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Ned Potter is the science correspondent for ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson." He has reported on such topics as space exploration, the human genome and climate change.
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Taking the World by Storm
November 21, 2008 1:39 PM
I've spent a couple of days with the new BlackBerry Storm, the just-released handheld that may be the first serious competition to Apple's iPhone.
It was grueling. My thumb prints are all over the test model we were sent. Somebody had to do it. You can watch our webcast piece HERE.
My work was slowed by editors asking, "Whaddya think of it? Is it cool?"
Yeah, it is. It looks remarkably like the iPhone, and it's clear that some very smart engineers labored hard to make a touch-screen handheld that's more practical than Apple's. The screen has a tiny bit of give to it -- press on it and there's a subtle click, something the iPhone lacks. If you're trying to type something, you know when you've actually typed.
But is it an iPhone killer? Zach Fannin, my friend and editor, joined me in some review-surfing, and the consensus seemed to be: not quite.
I got a kick out of this line from the Chicago Tribune: "The Storm is more like a flurry, failing to add much more than a trace of innovation."
Ryan Kim of the San Francisco Chronicle asked, "is it better than the iPhone? Short answer: It's close, but no."
Sascha Segan of PCMag.com: "The BlackBerry Storm is as big a deal as the iPhone, but our own experience with the device, coupled with widespread media reports of bugs, causes us to wonder whether it's ready for prime time."
Daniel Dumas at Wired was more enthusiastic: "Text messaging is amazing — pounding out a long-winded SMS (with a lot of compound words and no abbreviations) is just as easy as typing one out on a MacBook's keyboard. This is the single killer feature of the Storm and if not for a few glaring flaws, a good reason to go out and buy one right now." His review, though, was titled, "Looking for an iPhone Killer? Better Keep Looking.
The Storm costs $199 with a two-year contract from Verizon Wireless, so it's in the same range as the iPhone (which uses AT&T). One can't help wondering, in a down economy, if there are going to be that many takers, but perhaps --please feel free to weigh in -- it's just fun to talk about that gadget you'd get if you could.
One last tale. By way of experiment, I typed in the opening passage from Richard III onto the Storm's virtual keyboard. Here's what Shakespeare wrote, presumably with a pen:
"Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried."
Here's how I did, typing it in on the touch screen:
"Now is the winner of our disconntebt
made flpeipus summer by this sum of york
And all the xlpiss that lpurd upon our house
I'm the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
"Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry"
November 21, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (9)
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I just picked mine up an hour ago. I love it, so far.
The "clicking screen" is a great touch. No pun intended. And the secret to better typing - using the screen sideways, to get a better keyboard layout.
However, Verizons "App store" blows.
Posted by: Mike M. | Nov 21, 2008 5:41:09 PM
I just want to make a correction. The iPhone does have a clicking sound when texting or typing an e-mail by default. I disabled mine from making noises since most of the time I am in meetings. After all, who really wants to be the center of attention when you are texting something funny to your 10 year old?
Posted by: dtajon | Nov 21, 2008 5:51:19 PM
I often wonder why people want to purchase a phone similar to the IPHONE why not take the leap a just by the Iphone nothing in this world comes close to this device its the best way to go AT&T for making the world a more user friendly place the iphone rocks
Posted by: toni | Nov 21, 2008 11:21:06 PM
I sold my Dell laptop and got my 16gig iPhone in South Africa. I love it. It has changed the lives of everyone in my family of three. Blackberry needs to make a new kind of device to replace my laptop not follow Apple's lead like Microsoft.
Posted by: Heath | Nov 22, 2008 4:13:10 AM
dtajon: their talking about the Storm screen having a clicking _feel_, not sound
toni: well for one thing, you have to use AT&T - that's reason enough not to get the iPhone
Posted by: dmr | Nov 22, 2008 12:31:16 PM
As this is a science and society blog, can anyone actually explain why people have always got to have the latest gadgets ?
Some things are genuinely new and innovative, like the PC when it arrived, and the mobile phone.
But you seem to have experienced questions like "Whaddya think of it? Is it cool?" rather than "Crikey, Carstairs old chap, that's a wonderfully new and innovative piece of technology, I can see a great future for that, I wish it had been invented 50 years ago, it would have made my whole life so much easier !"
Have we reached the stage where progress is to satsify psychological needs rather than practical ones...
If so, why bother ?
Posted by: Worz13 | Nov 24, 2008 4:13:01 AM
Worz13 : Unfortunatly, yes we are moreso satisfying psychological needs right now. And you also asked "why?". Simple answer : It makes money!
Posted by: Coaler | Nov 26, 2008 2:23:37 PM
This article seems biased right off the bat. Ofcourse your not going to be a wiz at typing on a new device right away (how long did it take you to type that passage with the iphone when it first came out? - how many mistakes were made?).
After a couple of days I'm pretty fast with it and make very few mistakes. The stock browser sucks, but it takes seconds to download opera mini and use that instead (this is a much better option imho). Did the 1st gen iphone have bugs when it was released? Was the 3G iphone locking up, crashing, and buggy when it was first released? Yes and Yes. The minor bugs and interface glitches (kind of slow transitions) are semi-expected on this kind of device. I expect Blackberry will be releasing patches to enhance the browsing/navigating experience (just as apple did with the iphone).
On a side note I use a 3G iphone on a daily bases. I see the pros and cons of both phones. They are both good phones. Which one is better is up to the user.
Another thing to mention is the Verizon network is better than AT&T, the phone plans seems to offer more variation, and Verizon has a well deserved reputation for great customer support. Combine these facts with a quality handheld device from a company with a great reputation for standing behind quality devices and I think you will see the value added by the Storm.
Posted by: sean | Nov 26, 2008 2:30:10 PM
the phone seems nice. Looks nice and probably functions nice, no doubt. But it probably doesn't have the heightened functionality of the iphone. The iphone is backed by itunes which hosts millions of applications that are very easy to install (if you have some common knowledge of itunes). My experience with the BB is that it is never easy to install an application on it, and when you do the chances of the software being buggy and destroying your phone are always present. Have not experienced that since i got the iphone 3g and i have installed well over 100 apps (free and paid).
Second Verizon's customer service is not as good as you think. I racked up $8k (yes $8,000) in data usage all because one of the store employees said that since i had Verizon's data plan i could use my phone to tether. Well turns out I did have the data plan with verizon but it was only for the laptop and tethering was not included. In the end (after 2 months of arguing with verizon and them forgetting everything they said) I got rid of the payment and only had to pay $50 to get rid of the $8k. Verizon is not that good. But yes they are slightly better.
Posted by: Andrew | Nov 26, 2008 3:15:58 PM
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