[njguy]

Which would you go with and why?

Still undecided.....

[Sparro]

It depends on if you want an actual keyboard or virtual keyboard. From what I hear, the Storm and Bold are very similar devices. The main difference being physical keyboard/smaller screen and virtual keyboard/larger screen.
I am getting the Storm.

[akosnitzky]

Wirelessly posted (Verizon 8830)

I think it may also depend on the type of user you are. If you email often, the Bold may be the better option. Hopefully, you will experiment with both devices.

[jdzialak]

what if you're on TMO and can't get either?

I'm loving my Curve now that 4.5 is on it. wayy better than 4.2 was.

Joe

[user242]

I wish Verizon had the Bold but I will still give the Storm a fighting chance in hopes that they will make the fixes that the storm seems to need.

If Verizon had the bold first and I got it I probably would just stick with it and not worry about getting the Storm. Since that's not the case I'm going to try out the Storm.

[sean76]

There is absolutely no comparison at all! 2 way different devices. A power user is going for the BOLD, and a newbie or even somebody who really doesn't need to type that often would probably dig the storm. However, a Blackberry is a way to stay connected. So I would think a user would want to have the best keyboard possible to bang out emails and what not. Ahh, times are a changin I guess. As for me, I'm luvin my BOLD, It's the best Blackberry that I've ever used, Hands down!

[jnyost]

A power user getting a Bold over a Storm? Doubt it.

I'm a power user and so far I like the storm over my curve. It takes a little while to get used to the typing but you pick it up quickly.

[EricScott]

Well I have both the Bold and the Storm and while I definitely need more time with the Storm to completely make up my mind, I think I am going to end up concluding that the Bold blows away the Storm (at least for how I use the device). To be fair I have had the Bold for close to 2 weeks and just got the Storm today. It is also worth noting that I had a Pearl on AT&T for close to 2 years which I loved and I got extremely used to SureType (so I figured I would be inclined to like the Storm).

Basically, the Bold is just way faster than the Storm...I rarely notice any kind of lag on the Bold while I seem to be waiting quite a bit with the Storm....this goes from simply clicking on icons to load apps to browsing the media folders, etc. The Storm also crashed twice on me in the first couple of hours - once when I selected the visual voicemail icon and once when loading CNN.com in the browser.

I did a few side-by-side tests with the browser - both configured with IE emulation so real pages load - and the Bold beat the Storm on every page, in some cases by 5 to 10 seconds (I tried 5 separate sites). I have full bars w/ 3G on AT&T and 4-5 bars EVDO on VZW and of course made sure Wifi was off when running the tests.

And then there is the typing. I happen to have pretty large fingers so I wasn't expecting to have an easy time w/ the Storm but I am really struggling. I thought I would like the SureType keyboard b/c the keys are bigger and as I said above I used to love ST on my Pearl...but I can't prevent myself from hitting the wrong key constantly. Also the ST keyboard on the Storm is missing some basic items like a comma that the Pearl had....I know it is just a click to the numbers / punctuation screen but it's an extra click and pretty annoying. The landscape keyboard is definitely quicker and easier to type on but the buttons are way smaller which means I am hitting the wrong keys even more frequently and when you use the landscape keyboard the actual typing area is quite small which is a little annoying. Trying to select text to copy and paste or to just position the cursor to make edits is extremely difficult...you need to perfectly position your fingers which I am having a really tough time with. I am also having a hell of a time properly selecting menu items. The items are spaced apart much more than on the Bold but I am still having issues. Since I rely heavily on my BB for work, being able to quickly send emails is pretty essential for me.

And general tasks just seem way more difficult on the Storm....for example you can't start dialing someone's name from the home screen to bring them up in the phone app like you can on all other BBs. Also the shortcut keys on the Bold are pretty addicting and not having them on the Storm is making me miss them.

With all that being said, the Storm is a sexy looking device. The form factor is sweet. Love the rubber sides and metal back and the size of the device is great. When I first got the Bold it felt huge (esp. coming from a Pearl) but after using it for two weeks I have really adjusted to the size - so much so that my pearl and even my wife's curve just seem too small to me now. The Storm is definitely smaller than the Bold and just feels great in the hand. It's too bad the Javelin isn't going to be 3G b/c the form factor looks virtually identical to the Storm....a 3G version of that would be the perfect device....definitely worth waiting for. But EDGE just doesn't cut it.

And the screen on the Storm is really nice. When reading emails it is great having the full portrait screen to see more of the message. The sample video looked sick but as I've discovered from messing around w/ my Bold, I'm not sure I will be using either device for video that much since most of my videos are DRM protected files from iTunes which neither device will play.

So I definitely need to give the Storm some more time to make a final decision but I would be very very surprised if I didn't end up returning it and keeping my Bold. Had I gone from the Pearl to the Storm directly maybe I would have enjoyed it more, but after using the Bold and getting use to the speed and full QWERTY (w/ intuitive shortcut keys, etc) it's hard to transition to the Storm.

Hope this is helpful to others trying to decide between the Bold and the Storm.

I will update this post with any additional findings.

[dngo]

EricScott's impressions and experiences are eerily similar to mine - I have had a Bold for about two weeks, came from a Pearl (though mine is on TMO), and got a Storm today. I must admit that though I was really looking forward to the Storm, I am quite disappointed at how it measures up to the Bold and even the Pearl. As I type, I am reactivating my Bold on our corporate BES.

I found all of the previously mentioned issues annoying - difficulty selecting items accurately, corners of the screen are much harder to press, etc. I also found that while typing in landscape mode, I kept hitting the voice dialing convenience key by accident. The gestures are nice (like hovering over the subject of an email or sender and triggering a search) and the size of the screen is terrific.

I surprised myself at how fast I gave up on the Storm. Though I agree that having a trackball would make a world of difference, the typing experience is just not good enough for me. Maybe when the Niagra comes out, or some as-yet-uninvented Storm with a slider keyboard...

[jeffharris]

I agree completely with all of the above, being a Bold user (not even buying a Storm, but just playing today with it.)

I think all the manufacturers are trying to create their "iPhone." I'm disappoined in RIM, but, understand their marketing need. The iPhone is an icon. No one will reproduce that revolution for quite a while (except Apple maybe.) but, only for the simple reason that Apple introduced the smartphone, to a world of dumbphone users. The iPhones beauty, will always overshadow a more functional device. The Storm still looks like a dinosaur, compared ot the iPhone.

It's imposible to go from a Blackberry, to an iPhone, and think it's functionally better for serious business usage. And funcitonally, all the multimedia is pretty much the same now (however, I use A2DP all the time on my Bold - can't do that with iPhone!). And, in my opinion, the Storm is simply an attempt to try to make Blackberry users feel they too can (in a parallel way) join the "iPhone Generation." The marketing is great - but, I feel like me moving to a Storm, from a Bold, is like moving to one of the cheap Chinese style iPhone knockoffs, from a real iPhone.

I wish all manufacturers would stop trying to compete, and, concentrate on what they do best. The Samsung and LG native (not WinMo) OS's aren't bad either. They just don't have the publics' (and therefore developers) love like Apple does - so development is limited.

I say, real Blackberrys are Bolds and Curves (Javelins) now. Want to stick with Blackberry? Stick with what Blackberry innovated on their own - keyboards, speed, shortcuts, great battery life, and a funcitonal OS, with a more striped down textual than graphical driven menus and options and interface, that make the Blackberry so intuitive to use. OK, throw in an amazingly superior display to enrich all the textual stuff, like the Bold and the 8900 did, and, you have a winner Blackberry, the way that it was intended.

[barbwyr]

I think it really does depend on the kind of user you are. If you are the type that likes to have a "nifty" device that all your friends will talk about, and you like to have the latest trendy device then the Storm is for you. If you are the type that is into functionality and durability of a device then the Bold is for you. If you are somewhere in between...get the Curve. I love mine! The big problem I see is that the Storm is going to need a few updates to it's OS to take care of the bugs but the average person that is buying it is clueless about how to do these things. As a result, the Storm is going to take some big hits in the media and word of mouth area.

[Racerdj]

Originally Posted by user242

I wish Verizon had the Bold but I will still give the Storm a fighting chance in hopes that they will make the fixes that the storm seems to need.

If Verizon had the bold first and I got it I probably would just stick with it and not worry about getting the Storm. Since that's not the case I'm going to try out the Storm.

Same thoughts here.

[jeffharris]

Originally Posted by barbwyr

I think it really does depend on the kind of user you are. If you are the type that likes to have a "nifty" device that all your friends will talk about, and you like to have the latest trendy device then the Storm is for you. .

Wrong!! The Storm doesn't really do it (at least in my circles) - When I want to impress or stand out, I drop my SIM into my Vertu Ascent Ti ..... that always gets 'em talking.....all the Blackberries are just all the same plastic fun!!

[Arcangel]

dude your a tool for buying a vertu

[jeffharris]

Originally Posted by Arcangel

dude your a tool for buying a vertu

Would that be a good tool, or a bad tool ?

Hey, I need something to leave in my Aston Martin DB9

[Arcangel]

that would be a bad one ...no matter how many zeros are in my bank account vertus are overpriced phones with minimal capacities just to stroke egos

[jeffharris]

Originally Posted by Arcangel

that would be a bad one ...no matter how many zeros are in my bank account vertus are overpriced phones with minimal capacities just to stroke egos

Bought a Signature second hand, used it a year, sold it for a profit - paid $4,300 for this Ascent, new, I know I can break even or profit ... they are luxury commodities with value. And, they really do feel great ....

PS - Ferraris, Lamborghini's and Aston Martins (not as much) have limited capacities as high tech electronic toys (heck, my GPS in my AM is not as good as AT&T Nav for BB!) ... but, their build and power still say a lot ...

[codeworks]

I also own a Bold and now a Storm and thought I would give my impressions.

The Bold is great if you:
1. Are a Blackberry Purist
2. Use Blackberry email to replace office email (my wife)

The Storm is great if you:
1. Love gadgets
2. Use Blackberry email as a quick email service and still use your office computer as a primary email device.

So far, I love the Storm. Rhapsody to go, touch screen, smooth scrolling, Verizons network around my house, etc...

Will I keep it? Too early to tell. I cannot switch back and forth easily on our BES server at work, so I need to make a decision soon since I dont want to carry 2 devices.

In any case, to make a short story long, I think both devices will appeal to groups. They both have their (+) and (-) and I feel they are being marketed at different demographics. All the talk of the Storm being an iPhone killer spells consumer market to me, while ATT is attacking the business market with the Bold.

I could go on, but I just wanted to share my thoughts.

[vermifax]

False dillema for a lot of us. The correct comparison for those of us on verizon is 8830 vs Storm. Anyone have opinions on that matchup?

[benjabi]

see currently i have the 8830 from telus...I'm waiting to see what the Storm is about (when it does drop)...however if an Official RIM 4.5 os version comes out for the 8830 and does the nicer things that the curve has been doing...i wouldn't see a reason to drop my 8830 (unless the storm really blew me away...pardon the pun)