I'm currently on a family plan that my mom and dad have and someone stole my Samsung Sync this summer and my insurance had been used within a year of it happening so I was forced to buy a 14 dollar gophone (Because of money issues) which I am currently using. Good lord I can't wait to get rid of this crappy phone. It doesn't have a camera or bluetooth for peats sake!
You got it, bud.
Question...do you guys mind if I did a video review rather then a write up? Video review is faster and makes it easier to explain since you actually get to see it in action
i went to verizon tonight to test one out. I did like the having the tactile feedback while typing. I don't know if it was the floor models or what, but rotating the screen seemed to take a while and sometimes it just wouldn't flip. also, some things felt a bit sluggish. i know people had complained about some of the sluggish response, but this was long delays. when i hit the button to get into the media, it took almost 5 seconds to get into there. whats the deal with this?
mista ting
Gawd
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- Apr 13, 2006
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Christ you guys really don't need the latest and greatest i'm content with my 3 year old nokia
debello_64
Gawd
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- Oct 18, 2004
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here is a bunch of tips and tricks
http://forums.crackberry.com/f86/ultimate-official-tips-tricks-only-100612/
http://forums.crackberry.com/f86/ultimate-official-tips-tricks-only-100612/
Biggrich76
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2005
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- 411
I experienced the same when I went to order mine yesterday. It's probably (hopefully) just because it's a floor unit and everyone that has been in the store has been messing around with it. I still ordered mine, which they said would ship on 12/5. Ouch.