Today from 3-4pm we’re on the BlackBerry Storm bus!
Yes, that’s right folks, the same bus we only snapped just yesterday wandering through the streets of London.
This time around we’re getting for the full skinny, the complete low down, the full enchilada – everything you needed to know but were too afraid to ask about the Storm.
Besides the briefing we’re obtaining, we’d like to offer you the chance to fire your questions at Vodafone and RIM on the device itself.
So please, throw in some comments at the base of this post and we’ll endeavour to have them answered later on today by someone much more sparkly than us.
Coincidentally the Gadget Show’s Jason Bradbury has just put out one of the first reviews on the handset, seen here
Phones4u are also taking pre-orders on the handset here, just in case you were interested
Please could you try the on screen text input and comment on whether the haptic feedback makes it quickeer and more accurate in use than other touch screen devices. Tons of BB users are going to clamor for this device, but will it remove the killer BB function of email easily?
Can you also examine the email client and let us know if the html is rendered as well on it as on the iphone. I really hate it when emails can't be rendered using html (a la Nokia) so i'm always left with long url strings… especially as i receive daily html newsletters.
Also, can i have a Microsoft Exchange email and 2 Gmail accounts on the same phone i.e. Work and 2 home accounts.
As Dominic mentions too, I'd like to know what the haptic feedback is like. I've read plenty of stuff saying in preproduction it was laggy – much like the iPhone when trying to type an SMS. This would be the one point that would realllllly put me off.
how is its video playback and music app?
html browser abilities ?
camera quality
after all this is a blackberry for non blackberry users.
and RIM are heavily pushing BB as a lifestyle product of late.
As much for work as pleasure.
Though i dont see that as being an accurate vision for the exisiting product range.
I presume the email client will be equal to the existing offerings – which i have no experience of.
Ewan,
I have one for you. Why did ATT release their Blackberry Bold on Election Day in the United States? How did they possibly think they were going to get good press on the day the US was making history? Why release on that day? Why not a few days earlier or a few days later???
Giff
(I work for Vodafone – with some of the people responsible for Storm. My comments are unofficial and *highly* biased.)
The keyboard is much better than the iPhone or other touch screen devices. Feeling the click really makes a difference when you're touch typing. It's not quite as good as a physical keyboard – but better than any of the competition.
I didn't notice any significant lag – but I've been trying various firmwares – so I can't vouch for the launch responsiveness. I've been happy with it, though.
That said, some people just won't get on with it because it's different from anything they've tried before.
Because the keyboard isn't visible all the time, it's harder to use Power-User keyboard shortcuts (pushing T in the browser takes you to the top of the page, etc.)
Yes, it does HTML email (assuming your BES / BIS is configured correctly). You can add as many corporate and private emails as your admin will allow.
Overall – I like it 🙂
(I work for Vodafone – with some of the people responsible for Storm. My comments are unofficial and *highly* biased.)
Video playback is great on that big screen. Perfect for watching a DivX on a train. It plays Vodafone Mobile TV perfectly.
Music is good – it has a regular earphone socket and built in speakers. It's not as music focused as an iPhone – but what is.
Camera – better than the iPhone (and it does video!) but not as good as the N95.
HTML browser is very good. Different to the iPhone, but faster and more competant than the N95. It's built on the basis of older BB browsers, so it does have some quirks. I tried it with hahlo and it just about worked (don't forget, hahlo's JavaScript is very iPhone focused).
Email is just as good as ever.
Terence, good of you to reply, thanks for the update. If what you say is true, i'll be the first person in the line on monday morning buying my shiny new Storm. However, i have one more quick one for you – The Storm can handle loads of video and audio codecs – what's the experience like of getting music onto my BB? Will it sync with iTunes? Will it recognise only non-DRM'd music from my library so i'm not downloading partial playlists? Will it let me make my own playlists etc on the computer? Will it automatically manage my photos?
Most importantly, will it automatically sync the MIR podcast so i can watch it on the tube?
Good stuff
Hi,
Didn't have much of a chance to play with music – but here's what I remember.
It can handle loads of audio and video codecs. The desktop manager comes with Roxio Media manager which can be used to transcode to appropriate formats and synchronise playlists etc. There's also a Vodafone music manager which can handle music as well. I think it will synch with iTunes though.
It can't play files with iTunes DRM (nothing apart from Apple products can), but it can play OMA DRM files downloaded from Vodafone live.
I didn't check the podcasting abilities, sorry. There is a photo management software on the device – but I didn't do a deep dive.
However – the device mounts a USB drive. So you can just drag and drop.
HTH
T
(Usual disclaimers apply)
Is it the same browser as the Bold?
It's a newer version of the one on the Bold – Think Firefox 3.0.3 vs 3.0.1. Works very well with the touch screen, I thought. Suffers from the same fiddlyness that all touch screens have.
When are we going to see a special edition BarackBerry?
Or an iPhobama?
Sorry, it's been a long week!
When are we going to see a special edition BarackBerry?
Or an iPhobama?
Sorry, it's been a long week!
Terence, good of you to reply, thanks for the update. If what you say is true, i'll be the first person in the line on monday morning buying my shiny new Storm. However, i have one more quick one for you – The Storm can handle loads of video and audio codecs – what's the experience like of getting music onto my BB? Will it sync with iTunes? Will it recognise only non-DRM'd music from my library so i'm not downloading partial playlists? Will it let me make my own playlists etc on the computer? Will it automatically manage my photos?
Most importantly, will it automatically sync the MIR podcast so i can watch it on the tube?
Good stuff
Hi,
Didn't have much of a chance to play with music – but here's what I remember.
It can handle loads of audio and video codecs. The desktop manager comes with Roxio Media manager which can be used to transcode to appropriate formats and synchronise playlists etc. There's also a Vodafone music manager which can handle music as well. I think it will synch with iTunes though.
It can't play files with iTunes DRM (nothing apart from Apple products can), but it can play OMA DRM files downloaded from Vodafone live.
I didn't check the podcasting abilities, sorry. There is a photo management software on the device – but I didn't do a deep dive.
However – the device mounts a USB drive. So you can just drag and drop.
HTH
T
(Usual disclaimers apply)
Is it the same browser as the Bold?
It's a newer version of the one on the Bold – Think Firefox 3.0.3 vs 3.0.1. Works very well with the touch screen, I thought. Suffers from the same fiddlyness that all touch screens have.
When are we going to see a special edition BarackBerry?
Or an iPhobama?
Sorry, it's been a long week!