November 19th, 2008
Hands On: The BlackBerry Storm
First off, a warning: Be very skeptical of any review you read in the next 24 to 48 hours that proclaims to be the definitive word on the Blackberry Storm.
While clearly I have my own early impressions, the Storm is so different than any other smartphone I’ve used, that I assume I’m not the only one who is experiencing a bit of a learning curve.
In case you’ve missed all the pre-launch ruckus, the Storm ($199, after $50 rebate and two-year committment) is Blackberry’s first touchscreen device, and RIM, the Storm’s manufacturer, and their launch partner Verizon Wireless, are clearly hoping they have the first serious iPhone competitor on their hands.
And while I would love to give you my definitive take on whether or not they’ve succeeded, my rather lame answer is I don’t know yet. So far there are some things I really like, some things I’m not so happy about, and others for which the verdict is still out.
Given my fence-sitting, I’ll come back to this topic several times over the next few weeks, and I promise that by early December, I’ll actually try to quit the equivocating and take a stand.
So, for now, here are my first impressions and thoughts.
You can also check out my BlackBerry Storm photo gallery here.
Typing and the clickable screen
RIM is hoping that it is able to attract folks who were either too scared to try typing on the iPhone’s touchscreen, or tried and simply never got the hang of it (you can put me in that second camp). So, instead of relying on the same touchscreen technology as the iPhone, the Storm features a screen that actually clicks when you type on it (they’re calling it “SurePress”). So far, I haven’t found myself typing any faster than I can on iPhone, though I am slightly more confident that I’m hitting the right keys as I go.
As my colleague Wayne noted, the center of the screen actually seems like it has a bit more give in it than the outer edges, and we both found ourselves taking slightly more time when hitting those outside keys. [Note to Wayne: See, ask for a shout-out, and you shall receive.]
In other applications, and in general navigation, you have to learn when to touch the screen lightly, and when to actually click in. For example, if you want to pause a song or video, you have to lightly tap the screen to bring up the playback options, then depress the button you’re looking for. If instead of initially tapping you actually press down on the screen, nothing happens. This is not a criticism, but rather just flagging something that will likely take folks some getting used to.
While web surfing, the UI is a bit more intuitive — you simply click on the screen to zoom in.
Josh Taylor is director of CBS Interactive Business' technology sites – ZDNet and TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
