November 19th, 2008
Hands On: The BlackBerry Storm
The [early] bottom line
There’s no question that the Storm is an impressive piece of gadgetry. With the notable exception of WiFi, RIM has managed to squeeze just about every feature that an ardent smartphone user could want. And despite a couple of annoying glitches — like the aforementioned “screen rotating on its own” issue, and the noticeable lag time during rotation — after 36 hours, the Storm has actually held up pretty well for a first generation device.
Physically, the Storm is a bit chunky — it certainly lacks the graceful lines of the iPhone, and in fact, it’s almost the size as the super-stocky Bold (it’s roughly the same thickness, though a drop shorter and narrower). It’s an attractive phone, but not a head-turner.
While web browsing isn’t nearly as graceful as it is on an iPhone, it’s still a very good experience — especially compared to other devices out there. And the Storm holds up remarkably well as a media player — assuming you have DRM-free music and video files.
At $199 (with a two-year contract, and after a $50 rebate), the Storm is at exactly the same price as the 8GB iPhone, and $100 cheaper than the BlackBerry Bold, which seems about right to me.
But ultimately, the Storm’s success will be based on whether or not the masses take to the SurePress touchscreen, and my guess is that it’s going to be a love it/hate it kind of thing. My only problem is that I haven’t picked a camp yet.
Stay tuned.
Josh Taylor is director of CBS Interactive Business' technology sites – ZDNet and TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
