Basic Features

The Storm comes prepared to help users keep their work and personal lives organized. The PDA supports BlackBerry 4.7 Desktop Software which provides integrated email, phone, SMS, Internet browser, a calendar and an address book, in addition to other organizer applications.

The Storm also supports BlackBerry Enterprise Solution, which provides business users with a wireless connection to corporate data, phone services, email integration for a single inbox, and instant messaging, among other things.

The BlackBerry Storm from Verizon comes loaded with DataViz Documents To Go Standard Edition, so they can edit MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.

The phone is rated for up to 270 minutes of talk time, or up to 372 hours of standby time.

Screen

The interface is attractive, with colorful icons for the different applications laid out in a grid, somewhat similar to the Apple iPhone. Using the touch screen, it is simple to swipe up or down to flip through the applications. Other unique screen features are the ambient light sensor, which automatically adjusts backlighting according to the amount of light available, and an accelerometer that allows users to view the screen in either portrait or landscape views.

The large, brilliant and colorful screen on the Storm has a resolution of 480 x 360 px, more than other BlackBerry smartphones like the Bold which has 320 x 480 px. The 3.25-inch TFT, or Thin Film Transistor LCD, screen produces sharper, more brilliant images and it supports more than 65K-colors.

An ambient light sensor in the handset automatically adjusts backlighting to provide the ideal amount for screen viewing. As mentioned earlier, the screen also moves up and down slightly, so that users can click it to confirm choices or type.

The touch screen allows users to highlight, then copy and paste text, in addition to other actions like scrolling through menu items with a swipe of the finger. To adjust the swipe sensitivity, tap interval and hover point, go to Options and select Screen / Keyboard.

An accelerometer shifts the view between portrait and landscape, depending on whether users hold the phone vertically or horizontally. This makes it easier to view photos and other media, and a QWERTY keypad is available in the landscape orientation.

Some users have complained that the accelerometer can be slow to follow changes in the handset's orientation, for example the screen view remains in landscape when the phone has already been flipped upright to the portrait position. This did happen on a few occasions, although the delay lasted only about a second.

The Apple iPhone 3G has a slightly lower resolution, at 480 x 320 px, but supports 262K-colors. The vibrant interfaces on both the Storm and iPhone 3G showcase the brilliant range of hues supported on their screens, and both phones reproduce great detail. When video on the two phones is compared, the Storm produces slightly lower quality images than the iPhone. Video on the Storm appears slightly washed out and less true to life than video on the iPhone screen.

Despite the Storm's slight shortfall when contrasted to the iPhone 3G, the screen is generally impressive when compared to some other touch screen phones currently on the market. The colors are brilliant and images are reproduced in sharp detail. The most significant problem, as mentioned earlier, is that the SurePress technology requires users to touch and then press the screen to make selections, which can be time consuming when typing.

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