Thursday, January 22, 2009

A BlackBerry with a Touch Screen - the BlackBerry Storm

By Matt Ryan

BlackBerry is a very well known name when it comes to cell phones. BlackBerry has always been a dependable name, one who had phones that consumers could rely on - the BlackBerry Storm is no different. This is Blackberry's very first phone with a touch screen, and it happens to be a full screen phone as well.

As with any other smart phone, the Storm has a wide variety of features, already available upon shipment. Some of these features are a 3.2 megapixel camera, built-in GPS, media player, video recording, email, organizer, phone, browser, corporate data access, and SMS / MMS. Upon receiving you new phone, you will also find a travel charger with an assortment of adapters, a USB cable, an 8GB microSD card, a SIM card, a wired headset, a software CD, and user manual inside the box.

BlackBerry OS 4.7 is the brains of the Smartphone. This version, of the operating system, gives users a new and exciting look to their interface. The Storm also comes with DataViz Documents - Standard Edition. This gives users the ability to edit documents right from their phone. However, there is no ability to create new documents without upgrading to Premium Edition.

The BlackBerry Storm is one of the first touch screen phones to utilized SurePress technology. This technology forces users to click on the screen, making for a more realistic experience. For example, when you are typing on the keyboard, you actually have to click in order for the letter to type; this is a much more realistic experience than just tapping your fingertip on the key.

The Storms 3.25-inch TFT LCD 480 x 360 resolution 65,000 color display is one of the most beautifully crisp displays available on a smart phone.

The BlackBerry Storm has an accelerometer, which allows the display to switch from portrait to landscape based on how the phone is being held. Consumers also have the option to adjust backlight settings, font size, and font type. All of which provide users with a personalized experience.

The only way to access a keyboard on this phone, is via the LCD screen. Whether you like the QWERTY or SureType keyboards, you have access to both! When the phone is in portrait mode, you will use the SureType keyboard, and in landscape mode the QWERTY keyboard.

Both keyboards are functional, yet small. The size does make it a bit difficult to type long messages and makes for numerous typos.

The phone itself is about the same size as other smart phones on the market, measuring around 4.43 x 2.45 x 0.55 inches, and weighing 5.5 ounces. The overall design provides a sturdy frame and easy to grip edges.

One of the advantages, to the BlackBerry Storm, is the battery life - with 15 days of standby time and 6 hours of talk time - this smart phone lasts longer than many others do. On the other hand, overall performance, from this unit, has been disappointing. Firmware upgrades have not even been able to fix all of the performance issues.

Looking at the big picture, the BlackBerry Storm is a functional phone. Its features and what it offers are a little above standard. If you can put aside slight performance glitches, this just might be the right smart phone for you.

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