[Thom]

Originally Posted by akosnitzky

Yes. I am using the 8830 now and wanted to upgrade but as a power user, I need to have certain functions working effectively.

I am a I.T. Admin and would consider myself a power user as well. I too require certain functions to work well, namely e-mail and tethering. Since I am eligible for an upgrade, I am going to try out the Storm and if I am unable to get the job done, I will return it and get the 8830. Some reviews say typing on the Storm is not that great and others say that after spending some time with it, the typing speed improves. Either way, I am taking it all in for consideration. I just don't want to jump on the bandwagon saying this is a bad product from RIM until I have personally used it myself for a small period of time.

[webmstrk9]

Another review found at yahoo by Walt Mossberg

[BB8100]

I have an 8830, iphone and Bold. I made the "give the keyboard at chance" effort this summer on the iphone. I got good with it but in the end NOTHING beats a RIM qwerty. NOTHING. Not iphone, not Suretype. I write around 100 emails a day and am constantly on the device. Iphone was stopping me from doing what I had to. Also the ability to still get emails while on the phone was a major plus for Bold (my unlocked unbranded 0.190 software does this!). 8830 was good Bold is great and iphone was a huge disappointment in the end. I will wait to see how you all fair with the Storm but comments like "spending time with it" are buzzwords for second best in my book and I can not afford that compromise.

[adjuster11]

Anyone know if the storm will be able to take a photo, and attach it as a Jpeg to an email? I don't like Verizone forcing you to go to a computer to sign onto Verizon, to view a photo send by a fellow Verizon customer. I'd prefer to just get the jpeg.

I want to be able to snap the photos, send it direct via email from the Storm, as a jpeg attachment. I'll probably crank down the resolution to 640 x 480 on the phone for those cases, and just sent 3-4 photos, not a whole bunch.

[rachamphetamine]

I actually really enjoyed both of these reviews by BGR and Engadget. I enjoy reading negative features as much as positive features and I found that neither of the two dampened my hope to own a Storm at some point in the near future. Having both sides of the phone shown helps me personally think more critically about the choice that I'm making, though it is important for everyone to remember that even if there are some negative things coming out now in all the blazes of glory near the Storm's launch that there's no way to know whether it is right for you until it's in your hands (as ndub said quite well above).

All I have to say about the light "leaking" on the edges of the screen is that my Curve does that now and my 8800 did as well, so I'm not sure why it should concern me that much. I'm still mulling over the reviews, though, and will be interested to see what all gets posted in this thread.

[Frank Castle]

Being the BES admin I get every new device so I'll have one to put through its paces. Unsure if I'll dig the clickable screen vs. the Bold as the Bold is a solid classic BB.

The reviews are as I expected and to a degree unfair as as with iPod it's hard to better what apple has with music / media / iTunes intergration. I don't obtain my media that way so it's really of no value to me but for the average consumer it's all packaged very nicely. Enter AppStore which is 99% consumer focused so it's a nice ecosystem to feed Apple money.

I think RIM met their goal in putting there name firmly in the consumer mind and coming very close to beating iPhone. This isn't a race about right here and now, this market will continue to grow and market share will increase and decline as new devices are released. RIM is better positioned for growth due to their multiple carrier agreements. Apple is tied to at&t until 2011 or so. I don't see any huge design changes in the next 6 months - 1 year. They will have a larger software base (mostly around entertainment) but that's not my thing (as well a large % of mobile users).

All that being said I take every review for what it is, some reviews focus on comparing web browsing, some the media playback, others the application and how to obtain them. I don't see any exclusive application agreements and you'll likely find almost every app cross platform so these companies can get market share / exposure.

There will be no perfect device for ALL users, that is a RIM strength as you have a variety of devices (and carriers) to select from. Want a touch screen .. Storm, classic BB form - Bold etc.

To me what matters is being able to provide the things users want to use in both a professional and personal manner AND having the management and policies to satisify company regulations and validate we are getting value for our expense. Presently Apple fails at doing that so I can see the Storm getting adopted in companies for those reasons to satisfy the "I want a touch screen" crowd. At many companies the iPhone is just not an option at the moment and from talks with at&t, not a market Apple cares about other then providing basic "enterprise" support.

[lambdacoreaz]

I love how the PCworld review has a clueless analyst reviewing the phone...just really disappoints me when she uses the word "mechanical feel"...if only she did research before she reviewd it...sigh*

[voyager9355]

Hi all,

I went to a Storm pre launch thing at my local VZW store this morning. (3 customers...15 VZW folk, which I thought was amusing!)

I had a chance to play with a Storm for about 40 minutes or so.

I was truly hoping that the touch/click screen would save the "female BB user with fingernails" some frustration while typing/navigating, hoping that I could happily tap tap tap away using my nails. Sadly, it was not to be. The screen was incredibly responsive to my fingers as expected, though...moved, scrolled, highlighted, etc., with ease. Looks like I will stick with my Curve, for now {{SIGH}}

Horizontal to vertical was pretty quick. They had a couple movie trailers loaded, and they looked great. I can absolutely see myself sitting on a plane watching a movie on the Storm. Screen is really nice. Cursor control in the browser was fun to play with, too. I was pleasantly surprised with the size and feel, compared to AT&T's Bold (which feels huge to me).

I have a couple pre-ordered for two of my users - I'll be anxious to hear their thoughts. It will certainly take some getting used to!

[jimmypowder]

I own a verizon Blackberry and a At&t iphone and I will honestly give you grades on the features.Before i do though I will tell you a iphone on At&ts network would have been a killer.

Call Quality-Blackberry-A
Iphone-B
Could this be At& t's network? I think so.

Email- Blackberry -A-
Iphone-B+
If you need business email the Blackberry is superior even though
you get occasional outages.I find that viewing email is easier in the iphone
allowing zooming .pinching,etc.

Everything Else-Blackberry -C+ to B-
Iphone-A
Anything from web surfing,internet radio streaming,Free Gps navigation(verizon forces you to pay 10/monthly) is far superior on the iphone.

Now you know why i wish the iphone was on Verizon's network.It really is
a superior phone to the blackberry with the only exception being push email.

[jimmypowder]

I own a verizon Blackberry and a At&t iphone and I will honestly give you grades on the features.Before i do though I will tell you a iphone on verizon's network would have been a killer.

Call Quality-Blackberry-A
Iphone-B
Could this be At& t's network? I think so.

Email- Blackberry -A-
Iphone-B+
If you need business email the Blackberry is superior even though
you get occasional outages.I find that viewing email is easier in the iphone
allowing zooming .pinching,etc.

Everything Else-Blackberry -C+ to B-
Iphone-A
Anything from web surfing,internet radio streaming,Free Gps navigation(verizon forces you to pay 10/monthly) is far superior on the iphone.

Now you know why i wish the iphone was on Verizon's network.It really is
a superior phone to the blackberry with the only exception being push email.

[4Runner]

I'm sure you will get push back on your grades of the devices. However, I tend to agree with your assessment. Generally, anything typing centric will tend to favor keys and a BB (other than Storm) and all else the iPhone and that includes the phone calls. My kids are 8 and can operate my iPhone without issue. As for the network, it is all where you live. AT&T has wonderful coverage and I have no complaints whatsoever. Again, I type faster on my BB but for me, all the other advantages of my iPhone outweigh the typing factor.

[kootinator]

The typing function is virtually unusable, especially in the car. Hard to bring up contacts and select which number to dial. I will have to learn how to use the voice dial.

Typing or editing fields is a nightmare for my fat thumbs. Overall, I'll be returning if things don't get better after a couple more days.

The slow response from applications and other functions is quite frustrating also.

[Phil_Storm]

Originally Posted by kootinator

The typing function is virtually unusable, especially in the car.

because we all should be able to type and drive at the same time