Amzar File

BlackBerry Storm

By Sherwin Loh

BLACKBERRY finally goes touchscreen and it is serious about making a thunderous impact.

Dubbed Storm, this is one multimedia phone not for those with frail fingers. Instead of just lightly brushing the icons on the screen with your fingers, you actually have to press down on the screen to make your selection. The screen itself is semi-rigid, which means it is tough yet flexible enough to be depressed when you exert force on it.

Like clicking on a mouse button, this mode of interaction can actually be a boon for users who launch the wrong application by accidentally brushing against the touchscreen.


That said, the experience will not be pleasurable for the fast-fingered typists. The idea here is that users need to click on a letter, press the screen and release it before the next one can be activated. For those used to multi-fingered typing, it is down to one for the Storm.

For Qwerty users, the tactile feel of the buttons are also gone so you cannot make a small shift of the fingers to spell out words, based on your familiarity of the spacing of the buttons.

In portrait mode, the on-screen Qwerty keys are also very small, and I found typing to be easier on landscape mode, as the keys are bigger.

Still, there is a lot to appreciate about the device, including the 3.25-inch screen with four navigation buttons on the bottom plus volume and camera controls on the side. The speakers delivered robust music from music tracks and audiophiles would love the 3.5mm headphone jack.

There is a slight heft to the 155g unit, but it fits snugly into your palm and when rotated for two-handed use, there is enough surface area for a proper grip.

However, just as the recent BlackBerry Curve came without full 3G features, RIM has decided to cripple the Storm by not throwing in Wi-Fi, leaving users at the mercy of telcos and their data charges for Internet access.

While there is the 3.2MP camera, low-light images are grainy and there is a delay during focusing and taking the picture itself.

Interface wise, it runs similar to the Curve. Setting up the e-mail access with my Gmail account took less than a minute and pretty soon, I was activating various built-in messaging services installed on the phone, like MSN and Google Talk.

For newly minted BlackBerry users, there is also the BlackBerry Messenger. Using a unique pin number or e-mail, it is possible to send messages directly to other BlackBerry devices. This chalks up data charges instead of the more expensive SMS fees for the frequent flyers.

There are also a mixture of applications like Facebook and maps that can be downloaded for free or purchased and while they are not as numerous as that of the iPhone, the current ones cover a gamut of topics, from entertainment to finance and news.

Given the number of features, the device is very user friendly. The tiled menu can be configured to suit your preference and a simple flashing red light on the receiver indicates that attention is needed, be it a new e-mail, SMS, missed call or instant message.

Final say
It is not the perfect storm but as RIM's first touchscreen, it has enough oomph to zap some of the competition.

This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life.

SOURCE: ASIAONE