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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > iPhone, iPad & iPod > iPhone vs. BB Storm

iPhone vs. BB Storm
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Maflynn
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Dec 1, 2008, 08:37 AM
 
I'm sure to get flamed for asking this in a the ipod/iphone forum but I'm seriously thinking of the BlackBerry storm.

I'd like to research this further, and to that end I wonder if anyone knows of any reviews and/or comparisons.

Personally I'd love to get the iPhone, but my wife, she's the boss , isn't so sure. I use my current blackberry primarily for email, very little web surfing (thanks to the tiny screen) and staying connected to my office. My wife wants a phone that can do the same. Here's why she we're (read she) thinking of the BB storm.

1. Verizon wireless - very happy with the coverage, cost, and support. We've had AT&T before and it was ok, but not great.
2. Cost, may be a little cheaper then AT&T's packages. Verizon has been offering incentives to renew with them
3. better 3g coverage
4. User battery replaceable
5. My wife doesn't need all that the iPhone has to offer.

Ok, so there you have it, I prefer the iPhone but my wife likes the BB Storm and I need to compare the devices and what others have to say, pro and con on the device.
~Mike
     
Simon
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Dec 1, 2008, 09:47 AM
 
Maybe I'm not getting it, but why don't both of you get what you prefer? A BB for your wife and an iPhone for you. Or actually, you give her your BB and buy yourself a new iPhone.
     
Maflynn  (op)
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Dec 1, 2008, 09:56 AM
 
Yeah that is an option and one that we may pursue but I believe in general we'll save more money by signing up to a family package instead of two separate cell phone plans.

We want to be good stewards of our finances and so we do not want to increase our monthly cell phone bills by going that route. We may but before I face that decision, I want to get a better feel of what the Storm has to offer against the iPhone.
~Mike
     
turtle777
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Dec 1, 2008, 10:03 AM
 
The BB Storm virtual keyboard is horrible. Much worse than the iPhone.

If email and typing is a concern, get a different BB, if you don't want the iPhone.

See a review at Engadget.

-t
     
JKT
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Dec 1, 2008, 10:14 AM
 
The lack of Wi-Fi in the Storm absolutely kills it as a device, in my book - its a much, much bigger omission than 3G ever was in the iPhone. Even if Verizon has better 3G coverage, it won't be every where (and nor will EDGE) and the inability to get online without Wi-Fi when you are in one of those situations will make the Storm as useful as a brick. Also, I would not expect to be able to install apps very easily either, unless they are only a few MB in size - anything larger and you are going to have a painfully long wait over a 3G connection (as well as using up a portion of your data limit for the month).

Fwiw, not that their views count for too much, but [buzz- wrong Walt Mossberg] and David Pogue were tremendously unimpressed by the Storm (Pogue hated it). Other reviewers range from lukewarm to tepid - the interface is also not very responsive either, apparently.

One comment I have seen is that the Storm isn't even a Blackberry killer, never mind an iPhone killer (iow, the Blackberry Bold and others are actually better than the Storm if what you want is a Blackberry):

http://technologizer.com/2008/11/20/...ts-not-so-hot/
( Last edited by JKT; Dec 1, 2008 at 10:19 AM. Reason: Walt Mossberg comment was incorrect.)
     
JKT
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Dec 1, 2008, 10:15 AM
 
     
JKT
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Dec 1, 2008, 10:17 AM
 
Sorry, my bad, Mossberg liked it. Numerous others didn't.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Dec 1, 2008, 10:38 AM
 
Everything I've read about the storm says it's the worst BlackBerry ever.
     
OreoCookie
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Dec 1, 2008, 10:42 AM
 
I've seen (video reviews) and read (reviews) and they all say that they keyboard solution is horrible. If you use it vertically, you only have a `phone keyboard.' It stinks for writing text, I've heard. So either I'd get another Blackberry (one with a physical keyboard) or an iPhone.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
     
Maflynn  (op)
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Dec 1, 2008, 10:52 AM
 
Thanks all, that kind of confirms my suspicions regarding the keyboard. Its enough information to make an informed decision. As I indicated I want the iPhone and we'll probably go with that, and/or what Simon mentioned - Two separate accounts

After reading Pogue's review its an easy decision. I've even passed on the url to my wife for her reading pleasure
~Mike
     
mduell
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Dec 2, 2008, 03:05 PM
 
More email than web? BB with a real keyboard (Curve with Verizon)
More web than email? iPhone

The Storm isn't really worth considering.
     
analogue SPRINKLES
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Dec 2, 2008, 09:32 PM
 
That keyboard will make things twice as slow as the iphone. Other than this clicky screen that BB seems to think will make things better it has nothing over the iPhone. I mean no wifi? Really?!!
     
Maflynn  (op)
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Dec 2, 2008, 10:44 PM
 
From the pogue review he confirms the same thing, the keyboard on the storm is atrocious.

My needs are simple, primarilly email, but a fair amount of web, throw in some music and a game or two. I currently have a blackberry (one with a real keyboard) and its good, though surfing the web is not viable. Too slow, the web browser fails to render correctly and many pages produce memory errors. So I can easily see myself using an iphone in place of the BB.
~Mike
     
DigitalEl
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Dec 3, 2008, 01:55 AM
 
Originally Posted by Mafynn
I'm sure to get flamed for asking this in a the ipod/iphone forum but I'm seriously thinking of the BlackBerry storm.
You're not alone. AT&T is a nightmare for me here in the western suburbs of Phoenix... Not the boonies, mind you, just the suburbs. For those not in the states, Phoenix is a major metro area. I'm 20 minutes from an NFL stadium and an NHL arena... 30 minutes from a friggin' Apple Store. And I have 1 bar most of the time. Many times, simply "no service" shows on my iPhone. My wife and I both have iPhones. Sometimes I'll have 4 bars 3G and she'll have "no service" and we're in the same room, 2 feet apart. AT&T is a f*cking joke.

Just this week, a coworker ditched his iPhone 3G on Craigslist and picked up a BlackBerry Storm. At first he hated it. After about 3 days, he was sort of okay with it. The thing IS gorgeous. I know it's no iPhone. I'll miss Tweetsville and 21 Pro (blackjack) and Frenzic and Shazam... And wireless data syncing that simply works and is Mac native. If I dump my iP3G, I will miss all that. But I'll be able to make a g-damn phone call from my house... And my workplace... And in the car between the two. And isn't that what it's really all about?

Just thinking out loud, weighing the same thing you came here to weigh and admitting publicly I'm not yet sure what I'm gonna do yet.

The iPhones will sell within hours on Craigslist, covering the price of 2 phones on The Network.
I'll eat the AT&T ETFs on the family plan. Ouch!
I'll be able to cancel my home phone and long-distance plan, easing some of that ETF pain over the long run.

Sorry to be so long winded.

Thoughts?
Jalen's dad. Carrie's husband.  partisan. Bleu blanc et rouge.
     
turtle777
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Dec 3, 2008, 02:10 AM
 
Originally Posted by DigitalEl View Post
Thoughts?
I'm very happy with my iPhone. AT&T service in the Midwest is great, I even get 3G coverage in a small city in Indiana. Can't complain at all.

-t
     
Maflynn  (op)
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Dec 3, 2008, 10:29 AM
 
My company (with which I have my BB on) is AT&T, it doesn't suck completely and I can see myself using an iphone because of this. The deal maker is wifi, because I don't always have to rely on the 3g network with wi-fi where as the storm I'll need too.
~Mike
     
Simon
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Dec 3, 2008, 10:35 AM
 
Before I got my iPhone I underestimated how nice wifi would be. Obviously I use my iPhone on wifi at home or at work. But since my unlimited 3G plan also includes wifi access in many other places (airports, train stations, hotels, etc.) I find myself using wifi a whole lot even when I'm on the road. And compared to 3G it still is a lot faster most of the time.
     
SSharon
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Dec 3, 2008, 11:54 AM
 
Originally Posted by DigitalEl View Post
I'll be able to make a g-damn phone call from my house... And my workplace... And in the car between the two. And isn't that what it's really all about?
I used to think so, but after having the iphone for over a year I can say no. If it couldn't make phone calls but had every other feature it would still be amazing. There are just so many apps and other methods of communication other than a voice call that I would carry an extra phone and still use an iphone for everything else.

I was actually excited when I first read about the storm, but the reviews I have read show that it isn't anything special. RIM needs to come up with a real touchscreen OS from scratch and not take their old OS and hack it on top of an otherwise nice piece of hardware.
AT&T iPhone 5S and 6; 13" MBP; MDD G4.
     
analogue SPRINKLES
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Dec 3, 2008, 03:44 PM
 
Wifi is worth it just so you can do VOIP and save yourself a ton of money.
     
iREZ
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Dec 17, 2008, 04:10 PM
 
own an iphone (3g) and fooled around with the Storm yesterday in store and I quickly left the store. Terrible UI (i don't wanna invest time into learning some crappy UI), the scrolling is lousy, the typing is a pain. I hope this crappy phone bombs, hopefully it'll show Verizon that the player (apple or any other forward thinking company) will always be bigger than the game and get their asses off their high horse.
NOW YOU SEE ME! 2.4 MBP and 2.0 MBP (running ubuntu)
     
analogue SPRINKLES
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Jan 8, 2009, 08:53 PM
 
I honestly thought I would like the clicky screen and secretly hoped that it would be put in the iPhone as well. I also thought my BB pearl was the best phone ever until the iPhone came along. I thought all the bad reviews were an exaggeration or they were being too hard on the Storm.

Got a chance to play with a storm for 15 minutes yesterday.... It is a total friggin mess. I actually feel sorry for anyone who bought this thing and tries to convince themselves it is acceptable.

1) The click screen needs some room to go up and down. Problem is the screen also wiggles up and down by 2mm in each direction. It feels cheap as hell and will also be a lint grand canyon.

2) The OS is just a quick hack for the touch interface. Normally on any other BB you use the rollerball or scroll wheel to highlight an item and then you push the button in to select. With the storm all they did was put the scroll ball under the screen. The way it works now is you can touch the screen to highlight the item which turns blue and then you push the screen down to make it select. It doesn't work as nice as it sounds. Problem is people aren't used to sliding their fingers around from item to item on screen but rather pushing like any other touchscreen or keyboard. The whole point is that you should first lightly touch the screen, confirm the one you want is highlighted and THEN push down harder to make a click. This is really unnatural as you will always want to push something with ONE push not lightly touching, confirming, then pushing harder. It is just as weird as when using a camera autofocus with first a half push and then a full push.

3) The clickscreen makes matters worse as even though you can see which item is selected and then push down, when the screen goes down is rocks slightly and your finger can slip to the next time on the list and confirm the wrong item.

4) The OS is buggy as anything I have ever seen, it is no joke. Within 2 minutes of using it I found 5 crippling bugs. One, the switching orientation, took a good 5 seconds. When I chose the applications folder the keyboard was overlapping 80% of it and I couldn't get rid of it. The camera took about 5 seconds to take a picture when pushing the shutter. Exiting an app took 5-10 seconds. It restarted in the middle of using it for no reason. Many of these things will get fixed but how long are people willing to wait and can they handle the bad press?

5) The keyboard is super super slow to use. You cannot do 2 finger typing at all as most of the time your second finger will still be on the screen releasing the click so the second touch input will be ignored and you have to do it again. The keyboard highlights the letter you are touching blue but the glow is so strong that it also highlights the letters next to it also, even worse it highlights a TINY button that is UNDER your finger! Seriously? The iPhone overcomes this by popping the letter above your finger. The keyboard is still suretype with 2 letters per key when in portrait mode. I typed "iPhone" on they keyboard and it offered me a list of about 15 things BUT iPhone. I had no clue as how to make it use "iPhone" over its stupid suggestions. It took me 2 minutes to write a short sentence.

6) The OS still requires you to use the physical options button for everything. When you finish writing an email or SMS there is no action buttons on screen to send it. You have to take your eyes and focus off the screen, hit the off centre button, have a looong popup list comes up, you have to scroll that list, find "send" then click down. Again the items in this list are so closely spaced when you click to confirm you easily hit the one above or bellow. Same goes for the "save, cancel, no" are so closly spaced and are tiny buttons you have to really be careful not to click the wrong one, they should have made them bigger and wider spaced.

7) the OS was branded to "bell". It was the bell colours and ugly. No iPhone will ever have a branded OS.

8) No amazing syncing features with your computers in regards to media, podcasts etc. The iPhone beats it in every way.

Really I can't say anything good about it, I think it will bomb bigtime after the first load of geeks scoop em up. Next time RIM needs to work on the OS and hardware much much longer as it feels like a rush job in both hardware and software. Even Palms new OS looks more promising than the Storm.

My suggestion is if you have one return it before it is too late. If you really need a BB get any any other model.
     
   
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