Test Center review: BlackBerry Storm bridges business and lifestyle
The new BlackBerry 9530, commonly called the Blackberry Storm, has the familiar fingertip navigation and flick-to-scroll gesture common to most widescreen phones. Apart from that, the BlackBerry Storm is very much its own device, unmistakably a BlackBerry in its strong messaging, connectivity, and extensibility, but carried to a new level of usability by a touchscreen display and a redesigned GUI.
BlackBerry Storm
Very Good
8.4
Research in MotionBlackBerry Storm
Very Good
8.4
Research in Motion
Extensibility (20%)
Messaging (20%)
Networking (20%)
Usability (20%)
Multimedia (10%)
Value (10%)
Extensibility (20%)
Messaging (20%)
Networking (20%)
Usability (20%)
Multimedia (10%)
Value (10%)
Cost
$199 with two-year coverage contract; currently exclusively available through Verizon in United States
Platforms
Windows PC with USB, optional Bluetooth for BlackBerry Desktop; Windows or Mac for Verizon 3G modem (tethering) software included; any system with USB Storage Class support for file transfer; all existing BlackBerry and Java MIDP applications are supported; included Roxio media manager software requires Windows
Bottom Line
The BlackBerry Storm, RIM's first touchscreen handset, brings the business and lifestyle worlds together. It lacks Wi-Fi, but delivers an uncommonly rich out-of-box experience for $199. Highlights include Verizon's quick 3G network, the ability to mount the Storm as a USB drive, quick-fix navigation, client-side Office document viewing, and a bright, wide screen that displays all apps in both portrait and landscape modes.
The iPhone, T-Mobile G1, and Touch Diamond have Wi-Fi; BlackBerry Storm does not. For some readers, the absence of Wi-Fi and the inferior Web browser (RIM's is barely serviceable) will add up to a showstopper. I can't keep you from blowing off the Storm for the lack of Wi-Fi, but I'd advise that you'd be making a mistake to do it without at least looking at the smartphone yourself.
[ Competition among business smartphones is heating up. See InfoWorld's guide to next-gen mobile and Test Center reviews of the iPhone 3G, T-Mobile G1, Palm Treo Pro, and HP iPaq 910c. ]
RIM had to make some sacrifices to bring the Storm to Verizon for less than $200. This isn't a device that RIM could stamp out from its standard QWERTY template. Everything is new, and until the R&D is paid down by volume, something had to give. In the BlackBerry Storm, Wi-Fi got the chop. If this inclines you to blow off this handset, I suggest you take a beat. Omitting Wi-Fi made room for an enormous combination of features you don't find in sub-$200 devices. It's a matter of balance, and I consider the scales tipped decisively in the buyer's favor.
Getting past Wi-FiFor file transfers, BlackBerry Storm works as a mountable USB Storage Class device; no drivers or proprietary client software is required. Storm operates on CDMA/EvDO and GSM/UMTS 3G networks, so it's global without caveats; plus, once you've paid your debt to Verizon, it will jump with you to any carrier you choose. Verizon bundles a removable 8GB SD (Secure Digital) card, and its data plan supports tethering, so you can use the phone to connect your notebook to Verizon's network with functionality identical to Verizon's very popular cell data access dongles/cards. Verizon client software for Macs and PCs configures the Storm as a modem automatically, but even that utility is optional.
The BlackBerry Storm's tower-triangulation-assisted GPS powers Google Maps, E-911, location-aware Java and JavaScript applications, and VZ Nav, a very cool voice-enabled turn-by-turn navigator. VZ Nav gets a fast fix on your location down to the street address, and if someone wonders where you are, you can e-mail or text them your whereabouts from within the navigator. I have yet to determine whether VZ Nav is trialware, as Sprint Navigator is on the Touch Diamond, but with BlackBerry Storm's loudspeaker and big display, I'd pay for it or my prevailing BlackBerry turn-by-turn favorite, TeleNav.
E-mail attachments can be viewed on the BlackBerry Storm without being bounced to a server. Attachments can be saved to flash memory and transferred via USB, or attached to outbound messages. Images and video shot with the onboard camera, a 3.2-megapixel device with optical auto-focus and a very bright LED lamp (I was able to shoot an analog clock from 15 feet away in total darkness), can be saved to flash memory or sent via e-mail or Multimedia Message Service.
RIM got perspective rotation absolutely right. All the BlackBerry Storm's applications, including the entire library of existing BlackBerry and Java MIDP software, operate in portrait and landscape mode without having to be rewritten for it. Screen orientation flips easily and only when you want it to, unlike the iPhone and Touch Diamond, which sometimes have trouble figuring out which way is up.
Continued
สรุป เป็นเรื่องเกี่ยวกับการใช้BlackBerry BlackBerryใช้งานได้หลายอย่างเช่น การสื่อสารโดยใช้wi-fi สื่อที่เป็นมัลติมีเดียต่างๆ wi-fiช่วยในการถ่ายโอนข้อมูล BlackBerryสามารถดูอีเมลล์สามรถส่งรูปภาพและข้อมูลต่างๆโดยแนบไฟล์
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