[dave1812dave]

Today was the final straw(s). A nearly two hour call to tech support because the message indicator was showing messages that didn't exist. I finally figured it out myself. sigh. It was a glitch in the database for the SMS messages WHICH i DON'T USE. I have SMS messages blocked. The glitch began early this morning and added an additional phantom message count as I began speaking with tech support. The moment I hung up the phone (it appeared as the issue was fixed), I got 3 red badges showing on my 3 email account icons, yet no messages were in any of them. Another call to tech support and this one went relatively quickly. Problem solved under the tech's direction (a 4 step process ending with him sending service books. sigh) in less than 15 minutes.

I figured that was enough Storm issues for the day, but that was not to be. Three hours later I get a request to add someone to my BB Messenger. Thing is, they have been a contact since day one. Moments later my wife's Storm gets a message with a request from my account, asking to accept my Pin. Problem is, the request remained pending for more than a half hour. ANOTHER call to tech support, and with their assistance I deleted the pending and resent another request to add me back in as a contact to my wife's phone.

The above is just a TINY sample of the issues I've gone through. Numerous reboots, spontaneous reboots, inability to get to the speaker phone option when anwering a call if the phone's screen is in landscape mode, and a zillion other STUPID PHONE TRICKS.

I can't believe that such great hardware is saddled with what MUST be the worlds worst OS ever made for a smart phone.

Tomorrow I won't have to spend hours dealing with VZN or BB tech support. Instead, I can chop up my 35 year old dwarf cherry tree that just fell over in my back yard. It is very windy today but from looking at the trunk, it was rot that felled it, rather than the high winds we are having (the tree is shielded from the wind by a fence and my neighbor's huge tree).

It's always SOMETHING!

"Nightmare" would have been an apt name for the Storm, IMO...

[Bulgaro]

Well sorry to hear that, I'm still running .75 and have never had an issue with mine. I hope you end up with a better phone than the Storm. I wonder if if I'm in the minority when it come to issues with the Storm.

[dave1812dave]

Originally Posted by Bulgaro

Well sorry to hear that, I'm still running .75 and have never had an issue with mine. I hope you end up with a better phone than the Storm. I wonder if if I'm in the minority when it come to issues with the Storm.

To give you an idea of how much trouble I had with it, I didn't own it an HOUR, when it locked up. I got one phone call from the VZ salesman, did some shopping, got in the car, turned on VZ Nav, got my first audible turn and BAM! the VZ Nav app disappeared and I was on a frozen home screen. I was near the VZ store so returned it to show them and as I expected, they pullled the battery. It's been all bad ever since. EVERY day I've had to call them with issues. The interface is lame. If you are watching a video, you have to shut down THREE application windows to shut down the Media app. That's something the programmers should have fixed long before now. I could go on, but there's no point. Today's issues were the proverbial straw...

[Bulgaro]

No, I hear your on that and have been following your dilemma on this forum and your frustration is understandable . I'm just wondering if you have a bad ... I mean a really bad unit. Well I meant it when I said that I hope you have better luck with your next phone. There are other Blackberries out there.

[dave1812dave]

Originally Posted by Bulgaro

No, I hear your on that and have been following your dilemma on this forum and your frustration is understandable . I'm just wondering if you have a bad ... I mean a really bad unit. Well I meant it when I said that I hope you have better luck with your next phone. There are other Blackberries out there.

I did look at a BB w/o the touchscreen but that means I'd be without the main element that I wanted to get--namely a large screen for cruising the internet when I'm w/o wifi for my Touch. I'm either going to wait for the Storm 2 or check out the Pre when it comes out next month.

oh, btw, the nice gal at Verizon who processed my return, said she didn't get a Storm precisely because she knows how buggy the s/w is and like me, she loves the hardware. It's just the s/w that is making the whole "experience" a nightmare. Maybe RIM could sell the hardware to another developer who could create a nice OS for it... RIM doesn't seem to be up to the task IMO. Maybe I'm being harsh, but then again there are some truly rookie mistakes included in the interface. Far too many clicks to close apps. No clear way to see what is open (please, no one say "activity center", as it isn't clear what is open by reviewing that window, which btw is a PITA itself, due to the need to scroll it). I was just using my Touch--what a refreshing change in the interface, from the Storm. The Touch is so intuitive even though it isn't perfect. Let's hope that RIM learns from their glaring mistakes with all the Storm s/w releases and totally revamps the interface for the Storm 2. I am TRULY going to miss the hardware (of the Storm). Yes, it's as little heavy and thick, but the screen and the onscreen keyboard, IMO are great. And I love the sound quality too--let's not forget that!

[Robert_K]

I got a feeling you got a bad phone or maybe not familiar enough with a BlackBerry to know how to use it.

My wife and I both bought Storms in Feb. and they have been great. I'm running .103 and she's running .75 with no complaints. Not bad considering that my wife loves to complain about any little thing that goes wrong with her phone, car, or computer.

A trick I learned a few weeks ago is to install Opera Mini and use it instead of the BB browser. It's faster, faster to navigate,doesn't have problems cruising and posting on web forums, and doesn't slow your phone to a crawl.

[XelhaBB]

Download and install .103 and you'll love your Storm.

If you don't have the discipline to learn the in's and out's of a BB, then get youself a slider and go back the the stone ages.

[Frank Castle]

Back when I first got the Storm (early Nov)

.65 just plain sucked

.75 was better but still had issue

Any of the beta builds are nice and I ran .90 for a long time. .113 is pretty darn nice and through all the quirks. It's really hard to give up the nice screen size (and yes I have a iPhone also)

For the Storm to work best - you NEED to just erase all the junk verizon software. It just kills the device and frankly many of the things can be found in free / cheaper applications.

VZ Navigator
Visual Voicemail
Application Center

Also I have had some reboots but nothing I havn't seen with other mobile devices I use. Face it these devices are doing a heck of alot often with not much memory. I find a nightly battery pull helps clear out the days use and keeps the Storm running great.

[dave1812dave]

Originally Posted by XelhaBB

Download and install .103 and you'll love your Storm.

If you don't have the discipline to learn the in's and out's of a BB, then get youself a slider and go back the the stone ages.

Well, aren't you condescending ?? I've spent countless hours reading tips and tricks on various online forums and have spend way too much time with tech support clearing up issues that were no fault of mine--simply CRAPPY software glitches. I have learned MANY tidbits of useful info. Next time, how about not ASSUMING I don't have "discipline". I dare say I could "out tech" you on any number of subjects. That doesn't mean I have limitless patience with half baked products such as the Storm. NO ONE should have to spend more time researching how to get a freaking phone to work, than USING it. My patience finally wore out when I had THREE DISTINCTLY different issues with the phone on it's last day in my possession. Enough is enough. I'm not even sure I should say "my hat's off to anyone who can put up with the Storms issues" as the fact that you all are coming here to try to get these phones functional is a testament to the lunacy of owning one beyond the 30 day trial period IN MY OPINION. If you don't like that opinion, I have others! Cheers!

[JSanders]

One more "I left the Storm" thread gone to hell.

[david9962000]

That's too bad, that device has so much potential.

[dave1812dave]

Originally Posted by david9962000

That's too bad, that device has so much potential.

I agree with you 1000%. The hardware is fantastic. I'm not at all happy that the experience of using it was so dreadful. My wife and I both love the screen, keyboard and sound. It's unfortunate it is saddled with such a sad OS. Frankly, I don't know how a corporation can get away with selling such unmitigated crap such as the OS on this phone. If it was installed on some obscure, cheap, entry level phone who would care? But the Storm was supposed to be an awesome phone. It never will in my eyes unless RIM tosses the entire CONCEPT of their OS and start from SCRATCH. I'm serious. They need to start over COMPLETELY and put some user interface thought into the OS. I am a real stickler when it comes to UI. Part of my background includes providing UI suggestions to the coders at my previous place of employment. I have a knack for pointing out interface elements that digress from the expected norm, which always translates to a frustrated user. The Storm's OS wouldn't have made it out the door if I was involved and had any authority. I'd have nixed it's method of navigation at every "turn". How lame is the "close an app THREE separate times" issue? Or no clear way to see what apps are open? Or no way to quickly to go to speakerphone mode if u answer phone when screen is in landscape? The Help feature on the phone is inadequate, as is the User Guide. One should not have to haunt forums to find out how to use the phone. IF I didn't have to pay an extra $60 a month for the data plan for the two phones, and the software was improved drastically, I might be willing to continue to use a Storm. Since neither of those things are happening, I'm again in the market for a nice phone. Maybe a Pre...or maybe a Storm 2 if RIM starts from scratch with the OS for that one. IF not, the 2 will only be an incremental improvement--I need much more than that.

[ghamden]

Sorry to see all the isues you have been having The storm QC is the big issue that said

Good Luck

I used the touch pro for a while big issue is battery life starts out great but after a few days it will only last about 3 to 5hrs before needing charged if you look around there are some registery hacks that will improve this somewhat but i never was able to get to a full day of use.

The storm so far battery life has been excellent .113 seems to clear up lot
of OS issues if you get rid of the bloatware

And the real trick is to find a storm that has been properly manufactured

no flashing led after charge no stiff touch pad no reboot issues now if you can get one the OS updates should remedy the rest.

But anyway Good Luck

[loge54]

After two days, I have to agree with the general tone of the OP.
This device is simply poorly designed and is not at all user-friendly.
I'm still slogging my way through the tutorials, BB's, and websites - I don't know how many hours I have into this thing.
I'm caught now between my time investment and simply going back to the store and giving it up.
My primary complaint is the interface. The touch screen is very balky, unreliable, and - frankly - maddeningly difficult to navigate through.
How many of these things are tossed under moving vehicles?!
After several attempts this AM, I am still unable to simply enter a username and password to enter a site on the browser function. There seems to be no way to jump (or tab) from username to password.
Another fun peeve is VM. Why do I have to go through several backups in order to enter my password ? (the numerical screen has to be unlocked first).
That's just nuts.
The bluetooth device is virtually useless - too much static and totally unreliable. I've been using the wired headset in my car instead. I suppose I should at least take the bluetooth back.
Then there's the Outlook snag which renders receiving email on one or the other only. I'm not sure that's a Windows screw-up or a RIM one. Why am I able to send from my laptop or BB, but only receive on my BB? (yes, I am very familair with Outlook rules and configs - nothing works to fix this one that I've found yet).
Why take a device to market that only infuritates your customer? We're not all techie's here.

[zero7404]

i think this has something to do with the hardware, in general, of the 9530....
also being the first touch screen made by RIM, it's going to improve with time and opinions for future releases of the phone.
i think overall, the 9500 has better software support than the 9530, so those that have issues with the 9530 can blame the carriers for dragging their feet about agreeing on a good OS release....

[jsntrenkler]

I am on my 7th Storm now ... It is what it is ... I am looking very forward to the 9630, looks very promising!

[dave1812dave]

Originally Posted by loge54

After two days, I have to agree with the general tone of the OP.
This device is simply poorly designed and is not at all user-friendly.
I'm still slogging my way through the tutorials, BB's, and websites - I don't know how many hours I have into this thing.
I'm caught now between my time investment and simply going back to the store and giving it up.
My primary complaint is the interface. The touch screen is very balky, unreliable, and - frankly - maddeningly difficult to navigate through.
How many of these things are tossed under moving vehicles?!
After several attempts this AM, I am still unable to simply enter a username and password to enter a site on the browser function. There seems to be no way to jump (or tab) from username to password.
Another fun peeve is VM. Why do I have to go through several backups in order to enter my password ? (the numerical screen has to be unlocked first).
That's just nuts.
The bluetooth device is virtually useless - too much static and totally unreliable. I've been using the wired headset in my car instead. I suppose I should at least take the bluetooth back.
Then there's the Outlook snag which renders receiving email on one or the other only. I'm not sure that's a Windows screw-up or a RIM one. Why am I able to send from my laptop or BB, but only receive on my BB? (yes, I am very familair with Outlook rules and configs - nothing works to fix this one that I've found yet).
Why take a device to market that only infuritates your customer? We're not all techie's here.

I hear ya!

When the Storm was first released through Verizon, there were many reports (not sure how accurate) that the return rates were the worst for any cellphone ever released. I'd read that 1/2 of the Storms were returned. IF that is true, I can see from first hand experience why that is the case. ESPECIALLY since I am so fond of the hardware, the concept, and the fact that I went into with a positive attitude. The hardware and the promise (of function) was such an enticing package. However, each day, my frustration level grew until it hit the breaking point with 3 serious issues in one day--it's last day in my possession. RIM needs to wake up and get a project manager and competent coders and QC people that can revamp the OS into something easy to use. As bad as it is now, that's a tall order, as there is almost NOTHING in the interface that I could envision keeping. That beautiful screen and form factor is going to waste. Major bummer for everyone concerned--potential customers, Verizon, and RIM. The ball is in RIM's court. Let's see if they continue to piss away an opportunity to turn things around.

[zero7404]

Originally Posted by jsntrenkler

I am on my 7th Storm now ...

there's something wrong with this picture.....or your tastes, if you have to go thru 7 phones of the same model.

no company out there would let that many defects exit their doors. if it makes it to market, then that means it passed quality tests which is the final stage in an assembly line.

[dave1812dave]

Originally Posted by zero7404

there's something wrong with this picture.....or your tastes, if you have to go thru 7 phones of the same model.

no company out there would let that many defects exit their doors. if it makes it to market, then that means it passed quality tests which is the final stage in an assembly line.

Gee, by now, can't we all agree that the OS is a piece of crap? I would suspect that he was given replacements because he was having issues and in a quest to mollify him, they gave him replacements, even though we all know that it's the freaking OS that sucks--not the hardware. Right?

[zero7404]

Originally Posted by dave1812dave

Gee, by now, can't we all agree that the OS is a piece of crap? I would suspect that he was given replacements because he was having issues and in a quest to mollify him, they gave him replacements, even though we all know that it's the freaking OS that sucks--not the hardware. Right?

the OS isn't quite perfect, but not to the point that it would cause you or I to go thru 7 PHONES !... even .75 is usable. i am even happy with .76....so the conclusion i am coming to is that some ppl here have come from some planet where blackberries are more advanced and more perfect, or something like that....

so when someone else does really run into a mishap with a hardware or software issue that is unsatisfactory, and verizon gives them a hard time about returning it, we have jsntrenkler to thank...