Blackberry Storm details are coming out fast and furious. From early reviews, it seems to meet and beat most expectations. It may certainly be the best corporate device ever built though I’m sure some will argue otherwise. The keyboard, our big question in previous posts, is getting good reviews and RIM seems to have done a good job of using the capacitive aspects for actions and a hard button interface for selection. Of course it has the strengths of RIM’s industry leading mail/contact/calendar applications with BES synch. It appears to be somewhat weaker than the iPhone on the consumer applications side – video presentation, browser, and music. Especially when it comes to the slickness, design, and hardware graphics acceleration of the consumer application interfaces. The application store / deck / market has had little discussion so far though it appears from the rumours that carrier’s will control the application they allow in the market. Payment/account registration etc. details are still unknown.
For us, we are very impressed and can’t wait to get out hands on it. We don’t know if it will displace our affection for the iPhone – it seems to be missing the lifestyle aspects but it’s our ideal corporate phone.
Competition is good. Finally, we can kill the abuse of the term: ‘iPhone killer’. We now have two very good and different phones to choose from – it’s no longer a one horse market.
Technologizer created a good early comparison table that we’ve copied for you below:
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The phones
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BlackBerry Storm 9530
 |
Apple iPhone 3G
 |
|---|---|---|
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Platform
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BlackBerry (Java based)
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Apple’s proprietary OS X
|
|
Availability
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Soon
|
Now, although supply is occasionally spotty
|
|
U.S. carrier
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Verizon
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AT&T
|
|
Price
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TBD
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$199 for 8GB model or $299 for 16GB model with two-year contract
|
|
Data plan
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TBD
|
$30 a month for unlimited data; $5 a month extra for 200 text messages
|
|
Locked?
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Presumably, to Verizon
|
Yup, to AT&T
|
|
Colors
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Just black, as far as I know
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Black (8GB and 16GB); white (16GB only)
|
|
Size and weight
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4.4” by 24” by 0.55”; 5.46 oz.
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4.3″ by 2.4″by 0.33″; 4.05 oz.
|
|
Screen size and resolution
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3.25″; 480 by 360
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3.5″; 480 by 320
|
|
Input
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Multi-touch haptic-feedback touchscreen with QWERTY and SureType keyboards
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Multi-touch touchscreen with on-screen keyboard
|
|
Buttons
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Volume; lock; left and right Convenience; mute/play; send, menu, end, and escape
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Home; volume; vibrate
|
|
Accelerometer
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Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Headphone jack
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Standard 3.5mm
|
Standard 3.5mm
|
|
Bluetooth
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Stereo
|
Monaural
|
|
Voice dialing
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Not sure
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No
|
|
Voice recording
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Not that I know of
|
No
|
|
MMS
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Yes
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No
|
|
Camera
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3.2 megapixels; flash; digital zoom; video capable
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2 megapixels; no flash; no digital zoom; no video
|
|
Voice
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Quad-band GSM and CDMA
|
Quad-band GSM
|
|
Data
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Both HSPA and EVDO
|
HSDPA
|
|
Use as tethered modem?
|
It has the ability technically, at least; not sure if Verizon will permit
|
Violates AT&T’s terms of service; tethering plan is rumored
|
|
Data plan
|
TBD
|
$30 a month for unlimited data; $5 a month extra for 200 text messages
|
|
Wi-Fi and GPS
|
Nope on Wi-Fi; yep on GPS
|
Got ‘em both
|
|
Battery
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5.5 hours talk time; 360 hours standby; removable
|
5 hours talk time; 300 hours standby; not removable
|
|
Web browser
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BlackBerry Browser
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WebKit-based Safari
|
|
Web searching
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Presumably in some form, but I don’t know the details
|
Yes, via Google or Yahoo
|
|
E-Mail
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IMAP, POP, BlackBerry Enterprise Server
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MobileMe, GMail, Yahoo Mail, AOL; other services supported through IMAP
|
|
Calendar
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Yes, with to-do list
|
Yes, but no to-do list
|
|
Microsoft Exchange support
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Yes–hey, it even supports Notes and GroupWise
|
Yes
|
|
Instant messaging
|
AIM, Windows Live, Yahoo, ICQ
|
Only through third-party apps
|
|
Office Apps
|
Documents to Go Office-compatible suite, with editing
|
Microsoft Office-compatible viewers, but no editing
|
|
Maps
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Yes (BlackBerry Maps)
|
Yes
|
|
Turn-by-turn navigation
|
Not standard that I know of; apparently available through third-party apps
|
No, but may be coming from third party developer(s)
|
|
Music
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Supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMA ProPlus formats
|
iPod player and iTunes Store; supports MP3, AAC (with or without Fairplay), WAV, Apple Lossless, AIFF, VBR formats
|
|
Video
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Yes; supports H.264, MPEG4, and WMV formats
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iPod player, YouTube; movies through iTunes Store; supports H.264 and MPEG4 formats
|
|
Photos
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Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Wireless synching
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Yes, through BlackBerry Internet Server and BlackBerry Enterprise Server
|
Yes, through MobileMe
|
|
Desktop synching
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Yes, through BlackBerry Media Sync
|
Yes, through iTunes
|
|
Application store
|
RIM is supposedly readying an application store; apps available from third-party stores
|
Yes, the iTunes App Store
|
