[rrhutch]

My journey with smartphones stretches back to the Treo 600 and has since included a Treo 650, a Treo 700w, a Motorola Q, a Blackberry 8830WE, a Blackberry 8330 Curve and now the Blackberry Storm. Some say I have a issues and I will not even try to deny that I should probably be in some kind of 12 step program.

Every since I switched to Blackberries I have not looked back, and have found their devices much easier to use and better suited for my work environment. So now I am on my third Blackberry...the Storm. What are my thoughts (as if it matters).

Positives:

* Touch screen is nice feature. I like the clickable feature and now after a few days of use I feel like I am getting the hang of it.
* SureType is becoming a pleasant surprise after getting the hang of it. I have decided I like using it to type many things b/c the portrait mode gives you more screen area to see what you are typing.
* WordMole...an addictive game. Also a great tool to get used to selecting letters on the touch screen. Prepare to feel vocabulary deficient.
* Battery life is not disappointing, but I still don't think it is outstanding.
* Running videos works well (for most formats). I loaded some kids videos for a plane trip to keep my kids occupied.
* New Blackberry Browser has incorporated a lot of the display features I liked in Opera Mini. Still not all that you would want, but a big improvement over the one of the Curve
* Clock...I really like the clock feature when the phone is plugged into power or the computer.
* Application Store is a great feature, but there definitely needs to be a much wider selection of apps soon and very soon
* Screen resolution is outstanding
* Syncing w/ iTunes is nice
* Great camera

Negatives:
* Automatic screen orientation is buggy as noted by reviewers more capable than myself.
* I am not sure I will ever get as fast on the Storm keyboard as I was on the Curve
* Interacting with the browser and selecting links can sometime be frustrating sometimes
* When in messaging I don't like the two step process in creating an email where you have to choose Blackberry Messenger, Email, SMS, MMS, etc. Everyone once in a while it is a nice feature, but 90% of the time I am doing email and it would be nice to quickly open a new email
* Loss of easy keyboard shortcuts. I don't think there is a way around this, but it is a missed feature
* I wish dialing was easier and that speed-dial was quicker to access. It is not really speed dial anymore if you have to go through a couple of screens to be able to speed dial someone
* The device has a tendancy to be sluggish at times even with all extra applications closed
* Where syncing w/ iTunes is nice it is annoying you cannot sync video files from iTunes.
* It would be nice if the Media Player support m4v format so that you did not have to convert files
* Not continuing the same type of microUSB connection is annoying
* Blackberry (or Verizon...not sure which one) has really started to skimp on provided cases. I got a great case with my 8830, a sorry sleeve for my 8330 and to my surprise nothing at all with my Storm.

Summary:

* If you are not a techie type that is willing to put up w/ some bugs for the sake of new technology, wait until some software updates get realesed
* If you are used to typing up a storm on your Curve or 8830, don't think life will be the same on the Storm. You will get used to the entry method, but I don't think it will ever reach the same speed as the devices with regular keyboards
* Order a bluetooth keyboard for longer messages (I would recommend this for any Blackberry device - your thumbs will appreciate it)
* If you already have a Curve, don't give it away too quickly. Keep it around just in case you don't warm up to the Storm

Overall I think it is a good device and if someone wants the touch screen features and updated software, I would not hesitate to recommend the Storm. I will keep my Storm, and I will also be looking forward to hopefully soon to be released software updates.