The Storm has arrived
by Volker Weber
It only took a gentle reminder and today DHL delivered a small box to my door. It contained the retail package for the Vodafone BlackBerry Storm. The package was open, so I am not sure whether RIM attached a screen protection or whether that comes will all devices. I suspect it is standard, since the rest of the adhesives did not cover the touch screen.
As you know, my expectations are not high, but I am very, very curious. What I can say from the fist few hours is that typing is frustrating. Especially if you use more than one language. The camera is as useless as on the Curve. BUT: It's not as bad as David suggests.
The Storm is not a bPhone. It requires some time to get acquainted. I will give it a week or so. The Bold has been decommissioned and I am going to use the Storm full time.
Some quick facts: No Wi-Fi, 3G, 3.5mm headphones socket, microUSB socket like the 8900, feels very solid, better than all other BlackBerrys including the Bold. Sometimes very slow to react to inputs from the screen, the buttons or the motion sensor.
Impression so far: great hardware, software needs at least another three months to complete. This is neither a BlackBerry nor an iPhone.
Comments
I'll be watching for your updates as this one is on my list of possible next phones, and would become my first crackberry.
I am still waiting for mine from Verizon. I hope the software upgrades (which I do expect in the first few months) correct some of the sluggishness problems you mentioned on input.
@Frank - Regarding sluggishness, my Curve has slowed down noticeably since the 4.5 firmware upgrade - newer software doesn't necessarily mean better performance (Notes 8.0.2 excepted, obviously).
if it needs to be clickier, read this!
http://forums.crackberry.com/f86/great-click-better-afraid-104402/
