Blackberry Storm 9530

Full Review

Physically, the Blackberry Storm is very attractive. It's slightly smaller than the iPhone, but it's thicker and heavier. Not by much though, and it feels very solidly put together. The 3.25 inch, 360x480 display is quite beautiful, with rich vibrant colors and great viewing angles. It definitely feels like a quality product, and you won't be disappointed by the way it looks or feels. There are four buttons below the screen—the usual call start and end keys, the Blackberry button, and the back button. On top of the phone are tucked away the lock and mute buttons. The left side has one quick launch key that can be customized to perform various actions, and the micro-USB charging port. On the right, you have the volume up/down buttons, and another customizable button and a 3.5mm headphone port. The Storm has 1 GB of internal memory, and a Micro-SD slot for expansion. The Storm has a unique take on the touchscreen concept. You touch the screen to select, and then press it to execute the action.. The click action (RIM calls it SurePress) feels smooth with adequate feedback. The Blackberry OS has been reworked to work with the touchscreen, and they've done a good job for the most part. However, a software update is absolutely essential for this device. Using the touchscreen took a little getting used to. And you need to know the little tips that RIM doesn't tell you in the manual. For example, while typing in landscape mode, imagine a line through the middle of the screen dividing it into two halves. The letters to the left of T,G and V and meant only for the left thumb, and to the right of Y,H,B are exclusively for the right thumb. Stick to this, and you'll find typing improve by leaps and bounds. The Storm doesn’t have Wi-Fi which is disappointing. The Blackberry Storm is a smartphone that offers superior e-mail and contact management with extra multimedia features. It’s cheaper than the iPhone, and with a few software updates, the Storm is one of the top choice for super phone.

Bottom Line

Unique clickable screen, good browsing and multimedia experience are what the Storm has in store for us.