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BlackBerry® Storm™ 9530 Smartphone
by RIM from Verizon Wireless
 I tested a Blackberry Storm from Verizon Wireless for two months. This period included my trip to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Costs from Verizon Wireless:
$249.99 with a two year contract you get a $50.00 mail-in rebate for a final total of $199.99.
IN THE BOX
Blackberry Storm 9530 Smartphone
Standard battery
3.5mm Stereo Headset (A Happy choice)
Blackberry Travel Charger with International Adaptor Clips
USB cable
8 GB microSD memory Card pre-installed
Sim card
Documentation kit and Blackberry User Tools CD
VZ Access Manager CD (VCast Music to PC and other stuff)
 Here are a few early thoughts. The Storm is somewhat more versatile than the previous Blackberry phones I have see. The touch screen requires some getting used to even though I have worked with a number of similar screens. I find the vertical two (2) characters per KEY keyboard odd as I often get the second letter from that key when I want the first.
When I switched to the horizontal key board I was more comfortable.
I did have some problems when I used my tried and true one finger for any key location when texting. The blue highlighting that comes up when you touch a key was lighting the key next to the one I wanted almost every time. This seemed to cause the key getting the blue light to be typed in rather than the one I wanted. Once I forced myself to go to two (2) thumbs texting that everyone else in the world was using I was fine. My thumbs are not as young as they once were but they won the day. The tactile feedback, an actual click and movement when you press the screen, builds confidence. This worked when typing, selecting icons, or just moving through lists. Of course the touch screen allowed flicking from top to bottom or side to side depending on where you were and how you rotated the unit.
Due to the fact that I had the Storm for two months I found myself getting deeper into its many functions. Having the phone for CES was also helpful as CES provided a download of the MyCES contact management program. Teamed with Boopsie this gives me a mobile version of my schedule of CES Exhibitor booth visits by date and time. I wish it would connect with the Navigator so I could use GPS to be led directly to the booth. Maybe next year! I still am using MyCES Online to include more details and keep my entire calendar for the trip. I do see that I can export MyCES to a file on my PC and then sync it to the Blackberry Storm. Each day I am building confidence. There are multiple support areas available starting with the 250 page Users Guide PDF that can be downloaded. Additionally Blackberry 101 is very helpful for getting started. The Blackberry Owners Lounge is a good place to locate solutions that other Blackberry users have found.
CES Test Period
I used the Blackberry Storm exclusively for the entire 5 days I was in Las Vegas for CES. I was not disappointed. Our daughter was working a booth in the south hall for much of the time and we communicated by texting frequently each day. (Approximately 80 text messages over the five day period) That really improved my abilities. I also used the MyCES booth tracking information that I saved to the phone to locate the 100 companies I planned to visit. This was invaluable. I did not Sync the meeting list as I had planned but printed out all maps and appointments by day so as to have larger hard copy of the MyCES lists. This allowed me to have more details information for each stop. When I could not locate an offsite meeting room I used email or the phone to get directions. All worked well.
 Memory Card
Having to remove the battery cover to insert the memory card is easy but not as convenient as a slot in the side of the phone case.
Camera/Video
I have posted some photos on Flickr. VIDEO was good when viewed in the Blackberry but lost quality when uploaded to YouTube. The camera came with flash and 2X zoom. It seems to take way too much time focusing and getting things right before snapping the photo. Daylight was good. Low light not very good. The 3.2 MP camera is not the reason people buy a Blackberry.
Lock Key
I found screen locking worked well. I did try a soft red skin made for the Blackberry Storm but it seemed to cause the screen to unlock frequently. Since I did not have a holster and was carrying the Storm in my pocket this was not good.
Music
Downloading music to the Blackberry was easy by using the VCAST Music icon on the phone. The Desktop Software/ Media Manager CD worked great for syncing music, photos, video, and other files to the Storm from the Lenovo ThinkPad loaner. When I installed VCast music on my notebook to take advantage of the ability to have a copy of each tune purchased on the computer as well as on the Blackberry I was unable to access or download tunes. I had to stick with the direct Blackberry only capability. The music sounded fine through the earbuds but not stellar.
VZ Navigator was fun and intuitive.
I set it up at first with our HOME address and nothing else. When I turned into the Publix parking lot a voice told me to turn left onto Roosevelt Blvd. I did not even know I had it turned on. Then it gave me voice instructions for each turn on the trip home. As a test I did not follow those instructions so it kept resetting the route to compensate for my changes. I used it for offsite location travel for the two month test period.
Battery - per RIM (Not tested)
Standby time: 15 days (356 hours)
Talk time: 6 hours
Other thoughts
Email and Instant Messaging were both easy to set up. Selecting multiple e-mails for deletion worked perfectly on the touch screen and saved time.
I ended the test period with a very positive feeling about the Blackberry Storm. This is a business appliance with a lot of fun stuff built-in. The touch screen version took some time getting used to but it is well designed for those who text frequently. I have been told that long nails can make using the touch screen difficult. I do not have that problem. I must return the Storm now and am going to miss it. I can see why Blackberry owners become true believers.
For more information on the Storm and other RIM offerings Click here
For more information on this and other Verizon Wireless offerings Click here.
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