Release Date: 9th Dec 2008

From:http://seattlepi.nwsource.com

keyword: blackberry Storm

It's the season of joy, giving and, this year at least, touch-screen phones. The mighty iPhone laid down a challenge that most cell-phone companies have answered with their take on the touch-screen form.

The list of post-iPhone touchy-feely devices includes Samsung's Instinct, LG Dare, HTC Touch and, most recently, the Android-powered G1.

Last month Research in Motion, the mobile-messaging powerhouse, entered the fray with the BlackBerry Storm touch-screen smartphone ($199 with two-year contract; verizonwireless.com). I've had several weeks to put the Storm through its paces, using it as my sole smartphone.

RIM has been busy branching out from its enterprise customers to the rest of us, with the BlackBerry Pearl and Curve models, both featuring physical keyboards and tiny trackballs. The Storm, RIM's most consumer-focused phone yet, drops the keys and trackball altogether in favor of an entirely new input method: the click-screen.

The entire glass screen rests on sensors to detect when it is depressed. The movement is slight, but the result is a physical sensation that is much more tactile -- akin to a mouse-button click -- than the mild vibration from haptic feedback screens such as the LG Dare's.

The click-screen, called SurePress by RIM, definitely has a learning curve. It's an additional step from pressing a key or simply touching a screen; your finger's proximity highlights a letter on the keyboard or a link on a Web page and then you press on the screen to select.

My typing accuracy and speed, no great shakes to begin with, suffered at first. But within a few days I was back up to my regular performance level.

Accidentally selecting something on a regular touch-screen happens with irritating frequency for me. I'm constantly opening the wrong e-mail and launching an unintended Web page on an iPhone, G1 or most other touch-screen phones. Thus, the extra step of highlighting then pressing on the Storm is perfect for me, since I can catch a misstep before it's executed.

As with any new, innovative feature, the click-screen isn't going to please everyone. Try it at a Verizon store to see if it's a fit for you.

To gauge the success or failure of a new smartphone, I separate the aspects that are permanent and unchangeable -- the physical device -- from the features that will be improved with software updates.

With the Storm, future software updates, the first of which is scheduled this week, will address most of its problems. Updates come over the air, straight to the phone.

Still, the Storm should have debuted with fewer quirks. The time it takes the screen to switch from vertical to landscape view, depending on how you are holding the phone, ranges from snappy to sluggish. There were times when I had to whack the phone to switch views.

The shutter speed on the 3.2MP camera is excruciatingly slow, two or three seconds, so it's nearly useless for snapping anything in motion. The picture quality is very good, though; the LED flash and auto-focus help to capture sharp, vivid images.

While corporate e-mail accounts function with typical BlackBerry excellence, my Gmail messages often revealed inconsistent formatting.

None of the shortcomings were severe, merely annoying. I'll hold final judgment until after the first major software update.

On the brighter side, the Storm never froze and not once did I have to reset it by taking the battery out; I can't say the same for most other smartphones. The Storm's stability throughout heavy use was a good sight better than the iPhone 3G, Instinct or G1 that I've tested.

The Storm's Web browser is generally great, with pages loading quickly and accurately, partly thanks to Verizon's 3G network. Web browsing on the Storm isn't quite as smooth and elegant as with the multi-touch iPhone experience, but it's among the best for smartphones.

The GPS radio isn't locked to Verizon's Navigator pay service, though the turn-by-turn directions and constant map updates make it worth the money. Google Maps locations and directions were accurate and GPS lock-on was prompt.

There is an Application Center, similar to iPhone's App Store and G1's Android Market, but pickings are slim. More add-on applications are promised in the new year.

Video and music synchronization and playback are a breeze with the included BlackBerry Desktop Software, as long as you're a PC user. Mac users have to download PocketMac, a dumbed-down sync app.

The software automatically converted a full-length movie for optimal quality on the Storm for me in about 25 minutes. Watching a movie on the Storm's gorgeous 3.25-inch 480-by-360 pixel screen is superb, with rich, vibrant colors and sharp details.

So the Storm software is a mixed bag. The hardware, however, is first rate.

The Storm feels solid, with reassuring heft. At 5.5 ounces, it's a little heavier than an iPhone 3G, but the extra weight just adds to the Storm's feeling of quality. The phone fits both the hand and the pocket well.

The face is dominated by the screen. with "call," "end," "back" and BlackBerry menu buttons along the bottom. The back features a classy brushed aluminum panel.

Earpiece and speaker volume were both loud and clear and the headphone jack is a standard 3.5 mm. The call quality is exceptional thanks to dual-microphone noise cancellation. A second mike on the back of the phone measures background noise, which is then nearly eliminated. Dual mikes are common in Bluetooth headsets, but this is the first time I've seen the feature on a cell phone.

Onboard memory is limited to 1GB, but the Storm comes with an 8GB MicroSD card and can accept 16GB cards.

If you plan to travel, the Storm is equipped for both high-speed CDMA networks in North America and GSM in Europe and Asia.

While the hardware is impressive, it's not without flaws. I missed the trackball, particularly for navigating link-heavy Web pages, and the omission of a Wi-Fi radio means complete dependence on Verizon's data network.

It's nice to have a video camera, but I wish the results were as good as footage I shot with the LG Dare. I'm also slightly concerned about the visible gap between the screen and the case. Time will tell if pocket crud collects there.

The Storm is a thoughtfully, solidly designed smartphone with software that needs some tweaking. Whether it's your next purchase will depend on how the click-screen works for you. It ended up feeling great for me.