Posted by: Chuck Bessant
Did I learn my lesson when I purchased the new Volvo S70 in 1997 in the first production month? No. Warranty covered everything, but I had a lot of stuff replaced which takes time, my time, at the dealership.
Did I learn my lesson when I built a house this year and used a new model KitchenAid oven? No. After self-cleaning it this summer, a module burned out and the oven wouldn’t heat up for cooking. I discovered this “feature” when I tried to bake a nice Copper River salmon, well, it would have been nice. Had it fixed, under warranty, then cleaned it again on Monday (1-Dec), and it did the same thing. Appliance guy, “Oh yeah, they came out with an updated module. We didn’t install the new module? Your oven should be fixed by Christmas.” WHAT (on so many levels)!
So, now I have a Blackberry Storm. I’ve learned a lot since 25-Nov.
· The battery seems much better than the iPhone. The 480x360 color display is sharp. The SurePress touch screen operates well as long as you are not Andre the Giant. The SureType and QWERTY keyboards work OK. Lots of ring tones if you get board; I go for the Zen sounds myself. I was able to order it via the Verizon 800-number so no lines at the Verizon store. Broadband over Verizon’s EV-DO network, nice. GSM so it will work in Europe, very nice. Reception is great. This is all good.
· SurePress action response is slow. When you press a key, there is a noticeable response delay that is very annoying. Navigation to the phone directory is a bit awkward. Once the keypad is up, and you want to Mute or go to Speakerphone it is a bit awkward. My Plantronics Bluetooth ear piece doesn’t stay synched very well, although it does with my Samsung cell phone. When physically turning Storm from portrait to landscape, the display doesn’t always rotate as advertised. Annoying? Yes - I’m getting a stiff neck.
· Verizon does not have their Backup Assistant applet for Blackberry, even though the instruction sheet from Verizon says to use it to download your directory. This feature on cell phones backs up your phonebook when changes are made to a Verizon server via a call. Seamless, fast, easy, automated, effortless. You can even access the phonebook by going to your wireless account on-line. Sweet! But for Storm, from what I’ve been told, and all Blackberries, sour. This feature does not exist. You can do an upload to Blackberry, or to Outlook via a cable to your computer. OK, I get that. Verizon’s response when I asked how to get my directory to Storm was “re-type or take it to a Verizon store”; I live 25 miles from the nearest Verizon store, and no one told me I couldn’t download my directory via Backup Assistant. I have got to believe that Verizon could provide a Backup Assistant to at least get your phonebook directory seeded to a Blackberry without going to a store, getting a number and waiting for help. All this great technology, wireless, EV-DO, yadda, yadda, yadda, and I still have to shag to a store. Boo, hiss.
I am new to the Blackberry, and maybe this is all normal. I expected Storm to be more responsive and a better first generation release than it is given RIMM’s reputation. This is not like Windows 3.0. Blackberry has been around for years. Verizon has carried it for years. The SurePress thing is new, granted. And so is Storm technology for Blackberry. Why is response slow? I have no idea, nor do I care, it is slow, I don’t like that so that is that – Sam I am.
I plan to return it. I’ll wait for Storm 2.0 to be released, or just maybe 2.1 so I can say I learned my lesson on new/major releases. Overall, the concept is excellent. I am just not impressed with v1.0, and having the user help fund the next generation release by releasing a device that should have been gang busters out the door.
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