BlackBerry Storm 2 9520

Final words



RIM have certainly succeeded in making their touchscreen absolutely
consistent with the very BlackBerry concept. The Storm series are not
shying away from innovation, but the number one purpose of innovation
here is to respect tradition. There's nothing wrong with that but it's
not the best way to appeal to a wider market. Anyway, the ongoing
effort to match the hardware keyboard ergonomics on a touchscreen seems
almost complete with the Storm2. Typing is what books the Storm2 a
premier league place.

However yet again RIM seem to have underestimated the visuals and
that might be decisive when the line is drawn. The outdated graphics
have somewhat improved, with a bit of touchscreen makeup, but are no
match for the elaborate and glamorous interfaces of the competition.

The Storm2 is in its prime at texting, but in all other contexts the
device fails to impress. And even if you're willing to live with that,
there comes the sky-high price tag to change your mind.

Don't get us wrong - the idea of having a side-slider QWERTY
functionality in a much more compact package is really appealing but
not enough perhaps to justify that kind of asking price. After all, the
competitors can give you an only slightly thicker QWERTY slider with a
better screen and vastly superior multimedia for less.

Both Nokia N97 and Nokia N97 mini
are credible alternatives for the Storm2 as they offer good enough
typing and come easier on the wallet. The BlackBerry email and security
are a class in their own but hardly always essential.



Nokia N97 • Nokia N97 mini

The Apple iPhone 3GS
is perhaps both RIM's inspiration and frustration. Many observers were
keen to interpret the Storm (and quite naturally the Storm2) as a
direct response to the Apple phone. Yet we don't quite see how these
will compare at all. One is all about near physical typing while the
other is still choking with the haptics idea. But at the end of the
day, if touchscreen is your only request, the general iPhone experience
is way ahead of BlackBerry.



Apple iPhone 3GS

If the BlackBerry service limitations aren't much to your taste but
you do insist on a touchscreen smartphone you have a great choice of
powerful devices. Among the fairly recent releases, you might want to
check out the Google Nexus One or plenty of WinMo handsets. Samsung Omnia II and OmniaPRO, HTC Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2
are all perfectly capable smartphones that will give you great
all-round functionality without forcing you to spend extra on email.



Google Nexus One • Samsung Omnia II • Touch Diamond2 • Touch Pro2

Once again we have to underline that it's not a regular mobile phone
we are talking about here. With BlackBerries, the service is an
intrinsic part of the package and that makes it harder to make up your
mind. You have to like them both or you better look elsewhere.

The straightforward assumption would be that the Storm2 is the dream
device for those who have a solid BlackBerry background and want to
explore touchscreen. Now, that's a pretty limited pool to draw on,
isn't it?

From a broader perspective, the Storm2 is a capable touchscreen
smartphone. And the touchscreen interpretation of the BlackBerry OS is
better than the early Symbian attempts. But in pure market terms,
Symbian can get away with a lot more things than BlackBerry.

source: http://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_storm2_9520-review-436.php