BlackBerry Storm Review Roundup

All-in-all, the BlackBerry Storm has been getting rave reviews. While the Storm has long been touted as RIM’s answer to the Apple iPhone, many critics believe the Storm far surpasses the iPhone with its business and consumer capabilities. The Storm feature that has received the most attention is ClickThrough, which consists of a suspension system that lies beneath the display, so that when you go to select an application or enter text, you actually push the screen down like you would any other tactile button.

BlackBerry is keeping its key users by improving upon the seamless Microsoft integration that has kept businesspeople addicted since its conception, but with the Storm, it seems RIM is reaching out to the consumer demographic with a number of multimedia capabilities. The media player can handle various music and video formats, including MP3, AAC, WMA, WMV, MPEG4, and H.264. The included Media Sync software also helps synchronize your iTunes files with your BlackBerry. The Storm is equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera with video recording, auto focus and flash. In addition, it comes preloaded with instant-messaging clients (Yahoo, Windows Live, AOL and ICQ) and a number of social-networking apps, including Facebook, MySpace and Flickr. You'll also be able to download more programs over the air through the new BlackBerry Apps Center or the Berry Store.

Critics also are reporting BlackBerry has improved upon the browser found in its latest release, the BlackBerry Bold. There are a couple different ways to navigate around a page, though the most unique makes use of the whole screen as a trackpad. Now once you have the cursor pop up, you can put your finger anywhere on the screen to move it around, just like on a notebook.

Drawbacks? According to Engadget, RIM has made great strides in the past year or so, but its homebrewed Java-based app still doesn't quite match the Nokia/Apple/Google-favored WebKit in terms of rendering speed and accuracy. We also didn't see the sort of smooth, effortless scrolling the iPhone provides, that no other touch phone has managed to replicate so far. Another thing to take into consideration is per Verizon standards, browsing over EV-DO, not Wi-Fi, since it doesn't have the latter. Lack of Wi-Fi is one of the biggest knocks on the new phone, no matter how good Verizon's network might be. The fact that it packs both EV-DO and HSPA into a single phone is a truly impressive feat worth marveling over, but why couldn't they cram in Wi-Fi, too?

Check out these sites for full reviews:

• Engadget
  
• Gizmodo
  
• Information Week
  
• CNET

Obama likely to surrender his BlackBerry

It seems President Elect Obama may be forced to go cold turkey on his BlackBerry addiction once sworn into office. The New York Times ran an article today all about the situation at hand...

For years, like legions of other professionals, Mr. Obama has been all but addicted to his BlackBerry. The device has rarely been far from his side — on most days, it was fastened to his belt — to provide a singular conduit to the outside world as the bubble around him grew tighter and tighter throughout his campaign.

It is likely that Obama will be forced to sign off before he arrives at the White House. In addition to concerns about e-mail security, he faces the Presidential Records Act, which puts his correspondance in the official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of subpeonas. A decision has not been made whether he could become the first e-mailing president, but aides said that seems doubtful.

Before George W. Bush took office almost eight years ago he sent out this last e-mail,"Since I do not want my private conversations looked at by those out to embarrass, the only course of action is not to correspond in cyberspace,” Mr. Bush wrote from his old address. “This saddens me. I have enjoyed conversing with each of you.”

photo courtesy of joyoftech.com

BlackBerry Storm Launches with Instant Support from Privus Mobile

Well the day we all longed for has finally come. RIM has entered the touchscreen fight with its BlackBerry Storm. While it seems like the company is already moving on to bigger and better, we’re still excited to see how well the newest entry into the touchscreen world pairs up against its biggest hurdle. Luckily, it seems like BlackBerry has an ace up its sleeve right out of the gate. One of the benefits that the Storm, as well as most BlackBerrys, can boast for now is full-featured Caller ID thanks to Privus Mobile’s instant support for the new smartphone.

A free trial for the full-featured Caller ID solution can be found at Privus Mobile’s Web site or on the BerryStore if you’ve already got it up and running. It features before-call Caller ID including the name and number for more than 90 percent of the calls you get from people not in your contact list. In addition, the software allows you to save the person to your contacts list with the press of a button, which is nice when you’re home from the bar and you can’t remember the girl’s exact name as she’s calling you to go out. Was it Lana, Laura, Lara…Sarah? If you’ve got a Storm, it’s one of the cooler apps out there available on launch day. Plus, it’ll give you another thing to show off when everyone starts coming up to you, asking to check out your phone.

Microsoft offering preview of the new Internet Explorer Mobile 6

While most Microsoft loyalists have been thankful for Vista improvements , they will have to wait a little longer to see improvements when it comes to their mobile browsers. There are so many other options for smartphone users such as Opera, Safari, Fennec and Chrome. In an attempt to stay in the game, Microsoft is offering a free preview of the next-generation Internet Explorer Mobile browser for all to fiddle with by way of an emulator download.

New features of Internet Explorer Mobile 6:

* Improved fidelity
* Layout fixes
* Enhanced Script and AJAZ support
* Improved multimedia experience
* Deeper integration with search
* Enhance cursor navigation model
* Touch and gesture support- pan support
* Multiple zoom levels
* Easy switch between mobile/ desktop versions of sites

Microsoft seems to be catching up with the competition and even trying to break new ground. The initial feedback has been positive and we want you to try it out and tell us what you think.

Storm launch date confirmed

It was recently announced that the long-awaited BlackBerry Storm will be available in stores to the general public on Nov. 24. There will be a pre-launch event Nov. 20, in which 123 corporate Verizon stores will open an hour early with demo-ready Storms. The high-end Verizon customers, as well as customers who received the mailing that was sent out, will be able to pre-order their very own Storm at this event. The Boy Genius Report says the Storm will be $199 after mail-in rebate and two-year contract, but we’re willing to bet that if you hold out a couple of days, you might be able to score one for free... without having the tattoo.