Blacberry Storm

BlackBerry Storm is the first handset from Research In Motion (Rim) to feature a touch-based user interface similar to the popular Apple iPhone. This may attract more attention from consumers, but business users tend to remain with the traditional BlackBerry design.

Now available from Vodafone, the BlackBerry Storm does not have a keyboard and display a larger 3.25in fingertip control is designed to function only with the standard phone / end button and a BlackBerry, and the menu button in the front bezel. This also has the ability to improve the music and video, such as the ability to play movies and synchronize with the user’s iTunes library.
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Meanwhile, Storm also features the usual corporate, such as the ability to register with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (SSX) for push email and administrator control, seems to be more aimed at consumers.

Storm has a 3G network support, Bluetooth 2.0 and GPS hardware for location-based applications, but not Wi-Fi, which many competitors have devices such as iPhone. There are, but a decent 3.2 megapixel camera.

The Storm’s touch screen and gesture recognition is bound to invite comparisons with the iPhone from Apple, and both are quite similar input system. With both devices, the user can scroll up and down the menu and email list by swiping the screen, and tap the screen to zoom in applications such as browsers. The main menu icons have only the right size to easily tapped with the fingertips, and the second device automatically adjusts the screen orientation when you twist them around.
Where is the Storm different is clicked on the screen, which allows the user to press down – such as clicking a mouse button – to select one of the options. This feature means that it is possible to scroll through email and open a menu without accidentally or unintentionally trigger some functions, which we have found a spectral sustainable mobile phone with touch-activated.

Screen is clicked should also make the software more useful screen keyboard, but we did not find that this will happen. Click the feedback does not help, but we found we could only tap out text at a fraction of the speed possible with a real keyboard, thumb keyboard even other Smartphone. The problem is that tricky to press the correct button, and although the Storm lamp button you think he is trying to press, and this forces you to look carefully at the keyboard before you press.

Software using the keyboard more easily get exercise, but we still doubt that professionals rely on the Blackberry to access email every day will be satisfied with this. Storm showed us to some other colleagues who have been using the BlackBerry device, and most of the states hate this method of input.

In fact, the Storm has two on-screen keyboard. If you hold the device in portrait orientation, it shows the same SureType keypad with a BlackBerry Pearl, in which each key has two letters and phone using predictive algorithms to work out of what you want to type. Twist round of the device to landscape mode, and the Storm uses more side to show the full screen Qwerty layout instead.

As with Apple’s iPhone, the touch screen is good for voice calls with a call on the numeric keypad, as the key here is greater. Rim also included subtle physical button to turn off the sound and lock / unlock the screen.

One useful application of touch screen multi-touch support. If you put one finger in the beginning of the text block, and in the end, the Storm highlights everything in between, making it easier to cut and paste.

In size, the BlackBerry Storm is the same as Rim BlackBerry 8800 in the old model’s 112.5mm long x 62.5 wide x 13.95 deep. Apple’s iPhone a little more, but less bold, but the Storm is the weight of the iPhone look and BlackBerry models at the other 155g. Nevertheless, it can still be done in a jacket pocket.

BlackBerry models recently have been showing the good, and there are exceptions Storm. Its 480 x 360 pixel screen that rivals the brightness of the iPhone to and bright colors. Vodafone unit is supplied with our range of media such as film trailers, and we found the playback quality is impressive.

We have a problem when testing from the BlackBerry Storm. While we are able to get the Vodafone 3G network connection center in London, we found dropped off at the speed of GPRS and other locations sometimes lost the signal altogether.

We also find that the motion sensor, which detects the orientation of the device, often causing Storm to change the screen format when we do not want to.

BlackBerry web browser is also due to our disappointment with some links. We found that on some news site, for example, tapping only the headline zoomed in, rather than open the link to the article itself. The browser has a cursor mode, where the mouse pointer can be moved around the screen by fingertip control, but to switch to this is not the issue.

Storm is equipped with a variety of applications, such as a version of Documents To Go from Dataviz suite, which allows users to view and edit email attachments sent as Microsoft Word, Excel or Powerpoint files, including Office 2007 formats.

This also includes Vodafone Music Store, which allows users to buy and download music tracks. However, while the Storm’s built-in media player can be suspected to synchronize with the user iTunes music library, we can not find a way to do this and no longer provided in the documentation.

Many other applications, such as they are ready to be installed, such as Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Google Maps, but they actually trigger the icon to download from the web. The same is true for most of the IM applications, such as ICQ, Google Talk and Windows Live Messenger.

Rim own BlackBerry Maps application for navigation is built-in, however, such as the BlackBerry Messenger.

The Storm has 1GB of built-in memory, but this can be expanded to 16GB using a microSD card slot for Flash, which is located next to the SIM card slot behind the back cover of the handset.

Powering the Storm is a 1400mAh lithium battery pack rated by Rim in 15 days on standby and up to 5.5 hours of talk time. However, we found that the cost level indicator on the screen appears to deplete faster than previous Blackberry models we’ve tested, so we must return the unit cost per day or more during the test.

Specifications

• Wireless email
  
• Organizer
  
• Browser
  
• Phone
  
• Camera
  
• Video recording
  
• BlackBerry® Maps
  
• Media player
  
• Built-in GPS
  
• Corporate data access
  
• SMS
  
• MMS
  

Size and Weight

• 4.43″/112.5mm (Length)
  
• 2.45″/62.2mm (Width)
  
• 0.55″/13.95mm (Depth)
  
• 5.5 oz/155g (Weight)
  

Data Input/Navigation

• SurePress™ touch screen
  
• On screen keyboard: portrait SureType® and Multi-tap, QWERTY landscape
  

Voice Input/Output

• 3.5mm stereo headset capable
  
• Integrated earpiece/ microphone
  
• Built-in speakerphone
  
• Bluetooth® v2.0; mono/stereo headset, handsfree, phone book access profile, and serial port profile supported (Bluetooth® technology)
  

Media Player

• MPEG4 H.263, MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.264, WMV (Video format support)
  
• MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMA ProPlus (Audio format support)
  

Display

• High resolution 480 x 360 pixel color (Display)
  
• Transmissive TFT LCD
  
• Font size (user selectable)
  
• Color display
  
• Light sensing screen
  

Notification

• Polyphonic/MIDI ringtones
  
• MP3 ringtones
  
• Vibrate mode
  
• LED indicator
  

Approximate Battery Life

• Up to 15 days (Standby time)
  
• Up to 5.5 hours (Talk time)
  

Memory

• Expandable memory – support for microSD card
  
• 1 GB (Onboard memory)
  
• 128 MB Flash (Flash memory)
  

Modem

• RIM® wireless modem
  
• Tethered modem capability
  

Email Integrations

• Works with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server for Microsoft® Exchange
  
• Works with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server for IBM® Lotus® Domino®
  
• Works with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server for Novell® GroupWise®
  
• Integrates with an existing enterprise email account
  

Device Security

• Password protection and screen lock
  
• Sleep mode
  
• Support for AES or Triple DES encryption when integrated with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server
  
• FIPS 140-2 Compliant (FIPS Validation in Progress) (FIPS validation)
  
• Optional support for S/MIME
  

Wireless Network

• UMTS/HSPA networks: 2100 MHz
  
• North America: 850 MHz GSM/GPRS networks
  
• North America: 1900MHz GSM®/GPRS networks
  
• Europe/Asia Pacific: 1800MHz GSM/GPRS networks
  
• Europe/Asia Pacific: 900MHz GSM/GPRS networks
  

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