BerryReview.com - BlackBerry News and Reviews
Forgot? | Register
Shop The BerryReview Store

New York Times Gadget-Reviewer NOT a fan of the Storm

by Vicky Pazienza on Dec 1st, 2008 at 10:00 am EST
7 Comments »
 
I happened across this article on Silicon Alley Insider by Nicholas Carlson on the seven main reasons NY Times gadget-reviewer David Pogue hates the Blackberry Storm. I haven’t played with the Storm yet and probably won’t soon because I am more of the keyboard type. However, if you were thinking of getting one, perhaps this article will give you some insight…then again, perhaps it won’t. (Incidentally, Pogue’s original NY times article can be found here.)

From Silicon Alley Insider:

He [Pogue] writes, “How did this thing ever reach the market? Didn’t anyone at RIM actually try it? Or was everyone involved just too terrified to pull the emergency brake on this train?”

Pogue’s complaints in bulletpoints:

  • The touchscreen. “Isn’t the thumb keyboard the defining feature of a BlackBerry? A BlackBerry without a keyboard is like an iPod without a scroll wheel.”
  • Email. The touchscreen can feel two types of touches, light and not-so-light, but Pogue says that sensitivity is wasted in the email app. “A light touch highlights the key but doesn’t type anything. Only by clicking fully do you produce a typed letter. It’s way, way too much work, like using a manual typewriter.”
  • The vertical keyboard. The Storm switches between a horizontal and vertical keyboard depending on how its held. Hold its long side vertically, and you get the “SureType” keyboard, which Pogue hates because inaccurately tries to guess what you’re typing. “For example, to type “get,” you press the GH, ER, and TY keys. Unfortunately, that’s also “hey.” You can see the problem. And trying to enter Web addresses is utterly hopeless.”
  • Navigation. Pogue calls it “head-bangingly frustrating” because the buttons are too close together and the phone takes too long to interpret how the user touched the screen.
  • It’s Slow. Pogue says the Storm takes seconds upon seconds to perform simple takes. “Remember: To convert seconds into BlackBerry time, multiply by seven.”
  • No Wi-Fi.
  • Bugs: “Freezes, abrupt reboots, nonresponsive controls, cosmetic glitches. Way too much ‘unexpected behavior.”
Please Share With A Friend!

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 and is filed under 9500 Storm, News.

If you enjoyed this article, make sure you subscribe to our RSS Feed to stay on top of the latest BlackBerry news you can use.

Previous Post: Food Network’s New Mobile Site – Great for finding recipes on the go! »
Next Post: Turmoil as Terrorists put RIM under fire in India »

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Latest Articles:

7 Comments to “New York Times Gadget-Reviewer NOT a fan of the Storm”

  1. Posted by: Wusty
    December 1, 2008 at 3:50 am EST

    2nd to that. This phone is horrible. So not a Blackberry. So slow!!!!!!

  2. Posted by: Tim
    December 1, 2008 at 4:09 am EST

    I tried one out at the shopping mall not long ago. It was just too slow, unresponsive, and not smooth. Also, who would ever choose SureType over QWERTY if you had the choice?
    Video quality did look nice, though.
    All in all, it was a great disappointment.

  3. Posted by: jeff
    December 1, 2008 at 4:10 am EST

    Its unfortunate that the phone was released with this specific software because the speed concerns will likely be fixed soon. Should have delayed the launch to avoid this sort of publicity. Not so sure about the validity of some of the complaints – Suretype works great and anyone with a Pearl will probably tell him to simply use it for a couple days to get used to it.

    I'm a longtime blackberry user but won't be buying a Storm unless the software glitches are sorted out for the Telus hardware.

  4. Posted by: Luc
    December 1, 2008 at 6:42 am EST

    The BGR staff have (but won't share) a newer version of the Storm OS. They say most of the problems are gone, namely the delays, freezes and unresponsiveness in general.

  5. Posted by: Ed
    December 1, 2008 at 8:39 pm EST

    Pogue is a bit of annoying twit who is way too effeminate for a straight guy but he does have a point. I tried a friend’s storm and was not impressed. I’ll stick with my curve.

  6. Posted by: Blackberry_Junkie
    December 2, 2008 at 9:50 am EST

    I have heard that Blackberry has recently introduced firmware updates already which improve the processing speed. With that being said, I think the person who reviewed the Storm was anti Blackberry. SureType isn't new to the Blackberry family (see Pearl). The complaints about the soft press and having to press harder being "waaay too much work", get real. I played with the phone and it's not torture (or extra effort) to press down on it. About the buttons being "too close together", uh, has he/she seen the iPhone's alpha pad?… or any other touch screen keypad? They are all basically alike in width of touch screen alpha buttons and ALL require some getting used to. Duh. The person who reviewed it probably was one of the morons who stood outside the Apple store all night waiting for the iPhone to go on sale. I don't mind a critique but be objective.

  7. Posted by: Blackberry_Junkie
    December 2, 2008 at 9:50 am EST

    While the reveiwer seemed a little anti-Blackberry, I will say I played with the Storm and was underwhelmed. The interface is meodicre and it didn't seem that fun to handle. I hate to say it but I think the best touch screen out currently is the iPhone. I hate Apple but they sure do know how to make their products appealing. I'm waiting on the second generation of touch screen phones to be released before I commit to any of them. For now the Bold is the only phone that I'm looking forward to purchasing.