Research in Motion has a new phone that’s “officially called the BlackBerry Storm,” David Pogue reports for The New York Times. “But I’ve got a better name for it: the BlackBerry Dud.”
The Storm’s “entire screen acts like a mouse button. Press hard enough, and it actually responds with a little plastic click… As a result, the Storm offers two degrees of touchiness. You can tap the screen lightly, or you can press firmly to register the palpable click,” Pogue reports. “It’s not a bad idea. In fact, it ought to make the on-screen keyboard feel more like actual keys… Unfortunately, RIM has completely botched the execution.”
“The Storm even muffs simple navigation tasks. When you open a menu, the commands are too close together; even if your finger seems to be squarely on the proper item, your click often winds up triggering something else in the list,” Pogue reports. “There’s no momentum to the scrolling, either, as on the iPhone… In short, trying to navigate this thing isn’t just an exercise in frustration — it’s a marathon of frustration.”
“Now, I wouldn’t come down this hard on some product — especially one that was so eagerly anticipated, customers lined up at dawn on the day of its release — without getting a second, third and fourth opinion. And I’m telling you, there wasn’t a soul who tried this machine who wasn’t appalled, baffled or both,” Pogue reports. “And that’s before they discovered that the Storm doesn’t have Wi-Fi.”
Pogue asks, “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?”
There’s much more – highly recommended – in the full report of the train wreck, er… review of RIM’s BlackBerry Storm, headlined “Blackberry Storm Downgraded To A Depression,” here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: Vista got better reviews.
Well JD most reviewers, at least those of note, do seem to know precisely what device he is going on about, and unfortunately for ‘Rimmers’ it IS the Storm. Don’t think they have been on the Apple coolaid eddie either. So just maybe that big sever centre over at RIM Towers is sending positive but very subjective messages to the gullable. Are they telling you to believe in crops circles too by any chance? Not sure either how it can actually improve that much with a limited operating system and only basic touch capability. There is only so far you can go with yesterdays technology I’m afraid.
This is one of the reasons why we are developing for the iPhone and not the Blackberry. http://blog.cosential.com/?p=156
People who compare the iPhone situation to the Storm have got to be kidding.
The iPhone was the first, it was the originator and spent its initial time in an empty field all by itself with nothing to compare.
The Storm is arriving in a sea of iClones that are starting to get good. Some of them, like the Samsung Omnia on Verizon, are being released right alongside it this year. There’s virtually no comparison between the two introductions.
Apple had plenty of room for error since everyone followed in their shoes. RIM doesn’t. Either you float above the iClones or sink with them.
All the site needs is cookies activated. The membership requirement is fiction.
@spyinthesky
Is Mossberg drinking the RIM koolaid too?
What is it with you people that if Steve didn’t personally bless it, it’s evil of the most vile sort? Not everyone can use an iPhone, not everyone wants to. Get over yourselves, the iPhone is just an f-ing phone and it’s not perfect. The 3G dropped half its calls before Apple finally delivered software that made the thing work, and that was after the launch fiasco that left half of them bricks on day one. The original iPhone was, well, not so hot either until a few downloads later, let’s be honest.
My G4 PowerBook went back with the display problem that most of them had. My white G4 MacBook was replaced because the WiFi stopped working, the way a huge percentage of them did. Now I have a new aluminum MacBook with no FireWire and a clicky trackpad that reminds me a whole lot of my Storm. And don’t even get me started on the mess that is Mobile Me, the dumbest name for a product in the history of computing except for, perhaps, Lisa.
Please don’t pretend it’s all good here in the orchard, it ain’t so.
@ Jeremy
And anytime you find it in a Google search, the log on isn’t required.
Like the Obamatards, the RIMtards are having a collective meltdown as they are confronted with the fact that the blank slate upon which they have projected all of their hopes and dreams turns out to be a run-of-the-mill, or worse, product.
As Obama packs his staff with has-beens and never-weres from previous administrations, signifying zero change whatsoever, the Obamatards are disillusioned, just as the RIMtards are with the “Storm.”
Some ‘tards cast their votes for an empty vessel they can fill with all their hopes and dreams – for convenient one-stop smashing – blindly chasing the foolish, very Liberal fantasy of “change.” Voting for change undefined is lunacy.
Some ‘tards cling to their antiquated CrackBerry devices, watching their beloved get obliterated by iPhone’s vast superiority, and project upon Storm’s rickety, poorly-executed, limited click-screen all sorts of similar fantasies.
Some “double ‘tards” even did both: Voted for Obama and lined up to buy a Storm sight unseen, too. Fools.
Welcome to reality.
At least the RIMtards only blew their money on a piece of antiquated junk disguised as the future instead of voting one into the U.S. Presidency.
Ouch Pogue, but funny
@ everyone
Tried searching on Google and every other thing, cookies turned on etc. but this article is just NOT available without the log on.
I just don’t know what newspaper companies think they are doing in this day and age with these stupid log-on requirements. They do no good and just stop people from using their sites.
yikes that was a harsh review
Jeremy,
Here:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/26/technology/ptpogue27.php
I really want the Storm to succeed, mainly because I’m stuck on Verizon due to the free IN calling. It looks like it has potential. If it wasn’t for IN calling, I’d be on an iPhone now.
I played with a Storm in the store for a bit, and it wasn’t too bad, just a bit sluggish on repainting the screen and flipping. I’m hoping they can fix that with some software tuning.
Doesn’t matter right now, anyhow. I won’t buy it until they can support syncing to Mac, for which RIM says they’re trying to get something out early next year.
Samsung is releasing a touchscreen but… no… *sob*… I just won’t do another Windows Mobile device 🙁
Winston reappears!!!
I bet you are just as glad as I am that the Haunted House is finally over!
Now, if they could just pick up the trash on the eastern side of ESP where I live. Walking my dog is a nightmare. All she does is try to eat trash – and I don’t mean Paris Hilton.
Well, time to take Molly out for a walk and battle the trash.
BlackEyeBerry !!! enough said
It should be called the Blackberry Sturm und Drang…
My favorite part…
“But wait, there’s less. Both of my review Storms had more bugs than a summer picnic. Freezes, abrupt reboots, nonresponsive controls, cosmetic glitches.”
“… (And goodness knows, it’s easy to start up. Just enter a Gmail address …) “
Happy Thanksgiving to MDN readers.
I have to say Pogue is known as being very Pro-Apple (isn’t he friends with Jobs?) and it’s amusing these reviews and feedback are after a short time or a few minutes of using the Storm. Why don’t you actually use the device for a couple weeks and get used to it.
RIM will address the issues with Storm (as did Apple with the numerous updates iPhone has had) so at the end of the day both devices will still sell a boatload. Storm will make sales just by the fact it’s on Verizon Wireless which last I looked was still the #1 rated carrier in the States.
Most of Pogues review as well a number of other reviews are doing a disservice and either reviewing it as a standard Blackberry or how it’s different then iPhone. I wish people who review things do so on their own merit and while yes recognize the strengths of competing devices judge the device on it’s own.
Most of the issues can be addressed with a software update. This market is so huge it will come down to personal preference and for now at least Blackberry provides options for users. Apple is one form factor, one carrier.
@JD
“the iPhone is just an f-ing phone”
No it isn’t, where have you been? anyone that has used one realizes that iPhone is a platform. The phone function is one of many uses you can put it to.
WTF?
@Superior Being
Great analogy. Especially regarding Obama and RIM. The dissent is gradually beginning. The “Elite Media” is beginning to scratch their collective heads as if they never saw his sophomoric arrogance.
@MobileAdmin
Which phone do you use?
what genius greenlit this thing without wifi? i mean, seriously – isn’t that pretty much a deal-breaker? until we have wi-max or some other truly 3g wide-area network, it’s just got to have wifi.
At the moment I use a combination – the Blackberry Bold for work email / applications. A edge iPhone (jailbroken) for nights / weekends for music / web / games.
I also have various HTC WM models and a new Palm as users still order them and I have to support them.
Yeah, we want the Bushtards back! Bring back torture. Bring back “Bring ’em on!” Bring back “Mission Accomplished.”
Puh.
macca: what genius greenlit this thing without wifi? i mean, seriously – isn’t that pretty much a deal-breaker? until we have wi-max or some other truly 3g wide-area network, it’s just got to have wifi.
RIM has left the Storm to the network providers for branding and feature specification. And the providers just don’t want WiFi in there, so RIM left it out.
Apple precluded such provider interference right from the start, which made the iPhone a very different beast. But especially as long as manufacturers keep kowtowing to the providers, the results will be the mediocrity we know.
Denny: The “Elite Media” is beginning to scratch their collective heads as if they never saw his sophomoric arrogance.
The word you were apparently looking for is competence. But I can understand that by now you’re having a hard time recognizing it on sight…!
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />