RIM Touches Off A Storm

Research In Motion Ltd., which practically invented the smartphone platform with its BlackBerry lineup, wasn't going to take that sitting down. It's touching back.

Since Verizon Wireless and RIM released the very first touch-screen BlackBerry, the Storm (also known as model 9530 in the U.S.) has managed to slow the massive tide of market share gain that had been in Apple's favor and draw attention to its corner once again. The CRN Test Center has spent some time with the Storm to see if Apple rivals could, in fact, make this a long-running fight between vendors.

The verdict: We could be in for a long fight.

The uniqueness of the Storm lies in how it utilizes touch. Besides the expected response as your finger slides across the screen, selections are made by pressing the actual screen down. RIM's theory is that this gives the user a feeling of pressing real keys on a keyboard and the safety net of not pressing keys accidentally.

SurePress (which is RIM's trademarked name for the feature) sure is different. Gently gliding a finger over the vivid screen highlights the icons below. When the chosen selection glows blue, a quick press on the screen launches the chosen application. It doesn't necessarily have the same feel as a real keyboard, but it is useful.

There is a little bit of a learning curve in using SurePress, but after a little while, it did become easier. Basically, some people are going to love it and others will hate it. For the record, overall, we liked it.

Although its lack of Wi-Fi is a problem for many, as Verizon Wireless' first smartphone to support EVDO Rev. A, the Storm's Internet connection is fast. Additionally, one of the many reasons RIM's BlackBerry phones are successful in business and government is because of the security they offer. In those settings, the addition of Wi-Fi adds too much of a risk to make it worthwhile.

And therein lies an important point for corporate deployment: The Blackberry has always been a business-focused product and the Storm now includes some nifty consumerish features. The iPhone came into this world as a consumer device, and has received some businesslike extensions such as Exchange support. The result is that the BlackBerry Storm is still the button-down corporate device.

Setting up e-mail accounts is just as easy as on other BlackBerrys; even a novice should be able to configure the settings of an ISP account with the simple-to-follow wizard. Corporate users will find integration support for Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino/Notes and Novell GroupWise, all via the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. E-mails and text messages (as well as instant messaging if configured) can be typed on one of three different keyboard styles. There is the SureType keyboard that is familiar and loved by many BlackBerry veterans, a multitap keyboard, which is similar to typing on a standard telephone keypad, and, if the device is turned into landscape position, a standard QWERTY keyboard appears.

As one of the first BlackBerrys to have a full set of multimedia features, the Storm doesn't disappoint. The high-resolution 480 x 360 pixel, 3.25-inch screen displays bright, brilliant images using up to 65,000 colors. Videos will only play in a wide-screen orientation, so the Storm must be rotated horizontally for viewing. With 1 GB of onboard memory (in addition to 128 MB of flash), the smartphone also has a microSD slot capable of up to 16 GB. Verizon Wireless includes an 8-GB card in the box.

In what has pretty much become the norm for touch-screen devices, the Storm has an accelerometer built into it. By turning the phone sideways, the screen automatically reorients itself. This feature is functional in either direction.

For many, one of the biggest attractions of the Storm is its functionality around the world. Although Verizon Wireless' network operates on CDMA technology, the phone includes a SIM card that allows the phone to work on GSM networks overseas, in conjunction with its partners, including European Vodafone, which owns a 45 percent stake in the American company.

The 3.2-megapixel camera takes surprisingly clear photos with various customizable settings, including an automatic flash. Another notable feature is an unlocked GPS. While many recent phones have a built-in GPS radio, Verizon has historically locked access to it for all third-party applications. Only the company's own VZ Navigator was able to utilize it. The Storm is a departure from this practice and in testing multiple programs, including, but not limited to, Google Maps and BlackBerry Maps, it worked well and found our location fairly quickly.

With a Bluetooth v2.0 stack, the Storm pairs with most headsets and other media devices. Battery life is rated at 15 days standby and 5.5 to 6 hours (GSM/CDMA) talk time. When charged out of the box, our phone's battery didn't seem to last as long, but on subsequent charges, the meter barely moved. Based on Internet forum posts, this situation appears to be typical.

When we first reviewed the Storm in November, we had a positive first impression. Since then, we have used the phone regularly and that opinion hasn't changed. As with most devices, it has some faults, but overall, we think it's a fine offering that succeeds in hitting its target.