Blackberry Storm: A Disappointment

I’ve used BlackBerry phones for years. When Verizon began selling the Storm, RIM’s answer to the iPhone, I went to the store to try it.

Within five minutes, I realized I wouldn’t be buying it.

It’s Slow

I tested the same app on both my Pearl and the Storm at the same time. The Pearl always finished in half the time.

The Storm has nicer visual effects, but that doesn’t make up for how slow it feels when moving through basic menus.

The Click Screen is a gimmick.

The Storm’s main feature is a touchscreen that physically clicks when you press it. The idea is to give you tactile feedback while typing, similar to a real keyboard.

In reality, it feels awkward. The click is fine for typing, but frustrating for everything else. To select a menu item or scroll, you have to press until it clicks. That gets annoying quickly.

The “click” isn’t even real. Teardowns show it’s just a button behind the screen, so the whole display moves when you press it.

It’s Buggy

During my short time using the store demo unit, I noticed the following:

• The phone froze and needed a reset.
• The click mechanism stopped responding consistently.
• Random graphical glitches

Is this a finished product?

The Verdict

I still love BlackBerry, but trying the Storm made me realize how much I miss an iPhone.