The new BlackBerry Storm was released today (November 21, 2008) and like hundreds of other people, I went straight to the Verizon Wireless store this morning at 8AM. Apparently I wasn't dedicated enough because the 20+ people camped out in front of the Keller TX store at 7AM cleaned the place out before the doors even opened. Nevertheless, I tried the demonstration unit at the store and decided it was good enough to purchase on the spot. It should take less than a week and they'll ship it overnight for free.
If you're even contemplating getting a new smartphone or replacing an older one (e.g., Apple iPhone) keep a few things in mind:
- Go to a Verizon Wireless store and actually try the Storm. It definitely feels very different from any regular BlackBerry or from an iPhone.
- When you press on a key, the back of the phone gently vibrates and the whole screen gently presses inward giving the feeling like you're actually pressing down on a real key. It takes less than a minute to get used to and gives it a very tactile feel.
- However, there's obviously no key-to-key feel so if you're used to texting while driving and not looking, you're more likely to type gibberish.
- If you already struggle to accurately hit the buttons on a regular BlackBerry this may not be the right phone for you.
- If you do decide to buy one, you can get free overnight shipping and a $50 instant rebate if you buy in-store today because the stores will be out of the phones.
Its really a beautiful little phone- just a bit bigger than the BlackBerry Pearl, but the screen size and ability to flip from SureType to full QWERTY keyboard is, in my opinion, well worth the slightly extra heft. Like the iPhone, you can simply rotate the phone and it will flip the screen from portrait to landscape mode giving you the ability to view website and documents in "full" size. It has a slightly bigger screen than the iPhone, a somewhat less elegant interface, but a removable battery which addresses one of the biggest issues with large touchscreen smart phone devices.
At the end of the day, you'd buy this phone if at least 2 of the following fit you:
- You have to have a BlackBerry to work with your corporate server
- You want to have QWERTY keyboard sometimes, but not the width and heft of one
- You use your smartphone a lot and need to be able to change out the battery to make it through a day
- You want to be on Verizon, but still have GSM roaming capability
-Austin
