Many bugs have marred our test, so much so that one has sometimes wondered if we were not dealing with a prototype … Yet this is much of the BlackBerry Storm offered exclusively by SFR. To temper the criticism by the first purchasers of the Storm, RIM is working on an update of its firmware (OS 4.7) supposed to correct the problems of stability. Pending any such SHIFT is what we thought the first touchscreen BlackBerry.
A simple interface overshadowed by many bugs
Compared to iPhone 3G, the Storm is more compact but also much thicker (13.95 mm for the Storm to the iPhone contre12.3 mm) and heavy (155g against 133g for the iPhone). Its design is more compact and overweight finally gives a good grip.
Quite aesthetically successful, the Storm benefits from a complete packaging consisting of a thick cover, headphones, a charger with multiple outlets, cloth, USB cable, the docs and CDs.
Overall finishes are correct apart from the space found between the screen and the perimeter of clickable phone.
Besides the fact that this space allows light to escape from the kindness of the backlight of the screen and it gives an impression of “cheap” away from the traditional image of the BlackBerry, this raises questions mainly on the strength of This screen clickable undergoes a quite disturbing.
The Storm has a simple touch interface (OS 4.7) consisting of large icons easily clickable finger. The home page provides access to messages (SMS, MMS, Mail), address book, calendar, Web browser, space Vodafone Live and multimedia content.
The menu button takes you logically to the main menu you can display in landscape mode by tilting the mobile. Unfortunately, this step is often winded and whether to display a web page or a menu, the mobile is taking too long to switch from portrait to landscape mode. In comparison, the iPhone, the Omnia or Touch HD are much more rapid.
The Storm OS 4.7 also incorporates a new feature: the Application Center. Much like the App Store, this store allows you to download software directly from their mobile applications such as YouTube, Facebook or Windows Live Messenger. For the moment the Application Center will offer a few dozen applications and lacks the ergonomic and classifications (top 25, research, free or not applicable) found on the iPhone.
Well designed and easy to access, interface Storm is in contrast penalized by too many bugs.
Difficult to reference all the software problems, but we can discuss the management of its very random, the device suddenly stops responding to pressure from the finger or the network connection is cut for no reason and that we must reactivate manually using the Storm is sometimes ordeal.
The interface of the Storm leaves an impression of “not finished” really unusual for RIM and some prototypes that we had in our hands like the Omnia or the Sony Ericsson C905 we have even looked more mature …
There are also slowing as frequent as confusing. Go to basic features like dialing may take a few seconds, when she will deign to work!
A touch screen confusing and imprecise
If the OS seems somewhat successful, what about the touch screen, more than a disappointment, a real disaster!
The concept of clickable screen is a real innovation, however: when the pressure is on, it sinks slightly and used to limit entry errors while providing greater comfort. But in reality, this screen is particularly unclear.
In Web browsing, for example, when you select an area on the screen, you end up pointing the area that is 1 cm above! To point the area you actually want to select, we must anticipate the placement of the mouse and simple actions such as copy / paste becomes really tedious.
However, the Storm is not without ergonomic innovation; to copy / paste, you simply place a finger at the beginning of a sentence that you want to select, place another finger at the end of this sentence and the selected text becomes blue. Then just click on the menu then copy. In theory, it is simple, but in practice, with a touch interface imprecise handling difficult to achieve.
Similarly, the vagueness of the screen is problematic to use the QWERTY keyboard. Think you select a key, but finally one of which is validated next. The attachment is long and frustrating, the last straw for a BlackBerry.
With a weight of 155g and a thickness of 14 mm, one could imagine that the Storm would benefit from a good autonomy. New disappointment: the 1350 mAh battery that allow day use, the better!
It has many positive points that BlackBerry Storm?
Between the frustration occasioned by the imprecise touch interface and the many bugs engendered by its use, the BlackBerry Storm is clearly disappointing.
Yet if we forget the lack of Wi-Fi, it integrates conventional equipment consists of a GPS, an HSDPA (3G + 7.2 Mbps) and a 3.5 mm jack …
Readable and bright 3.2-inch screen displays a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels which is well worth the videos, especially since the Storm is compatible with MPEG4, H.263, H.264 and WMV. Too bad the management of videos is as “special” (use of silence button to pause, double click on the screen would have been more logical).
The Web browser is efficient, it displays more quickly and easily HTML pages, resize the screen, manages RSS feeds and has an efficient selective zoom. If it is not precise, the touch screen is responsive to the shows instead of finger pressure.
You will find the following Document to Go to effectively manage and edit Office documents (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) as well as Push Mail always as effective.
The 3.2 megapixel autofocus digital camera supported by an LED flash delivers images of better quality than the Bold although we are obviously far from the return of a camera phone as the LG Renoir, for example.
Much like the App Store, Application Center will ensure the development of the Storm software and new updates promised by RIM will perhaps touchscreen smartphone more stable and accurate.
Finally, its design is attractive and it adopts a comprehensive packaging.
The BlackBerry Storm is a real disappointment, its clickable screen was a good idea, but he sees himself penalized by many bugs: lack of precision screen, accelerometer capricious keyboard frustrating, unexpected loss of network, the Storm can not even count on its autonomy or its scarce multimedia skills. The Canadian giant had wanted to hunt on the lands of the iPhone, just hope it does not come in touch tarnish the image of quality associated with the BlackBerry.
More : First model of BlackBerry to inaugurate a full touch interface, new applications center offering software downloads, particularly clear and bright screen, design, totally.
Less : General ergonomics very perfect, when slowness of certain operations, unexplained slowdowns and crashes, loss of GSM network, a concept touchscreen unfinished, low autonomy (especially in 3G mode), no built-in WiFi module.
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