[kurichan]

My 8703e has just about had it. I REALLY want a new and improved Curve, but it will be ages before that makes it to Verizon, so I am considering the Storm.

Comments are so scattered, and now that some time has passed, I am hoping we can do a "State of the Nation" thread on the Storm.

My main questions:

1. How buggy is the device at this point?
2. Will a heavy Blackberry mailer who loves his physical keyboard end up going nuts with the touch screen?
3. Is the GPS unlocked or not? Does it work with Google Maps?
4. How is the phone quality of the device?
5. How tough is the device (my 8703e is built like a TANK)?
6. Does the Storm display Japanese? Can it input Japanese?

Thanks for your input and helping me with my decision!

[fish2find]

Myself Im a 3rd party guinea pig so Id imagine bugs I see are self produced. Over all IMO not buggy at all. (My 1st BB)

Also my opinion, but the keyboard is very nice. I have FAT fingers (big hand bones LOL) but my fat fingers get around pretty good, its not great in full keyboard mode if your trying to one hand type, it kind of forces 2 thumbs or picks up the wrong key many times.

I cant answer the GPS unlocked question, but every mapping program Ive used has worked ok. I pay the extra for the navigator just because Ive had it before on other phones and like it.

I think over all its great quality, Ive heard some bad stories as with every phone, but my experience has been all good. With a good case it should hold up pretty strong (knock on wood) Mine has taken a couple hits to the floor and survived fine.

Hope that helps some.

[JeremyWI]

Wirelessly posted

If u have verizon the gps is unlocked to everything but google maps...on a different carrier it should be completely unlocked

[2 Samuel 22]

The Storm keyboard is not for everyone. If you absolutely love your physical QWERTY keyboard, you may not like the Storm. Thankfully VZW is good with their return policy.

The 8330 is a good solid device, a little fragile compared to the 8703e, and easier to scratch, but good nonetheless.

If you are patient, and can wait until later this year, there will be more devices to choose from.

I happen to like the Storm but also carry a Bold. Can I type faster on a physical QWERTY keyboard? Absolutely, it's a night and day difference. But I am not willing to part with my Storm, it's a keeper, for now.

[kurichan]

Originally Posted by 2 Samuel 22

The Storm keyboard is not for everyone. If you absolutely love your physical QWERTY keyboard, you may not like the Storm. Thankfully VZW is good with their return policy.

The 8330 is a good solid device, a little fragile compared to the 8703e, and easier to scratch, but good nonetheless.

If you are patient, and can wait until later this year, there will be more devices to choose from.

I happen to like the Storm but also carry a Bold. Can I type faster on a physical QWERTY keyboard? Absolutely, it's a night and day difference. But I am not willing to part with my Storm, it's a keeper, for now.

This is the rub... Ahhh... Decisions...

Anyone know if the Storm does Japanese?

[michael12005]

Biggest piece of junk ou there.

[kurichan]

Originally Posted by michael12005

Biggest piece of junk ou there.

Could you please expand on why you think so?

[2 Samuel 22]

I know the Bold does....I'll have to check if both the language and input support is there.

[kurichan]

Originally Posted by 2 Samuel 22

I know the Bold does....I'll have to check if both the language and input support is there.

Please! This is a big deal for me.

[skyman84]

Originally Posted by kurichan

1. How buggy is the device at this point?
[/LEFT]

Not very, no slow downs or problems of any kind with my storms

Originally Posted by kurichan

2. Will a heavy Blackberry mailer who loves his physical keyboard end up going nuts with the touch screen?
[/LEFT]

Probably, I find suretype is the quickest text entry system on the storm, but then i love my pearl! If you like the full qwerty of say a curve, you might want to sstear clear of the storm in favour of a bold

Originally Posted by kurichan

3. Is the GPS unlocked or not? Does it work with Google Maps?
[/LEFT]

Yes and yes ( but that may vary for network to network)

Originally Posted by kurichan

4. How is the phone quality of the device?
[/LEFT]

Stunning, even the speaker phone is very very good

Originally Posted by kurichan

5. How tough is the device (my 8703e is built like a TANK)?
[/LEFT]

It isn't to bad, certainly won't live up to the punishment the 8700's could take, but still a robust piece of kit, wouldn't like to give the screen a direct table corner hit tho!

Originally Posted by kurichan

6. Does the Storm display Japanese? Can it input Japanese?
[/LEFT]

Maybe! can't tell you, I'd expect so though,

Hope this helps?

[rupertnoton]

I went from the 8703e to the Storm. At first, the Storm took a little getting used to. My only gripe is that the Stormxxx8217;s OS is still far from perfect. That said, Ixxx8217;m currently a happy Storm owner and looking forward to future OS upgrades

[zero7404]

Originally Posted by kurichan

My 8703e has just about had it. I REALLY want a new and improved Curve, but it will be ages before that makes it to Verizon, so I am considering the Storm.

Comments are so scattered, and now that some time has passed, I am hoping we can do a "State of the Nation" thread on the Storm.

My main questions:

1. How buggy is the device at this point?
2. Will a heavy Blackberry mailer who loves his physical keyboard end up going nuts with the touch screen?
3. Is the GPS unlocked or not? Does it work with Google Maps?
4. How is the phone quality of the device?
5. How tough is the device (my 8703e is built like a TANK)?
6. Does the Storm display Japanese? Can it input Japanese?

Thanks for your input and helping me with my decision!

i have not been using it long enough (only a few hrs total), and i bought it from verizon to unlock and use with tmo, but here's my take so far:

i have an early model storm (my understanding is that there are 2 different models, the latter of which has rectified the 'bugginess' that ppl initially observed). i am running OS 4.7.0.76

1. i see no real bugs at this point. i do see minor lag when the device is trying to process multiple requests (as in, selecting an icon or pressing a button while it's thinking).

2. at first, yes. but just like ppl adopted to blackberries with a trackball, ppl will adapt to a touch screen just the same. i personally think that if you use it for a while, you will get used to it...eventually i prefer the screen real-estate over a trackball and physical keys.

3. it is unlocked and can be used with 3rd party apps, however i have seen threads of ppl that have issues with Google apps and the GPS. not sure where the problem is, but i think it's an app-isolated issue. i just installed telenav on mine so that i can answer ur question: it works fine.

4. build quality looks kind of exotic. i am very impressed with the build of this phone. although i'd wish the display was real glass, and the silver bezel had been constructed of metal rather than plastic.

5. i never dropped mine and do not want to know what would happen if i did. but i would imagine that it is as tough as a curve. they put an iphone in a blender on "will it blend ?"....wonder if they did the same thing with the storm

6. not sure on the languages, haven't tried.

hope this helped....

[BBG3]

Originally Posted by kurichan

My 8703e has just about had it. I REALLY want a new and improved Curve, but it will be ages before that makes it to Verizon, so I am considering the Storm.

Comments are so scattered, and now that some time has passed, I am hoping we can do a "State of the Nation" thread on the Storm.

My main questions:

1. How buggy is the device at this point?
2. Will a heavy Blackberry mailer who loves his physical keyboard end up going nuts with the touch screen?
3. Is the GPS unlocked or not? Does it work with Google Maps?
4. How is the phone quality of the device?
5. How tough is the device (my 8703e is built like a TANK)?
6. Does the Storm display Japanese? Can it input Japanese?

Thanks for your input and helping me with my decision!

I have had my Storm for about 2 weeks from Bell in Canada. First impressions of the device is awesome. I have had the 8703e, the Pearl, the Curve then went to the iPHONE!! At first glance I definitely compared it directly to the iPhone. What really made me turn back to the Blackberry is the BES. I have to say the iPhone is awesome and can't take away from the hype. The only downside was the importance of my business and work e-mails, which the iPhone could not fulfill. In retrospect, everyone must remember the first release of the iPhone and 2nd release of their iPhone 3G had their share of problems before it was titled one of the best phones of the year.

Now, with the bad press of the Storm during its first release must have been a lot of hype as I didn't have the same negative issues as most.

1. I have v4.7.0.76 and haven't seen any issues. The lag I see is very minor, pretty much on par as the touchscreen on the iPhone. I do like the click though, just because of the typing feature.

2. I don't think so. I do however, type super fast on portrait mode on my Storm which shows the suretype keyboard. That being said I typed really fast on my pearl, and this was no different. As for the landscape mode in QWERTY, I will admit I typed much faster on my curve and 8703e in comparison. But after some tips from this forum in changing some settings it is not so bad if you have never used a physical QWERTY keyboard before.

3. I have both the BB maps and the Google Maps. I have read so far it looks like it is network specific. I seem to have more accurate location searches on my BB maps and the google maps always seems to say "waiting for GPS". So, I am guessing on the Bell network it is blocked to any 3rd party mapping systems.

4. Quality is fantastic. It is a solid feel and the screen brightness and resolution is so crisp. It is definitely sharper than my old iPhone and much more scratch resistant that any of my other BB's.

5. I mean it is a solid build compared to the 8703e, but I wouldn't want to intentionally drop my Storm.

6. I don't know...

I hope this helps. I am really happy with my Storm and glad I made the switch. I am probably more impressed with the BES, and everything multimedia wise on the Storm is a huge bonus. I have tons of music and videos to watch and listen while on the road. And I can tether it to my MAC. Can't ask for more at this point.

Good Luck.

[Daveftw]

Wirelessly posted

My storm locks up and has constant battery pulls and its slow to type I hate it

[2 Samuel 22]

Originally Posted by kurichan

Please! This is a big deal for me.

In 4.7.103 beta, I can confirm the following options are available:

East Asian Characters and Font Support:
-Traditional Chinese Characters and Font Support
-Simplified Chinese Characters and Font Support
-Japanese Characters and Font Support

and

East Asian Language and Input Support:
-Japanese Romaji Input Method

[Arcangel]

yes after the "break in period " Im totally happy with mine

[WhizzledBlury]

You wont be able to send text messages in Japanese but it does support the characters... hell, it supports Russian, Norwegian.. you name it... except Lithuanian... I wish it supported Lithuanian...but... why wouldn't it support Japanese?

[marjama]

Originally Posted by kurichan

My 8703e has just about had it. I REALLY want a new and improved Curve, but it will be ages before that makes it to Verizon, so I am considering the Storm.

Comments are so scattered, and now that some time has passed, I am hoping we can do a "State of the Nation" thread on the Storm.

My main questions:

1. How buggy is the device at this point?
2. Will a heavy Blackberry mailer who loves his physical keyboard end up going nuts with the touch screen?
3. Is the GPS unlocked or not? Does it work with Google Maps?
4. How is the phone quality of the device?
5. How tough is the device (my 8703e is built like a TANK)?
6. Does the Storm display Japanese? Can it input Japanese?

Thanks for your input and helping me with my decision!

1. It is not buggy at all in my opinion. There is a delay for the camera but has been fixed with the beta OSs.

2. The keyboard deffinately take some getting used to I'd say if you can make it past the first month without going crazy you will be used to it enough that it will no longer drive you crazy.

3. The GPS is unlocked. On google maps it cannot find your exact location but it can get within like 2000 meters or something.

4. I have found the phone quality to be great both in speaker and not in it.

5. I think it is built well i cannot compare it to other blackberrys since this is my first but i have dropped it many times on carpet and cement and it still works the same as always. (Note: I do have a rubber cover on it)

6. Not too sure about this one but I imagine it can.

Hope this helps and the decision goes well.

[kurichan]

Originally Posted by 2 Samuel 22

In 4.7.103 beta, I can confirm the following options are available:

East Asian Characters and Font Support:
-Traditional Chinese Characters and Font Support
-Simplified Chinese Characters and Font Support
-Japanese Characters and Font Support

and

East Asian Language and Input Support:
-Japanese Romaji Input Method

Thanks a billion! With this, I've decided to give it a try!

[mashi]

i am using 8900 and bold. just got storm from verizon. maybe i am not used to it yet. but qwerty keyboard really kick storm's touch. i don't know if i am going to keep storm or just return it..