[Blackberryer]

I cannot believe I've been using the same device as has been described by many here. The Storm is easily the best smartphone I've ever used, and it outclasses its touch screen competitor by miles (I say this as someone who likes both Apple and their bastard creation ;)

I honestly don't understand the gripes. The typing is the best I've ever experienced on a touch screen. Sorry guys, but this is as good as it gets with a virtual keyboard. Stop hating it because it's not a physical keyboard, either you accept this or you don't. The browser is top notch. Yes, I said "top notch." Second best touch screen browser on the market, and with a few tweaks could probably be every bit as good as Safari. The media capabilities on the phone are fantastic. Call quality is the best I've ever had with a phone, period.

Kudos to RIM. They made a functional iPhone, the perfect bridge between a professional and a consumer phone. I've been searching for this specific package for the last year or two and the Storm just rocks.

[*&))]

I would have to agree. I have an 8830, 8330, and a storm. All have there upsides and draw backs but you know what you were buying for the most part with all three. But I have to say I love the storm. Its not for every body, but what device is.

[jsntrenkler]

I agree with you as well. Everyday that goes by I love my Storm that much more. It has been very reliable and very easy to use. I actually love the fact that when I type it feels like I am pushing a button. Great Device!

[BruceDBR]

Count me in for another "I agree." Yeah, it took me a bit to get used to, but now that I've made an adjustment, I LOVE it.

of course, there are a LOT of people out there that LOVE the Storm. They just don't come here to talk about it.

[Rustproofcorn]

what is really sad is all the negatives about the storm has made it almost stand still in sales according to my local verizon rep. i personally love the strom just wish there were a few less bugs so more people would continute to buy so that the new apps and updates would keep flowing.. i have even been able to tell in these forums the difference in posts they are pretty few and far between right now you might sit for 20 + minutes before a possiblility of a educational post..

[*&))]

Originally Posted by Rustproofcorn

what is really sad is all the negatives about the storm has made it almost stand still in sales according to my local verizon rep. i personally love the strom just wish there were a few less bugs so more people would continute to buy so that the new apps and updates would keep flowing.. i have even been able to tell in these forums the difference in posts they are pretty few and far between right now you might sit for 20 + minutes before a possiblility of a educational post..

I know as a blackberry user this is something we are not use to, but that is the price of early adoption. Give it a few months a few patches and I think it will be even better device. I owned a first gen Iphone and it was the same deal. I think the storm will serve it purpose offering everyone an option. If you don't like it there are other bb device out there. I still love my 8830. As some one who works in a mining/construction industry even my 8830 does a great job while at work when environmental conditions tend to be a strike against the storm. (And on occasions when I have to really work in some less then desirable conditions my 7250, which is vertically indestructible, still come in handy.) I think people should look at it for what it is another addition to the bb portfolio.
I think given time it will handle its own against the likes of other mainstream devices in this market.

[dakis]

Originally Posted by Blackberryer

I honestly don't understand the gripes. The typing is the best I've ever experienced on a touch screen. Sorry guys, but this is as good as it gets with a virtual keyboard.

While I have to say that the tactile feedback makes the typing experience more similar to a physical keyboard (which is a very good thing), typing accuracy and speed have been so dismal for me that I'm selling mine.

I've been using it for about two weeks now and every time I have to type more than just a few words, the keyboard drives me nuts. Here are my reasons for this:

- the physical click seriously limits the maximum typing speed because the button doesn't depress quickly enough

- accuracy is very low - and to make things worse, correcting input is solved very badly on the Storm. The former might have to do with my typing technique but despite the fact that I'm a very experienced "typist" on both physical and on-screen keyboards, I just can't seem to figure out how to work things out. I already force myself to meticulously differentiate between (imaginary) left and right side of the keyboard, making sure I only push "right side buttons" with my right hand and vice versa. But things just don't work right

- In addition to all of this, there's a problem I'm having that most other current Storm users won't have: since I type in German about 50% of the time, I have to use umlauts (ö, ä, ü). Getting these on the keyboard is a major pain and essentially cuts the typing speed in half - the German keyboard layout is a mess.

I have used an iPhone and a Touch HD in the past and it is my honest opinion that the bold offers the worst typing experience of those three - tactile feedback is a very good thing but it shouldn't be implemented in a way that seriously restricts typing speed. So it's back to the Bold for me right now.

To end on a more positive note: except for the fonts that are too large for some e-mails and the bad reception in my area, I haven't been experiencing any serious bugs software-wise. I like the interface in general - and the touch-screen is at least as good as the iPhone's.

peter

[sheba619]

It took about 2 weeks from the time I ordered online to get the Storm. In that time, I read a lot of reviews and comments made on the forums. I was starting to think I made a huge mistake, but I thought I would try it out for a week or two and send it back to Verizon if it turned to be as "bad" as most of the reviews and comments stated.

I won't be sending the Storm back because I think it is a great device and an improvement over the Blackberry Curve. Yes, it does not have a physical keyboard but that was no secret. It took a little time to get use to the click screen and scrolling with my finger instead of a trackball, but it gets easier every day. I also think of the 3 new BB's that came out this fall, the Storm offers the best bang for the buck. I was with AT&T and I had been waiting for release of the Bold, but I was put off by the high price and the size of the Bold. I tried a Flip at a T-mo store and I was underwhelmed by its performance and cosmetics (cheap and plastic looking). The Storm is sleek and has some heft to it and it does not feel cheap.

Hopefully BB and Verizon will keep up with firmware updates to clear up remaining bugs and laggy performance issues.

[Rustproofcorn]

i type faster with the storm that i have with anyother phone i have ever used. i use suretype and for me i can do it with one hand pretty dang accurate.. i had a curve before this before the curve i had a env2 both i had to use two hands with... i love the storm..

[*&))]

Originally Posted by dakis

While I have to say that the tactile feedback makes the typing experience more similar to a physical keyboard (which is a very good thing), typing accuracy and speed have been so dismal for me that I'm selling mine.

I've been using it for about two weeks now and every time I have to type more than just a few words, the keyboard drives me nuts. Here are my reasons for this:

- the physical click seriously limits the maximum typing speed because the button doesn't depress quickly enough

- accuracy is very low - and to make things worse, correcting input is solved very badly on the Storm. The former might have to do with my typing technique but despite the fact that I'm a very experienced "typist" on both physical and on-screen keyboards, I just can't seem to figure out how to work things out. I already force myself to meticulously differentiate between (imaginary) left and right side of the keyboard, making sure I only push "right side buttons" with my right hand and vice versa. But things just don't work right

- In addition to all of this, there's a problem I'm having that most other current Storm users won't have: since I type in German about 50% of the time, I have to use umlauts (ö, ä, ü). Getting these on the keyboard is a major pain and essentially cuts the typing speed in half - the German keyboard layout is a mess.

I have used an iPhone and a Touch HD in the past and it is my honest opinion that the bold offers the worst typing experience of those three - tactile feedback is a very good thing but it shouldn't be implemented in a way that seriously restricts typing speed. So it's back to the Bold for me right now.

To end on a more positive note: except for the fonts that are too large for some e-mails and the bad reception in my area, I haven't been experiencing any serious bugs software-wise. I like the interface in general - and the touch-screen is at least as good as the iPhone's.

peter

Like I said before its a addition to the portfolio of devices. There is just about something for everyone. You want faster and accursed typing stick with a physical keyboard. No need to slim the engineering, over a personal preference. It works for me and when it doesn't I use something else. And I'm not just saying that because I love Blackberrys, I'm a Mac fanboy as much as the next crazed psycho that hangs on Job's every word during a keynote, but the Iphone didn't do it for me. Its a great device that fits does it for some, and not for others. As is this device and just about all others, it has its drawbacks what doesn't but overall I will have to fight to keep its name out of the dirt.

[dakis]

Originally Posted by Rustproofcorn

i type faster with the storm that i have with anyother phone i have ever used. i use suretype

Suretype is very good for English - typing in German is close to impossible because of the Umlaut problem I outlined above.


peter

[dakis]

Originally Posted by *&))

I'm a Mac fanboy as much as the next crazed psycho that hangs on Job's every word during a keynote, but the Iphone didn't do it for me.

I'm a Mac person myself - while I like the iPhone in general, I greatly prefer using the Touch HD I got from my employer. It can be used as a modem, can run instant messengers in the background and I can use stereo bluetooth headsets with it (theoretically, I don't own one).

As opposed to most other people, I use a touch screen phone for work and a blackberry bold at home This basically has medical reasons - I used to have RSI from typing too much and since I started using a blackberry at home (rather than typing on my notebook) I cut my daily time in front of a computer by about 3 hours - which did the trick and killed the pain...

peter

[zehnmm]

In my eyes, the Storm is the best phone, or among the very best, that has come out since Motorola's Startac and Timeport.

All phones have pluses and minuses; hence, the old adage of "your mileage may vary" applies. I respect and appreciate the fact that perhaps the phone is not for everyone.

In all candor, I believe that a significant percentage of the reviews of the Storm were incomplete --- such as someone using the phone for only a few days.

If the phone was such a loser, why is it that Verizon sold all that were available online by about 8:30am on Nov. 21? In other words they sold out the initial supply in less than 12 hours.

Regards,

Steve

[Blackberryer]

Originally Posted by Rustproofcorn

what is really sad is all the negatives about the storm has made it almost stand still in sales according to my local verizon rep.

I hope that's not the case, and if so it annoys me to no end. The David Pogues of the world who are locked into their mid-2000's BlackBerry thinking have really tried to kill this device.

To continue gushing about the STorm, I remember when I had the iPhone and as much as I loved it, I kept wishing it had the functionality of a BB. Now I have that and what's better, the Storm really does make the iPhone seem like a kid's toy. (Yes, I've heard that comment a billion times, but here it seems appropriate considering that they're both targeting the same audience.) I am preaching to everyone I can about how incredible the device is. Generally, people are wowed by SurePress.

To the poster having problems typing:

I honestly haven't had the same experience. Typing has been virtually flawless for me, and I am by no means a slow typist. The complaints about the screen not clicking up fast enough for the same letter are lost on me, I haven't seen it.

[addiecool]

I love the storm. This is the first phone that kept me awake whole night for wanting to play with it. At first I hated it but within hours I started to love it. I love my mac and I love my storm


.yooohoooo

[hudres]

Originally Posted by dakis

I'm a Mac person myself - while I like the iPhone in general, I greatly prefer using the Touch HD I got from my employer. It can be used as a modem, can run instant messengers in the background and I can use stereo bluetooth headsets with it (theoretically, I don't own one).

As opposed to most other people, I use a touch screen phone for work and a blackberry bold at home This basically has medical reasons - I used to have RSI from typing too much and since I started using a blackberry at home (rather than typing on my notebook) I cut my daily time in front of a computer by about 3 hours - which did the trick and killed the pain...

peter

Pater: While I sympathize with your German typing issue, I honestly think that RIM did not design this phone with you in mind. As a Canadian company, with a huge US customer base and vast numbers of English-speaking people as users. and judging from the way alternate characters are addressed in the current keyboard layout, non-English users were clearly not at the top of RIM's agenda during design.

Having said that, I will remind you that as a virtual keyboard, is will only be a matter of time before someone comes out with a German keyboard upgrade which will address the common usage of non-English characters.

The same argument can be made for French users. Thenm there are the Asian users who require a totally different keyboard. SInce they can be accommodated , I see no reason why German will not be. The statistics of the numbers of users dictate when this gets done.

As far as the click cutting your typing speed, I suggest that you check out some of the threads elsewhere in this forum which address a simple mechanical adjustment to improve the speed of the click action. 73

PS: The more I use it and the more I tweak the settings, the more I love the Storm.

[Mark PPG]

Wirelessly posted (9000)

Auto text should be able to overcome your Ö problems. Just type it without and have auto text change it for you.

[dakis]

Originally Posted by hudres

Pater: While I sympathize with your German typing issue, I honestly think that RIM did not design this phone with you in mind. As a Canadian company, with a huge US customer base and vast numbers of English-speaking people as users.

The Storm is made exclusively for Vodafone and its partner providers and joint ventures (like Verizon). It was introduced in Germany, which is Vodafone's biggest market, at about the same time as it was in the US. Vodafone has 34 Million customers in Germany alone. Vodafone's partner company Swisscom has another 3 million German speaking customers. So I'm sorry to disagree - the German speaking parts of Europe are among the main markets for the Storm. Perhaps not for other RIM devices but definitely for the Storm. To give them some credit, German isn't the easiest language for keyboards, auto-correction etc. It took Apple 3 firmware releases to get the German spell-checking and keyboard right on the iPhone. But saying the Storm isn't made for this market is incorrect, in my opinion.


peter

[Rustproofcorn]

Originally Posted by dakis

The Storm is made exclusively for Vodafone and its partner providers and joint ventures (like Verizon). It was introduced in Germany, which is Vodafone's biggest market, at about the same time as it was in the US. Vodafone has 34 Million customers in Germany alone. Vodafone's partner company Swisscom has another 3 million German speaking customers. So I'm sorry to disagree - the German speaking parts of Europe are among the main markets for the Storm. Perhaps not for other RIM devices but definitely for the Storm. To give them some credit, German isn't the easiest language for keyboards, auto-correction etc. It took Apple 3 firmware releases to get the German spell-checking and keyboard right on the iPhone. But saying the Storm isn't made for this market is incorrect, in my opinion.


peter

makes sense to me...