By Harry McCracken | Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Another week, another new touch-screen phone that has an awful lot in common with the iPhone 3G. But the most interesting things about RIM’s BlackBerry Storm aren’t the ways it’s similar to an iPhone–it’s the ways it’s different. Starting with the fact that it’s a BlackBerry, with all the wireless synching goodness you’d expect. It will be on Verizon–a major plus for lots of folks–and will be a world phone that does CDMA at home and GSM around the world.
The Storm is the first touchscreen BlackBerry, but its screen features haptic feedback that gives a clicky feel as you type on the virtual keyboard, which sounds interesting, at least. (Most of the BlackBerry fanatics I know are e-mail warriors who really, really want a phone with a physical keyboard–it’ll be fascinating to see if the Storm’s simulation of one is good enough to convince them to go touchscreen.)
I’m also happy to hear that the Storm comes with DataViz’s Documents To Go Office-compatible suite preinstalled–though I’m also curious to see just how easy it is to edit documents on a phone without a real keyboard.
Here’s a T-Grid comparingthe Storm to the iPhone 3G (and here, in case you missed ’em, are our T-Grids comparing the 3G to T-Mobile’s G1 and the Nokia XpressMusic 5800). I’ll repeat my usual disclaimer that there’s only so much you can tell from comparing specs; the main thing that makes the iPhone the iPhone is the integration of hardware, software, and service.
And oh yeah, beefore we proceed, a semi-related plea: AT&T, please get around to releasing the BlackBerry Bold. The Storm looks interesting, but I think there are a lot of folks out there who will be even more psyched about a next-generation BlackBerry that retains the little plastic keys.
As before, this T-Grid is a work in progress, subject to expansion and revision:
The phones
|
BlackBerry Storm 9530
|
Apple iPhone 3G
|
---|---|---|
Platform
|
BlackBerry (Java based)
|
Apple’s proprietary OS X
|
Availability
|
Soon
|
Now, although supply is occasionally spotty
|
U.S. carrier
|
Verizon
|
AT&T
|
Price
|
TBD
|
$199 for 8GB model or $299 for 16GB model with two-year contract
|
Data plan
|
TBD
|
$30 a month for unlimited data; $5 a month extra for 200 text messages
|
Locked?
|
Presumably, to Verizon
|
Yup, to AT&T
|
Colors
|
Just black, as far as I know
|
Black (8GB and 16GB); white (16GB only)
|
Size and weight
|
4.4” by 24” by 0.55”; 5.46 oz.
|
4.3″ by 2.4″by 0.33″; 4.05 oz.
|
Screen size and resolution
|
3.25″; 480 by 360
|
3.5″; 480 by 320
|
Input
|
Multi-touch haptic-feedback touchscreen with QWERTY and SureType keyboards
|
Multi-touch touchscreen with on-screen keyboard
|
Buttons
|
Volume; lock; left and right Convenience; mute/play; send, menu, end, and escape
|
Home; volume; vibrate
|
Accelerometer
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Headphone jack
|
Standard 3.5mm
|
Standard 3.5mm
|
Bluetooth
|
Stereo
|
Monaural
|
Voice dialing
|
Not sure
|
No
|
Voice recording
|
Not that I know of
|
No
|
MMS
|
Yes
|
No
|
Camera
|
3.2 megapixels; flash; digital zoom; video capable
|
2 megapixels; no flash; no digital zoom; no video
|
Voice
|
Quad-band GSM and CDMA
|
Quad-band GSM
|
Data
|
Both HSPA and EVDO
|
HSDPA
|
Use as tethered modem?
|
It has the ability technically, at least; not sure if Verizon will permit
|
Violates AT&T’s terms of service; tethering plan is rumored
|
Data plan
|
TBD
|
$30 a month for unlimited data; $5 a month extra for 200 text messages
|
Wi-Fi and GPS
|
Nope on Wi-Fi; yep on GPS
|
Got ’em both
|
Battery
|
5.5 hours talk time; 360 hours standby; removable
|
5 hours talk time; 300 hours standby; not removable
|
Web browser
|
BlackBerry Browser
|
WebKit-based Safari
|
Web searching
|
Presumably in some form, but I don’t know the details
|
Yes, via Google or Yahoo
|
E-Mail
|
IMAP, POP, BlackBerry Enterprise Server
|
MobileMe, GMail, Yahoo Mail, AOL; other services supported through IMAP
|
Calendar
|
Yes, with to-do list
|
Yes, but no to-do list
|
Microsoft Exchange support
|
Yes–hey, it even supports Notes and GroupWise
|
Yes
|
Instant messaging
|
AIM, Windows Live, Yahoo, ICQ
|
Only through third-party apps
|
Office Apps
|
Documents to Go Office-compatible suite, with editing
|
Microsoft Office-compatible viewers, but no editing
|
Maps
|
Yes (BlackBerry Maps)
|
Yes
|
Turn-by-turn navigation
|
Not standard that I know of; apparently available through third-party apps
|
No, but may be coming from third party developer(s)
|
Music
|
Supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMA ProPlus formats
|
iPod player and iTunes Store; supports MP3, AAC (with or without Fairplay), WAV, Apple Lossless, AIFF, VBR formats
|
Video
|
Yes; supports H.264, MPEG4, and WMV formats
|
iPod player, YouTube; movies through iTunes Store; supports H.264 and MPEG4 formats
|
Photos
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Wireless synching
|
Yes, through BlackBerry Internet Server and BlackBerry Enterprise Server
|
Yes, through MobileMe
|
Desktop synching
|
Yes, through BlackBerry Media Sync
|
Yes, through iTunes
|
Application store
|
RIM is supposedly readying an application store; apps available from third-party stores
|
Yes, the iTunes App Store
|
[…] I’ve asked Verizon for a tester unit and hopefully will have some more feedback on the new interface once it’s released. Like the iPhone, I won’t know if this tech lives up to the hype until I try it. As for comparisons to the iPhone, Harry McCracken has written up a nice comparison between the Storm and the iPhone over at Technologizer. […]
[…] Technologizer created a good early comparison table that we’ve copied for you below: […]
[…] Technologizer created a good early comparison table that we’ve copied for you below: […]
[…] The T-Grid: BlackBerry Storm vs. iPhone 3G | Technologizer If you need a table to compare these two. Here it is. (tags: iphone blackberry) […]
[…] like an iPhone wannabee–and what’s a BlackBerry without tiny plastic keys? But the BlackBerry Storm, which will be available on Verizon “soon,” is clearly more than a boring iPhone clone, […]
[…] I am comparing this according to my own criteria. You can find a plethora of comparisons of the products, which often devolve to cross-fire and flame wars. I try to make a pragmatic […]
October 8th, 2008 at 5:32 am
The Blackberry Storm now has a release date in the UK too – have a lok at the update to this article here – http://christmas.vg/blackberry-storm-release-dates-out-in-time-for-christmas-88/
October 8th, 2008 at 6:17 am
I’m surprised at the lack of information on the Blackberry side. I’m no fan-boy (I own a Pearl, but I would have bought an iPhone is AT&T had decent reception where I ski). But, because this is a Blackberry device with the Blackberry OS, there are a few blanks that can be filled in. For example:
Web search: Duh. Blackberry already has full web search capabilities in its browser. Google also has a native BB OS application. I don’t even know why you would call this out as a category separate from internet access.
Maps: Again, Google Maps is a BB OS native application.
Turn by TUrn Navigation: VZ Navigator has already been announced (though VZW will charge $10/month for that). Interestingly, the Storm ads talk about the GPS being open, so that you could also buy third-party GPS applications (that’s new for VZW).
Voice Recording: My current Blackberry has a voice notes application. I see no reason to think this wouldn’t as well.
Voice Dialing: ditto.
Overall it looks like the Storm ill be a worthy competitor to the iPhone. It will come down to carrier preference, the quality of the touch screen experience, the level of polish of the BB OS 4.7 release, and user preference for the particular operating system. This is a good time to be a consumer because we have two really good companies competing to our benefit, producing spiffy devices.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Two additions. As you point out, the Blackberry OS is based on Java. However, shouldn’t you also include that it is proprietary as you have with OS X?
And since you’re including that the Blackberry OS is Java based, shouldn’t you also include that OS X is a version of UNIX?
October 8th, 2008 at 11:36 am
iPhone has voice recording via the App Store. There are many choices, many are free. There is also voice dialing apps, to do apps, tons of games, GPS apps, Music apps like Pandora, Last.fm, Simplify Media, FlyCast, VNC, with many free apps.
There are several inexpensive battery add-ons that simply connect to the dock connector that make not having a removable battery irrelevant. In the middle of a call you can snap on the extended battery that will recharge and extend usage without even stopping. Some samples here: http://www.reelsmart.com/2008/10/08/iphone-battery-extenders/
The iPhone has WiFi the Storm does not, This is a deal killer for me as I use Skype Out voice calling on WiFi in my home and at hotspots all the time. Fring a FREE app in the App Store is all you need. Fring also allows for SIP based VoIP calling as well as IM for AIM, Yahoo, MSN, etc. The free Remote app allows me to control my Mac or Windows PC running iTunes. The App Store has well over 4,000 apps now.
Call me fanboy if you like, but I also have a Blackberry Curve and the iPhone wipes it out in almost all areas. A Touch screen is nice, BUT if it is NOT multi-touch and this will seriously limit the quality of the apps that can run out it.
The iPhone Media player is an iPod (best there is right now). Syncing media with Windows or a Mac is flawless, again not so with the Blackberry.
October 8th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Agree that iPhone beats BB in 99% of the cases. The only pro is 3.5 mp vs 2 mp. Again, if you want good picture, get real SLR camera. For contacts 2 mp is all you need.
There are third party apps with zoom and video recording available even for 1.1.3 unlocked phones. AppStore have tons of apps now and grows every day.
Business support, again apple beats it. Remote phone erase, open SDK, support of MS Exchange, Security and keys – all of it available on iphone. As this is unix based OS, you can run security hardening to the extend that it will comply with socks and other standards if needed.
The only con is limited blue tooth protocol to support only audio, no data, no serial port via bluetooth (so for v1 no external GPS ).
Navigation – don’t make me laugh, iPhone got lots of navigation apps, once TomTom is ported to iPhone, it will answer all other questions.
iPod supporting AIFF and apple lossless – this is real music, mp3 even on 384kbps is not that good and crystal. AIFF is over 12000kbps. Feel the difference. Plus volume and playlist controls right on the earphones – this rocks!
I would not mind SD slot in next version, so no initial investment is made into phone’s memory capacity. I was told 16G iphones are less stable than 8Gb.
Hope Storm would have full qwerty on the screen, I don’t really like to press twice or more to get the correct symbol.
It’s presented as an advantage that press feeling on the screen is good for Storm. I doubt this. Everyone knows that sensor touch is one thing, but physical move is the other. Will not be surprised to see Storms sent back with screen defects or artifacts after 6 month of intense usage of emails. Don’t forget multitouch and all nice things you can do with your fingers on the iphone screen. 🙂
I would stay with my iphone, as so far I don’t see good alternative. Even for enterprise users I think iphone opens more doors and possibilities.
October 8th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
I think the main difference between them is the camera features.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Note that the HSDPA on the Storm is not tri-band like the iPhone, but only single-band meaning you won’t get 3G in many countries.
No SIM card means you’re locked to Verizon forever and those roaming bills are going to kill.
-Mart
October 9th, 2008 at 11:49 am
You have some incorrect or missing items in the list for the Storm.
For color: the back side/battery door can be replaced with numerous different colored battery doors. Similar to how the back of the iPhone is either black or white.
Voice Dialing is supported on the Storm (saw the screen shot of the Voice Dialing options/configuration)
Voice recording: The Storm has voice notes
Use as modem: Verizon docs list it can be tethered as modem. VZE will probably lock that down to business users that pay for the more expensive plans. But it will be available for those that wish to pay for it.
Web Searching: Its a browser, of course you can go to yahoo and google just like the iphone.
Email: Storm has exchange, lotus notes, novell groupwise, IMAP, POP , BES, BIS
Some reviews say it can do gmail, yahoo & AOL. All Blackberries can use IMAP or POP for internet mail providers.
Maps: Blackberry Maps & Verizon Navigator
Turn-by-turn navigation: yes, Verizon Navigator
Video: Verizon documents mention YouTube when they list off Facebook and numerous other social networking sites the phone is able to work with.
Application Store: It is verified the RIM App store will be launched soon.
Visual Voice Mail: Storm will have that after launch on Verizon.
October 9th, 2008 at 11:57 am
“Note that the HSDPA on the Storm is not tri-band like the iPhone, but only single-band meaning you won’t get 3G in many countries.
No SIM card means you’re locked to Verizon forever and those roaming bills are going to kill.
-Mart”
Martin Hill, October 8th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Martin Hill, there is a sim card preinstalled. You can swap it out depending on where you are traveling. Verizon even wrote in the press release they would allow users to change the sim card. Not sure where you are getting your info.
That is partially true for 3G. Its got EV-DO Rev A, quad-band GSM, Europe-friendly HSPA. While the phone will work in more countries than a phone that only has GSM radios, it won’t be on 3G everywhere. At least you can go from Japan to Germany to Brazil to Canada and the US with the one phone. How many other devices can do that?
October 10th, 2008 at 12:53 am
@Joe
“there is a sim card preinstalled. You can swap it out depending on where you are traveling.”
My apologies – you are correct. Second-hand info.
“While the phone will work in more countries than a phone that only has GSM radios, it won’t be on 3G everywhere. At least you can go from Japan to Germany to Brazil to Canada and the US with the one phone. How many other devices can do that?”
Well, the iPhone 3G for one. It has tri-band UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz) (compared to the single-band 2100MHz of the Storm) so boasts 3G in many more countries and cell providers.
The iPhone also has 802.11 b/g WiFi as others have mentioned, so the Storm is quite poor in the connectivity stakes (probably thanks to Verizon who just loves to cripple features in order to nickel and dime people to death by forcing them to use the cell network for everything). WiFi is of course far faster than Verizon’s 400-700Kbps EVDO.
A few other items should be added to the list:
3D hardware acceleration: Storm=No, iPhone=Yes
Voice recording: iPhone=yes via 3rd party apps
E-Mail: iPhone also supports POP as standard and Lotus Notes via third party
-Mart
October 14th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
The real show stopper for me is the fact that the Storm CAN’T play wav files. Come on, in this day and age? This I need for unified messaging with my voicemail system at work. Geez RIM, what’s the deal?
October 25th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Storm will be available with at&t and not Verizon.
http://press.rim.com/release.jsp?id=1887
October 28th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
yes, we all know that the iPhone is decent, I own one but I must say that all of you mentioning about the 3rd party apps is what makes the iPhone horrible. I only have 3 apps and my phone is always glitching and having problems.
The iPhone may be great in many ways but the iPhone is most known for it’s problems, and for apple owners, your just being biased becase that’s the phone you have.
Very little information is given out about the storm while everyone knows very well what the phone may have. The blackberry may not have wifi but it’s haptic feedback is flawless and makes the typing a much more realistic experience and enjoyable not to mention precise. I believe that bb storm is a true competitor an will be interesting to see what it intails.
November 1st, 2008 at 6:54 am
There is some unclarity on this website as to the features of the storm but let me clarify the differences:
Storm Pros
1. 3.2 mp w/flash vs. 2.0 w/o flash
2. Click through touch AND Multitap. (Yes, the Storm has multi-tap too.)
3. Longer Battery Life
4. Device comes with 1 gig on board and 8 gig SD card. (Upgradeable to 16 Gig)
5. Stereo Plug-in and Bluetooth vs. Mono
6. Voice Dial (And let me say, Bberies have the best!)
7. VZW’s 3g network which is MUCH larger than ATT.
8. MMS vs. no MMS
9. Talk to you Full GPS Navigation with Traffic Rerouting vs. Google Maps
10.Higher resolution screen.
11.EVDO Rev-A, with Rev A Tethering capability out of the box.
iPhone
1. Lighter weight and 1/10 and inch slimmer.
2. WiFi capable. (Your going to need it! ATT’s 3G network is one of the smallest. Verizon’s is the Largest!)
November 6th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
@Deepak – that is the BOLD, not the Storm. The Storm is on Verizon, the Bold is on AT&T. Two different BBs.
November 8th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Well, it’s all about what you need from your cell-phone – if the gadgets we use to use now can still be called “phones”. iPhone is more like for those who are Apple-fans, Storm – more just brute functional. Here’s another BlackBerry vs iPhone 3G comparison http://apple.reytag.com/apple-world/blackberry-storm-vs-iphone-3g/
November 10th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
So when you say that the Storm wont have WIFI, you mean that if Im around a WIfi hotspot, like my home, I cant get internet access?? So whats the point then…..why would anyone want that over the iPhone?
November 11th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Everyone keeps saying no MMS on iphone, do a lil research all you need to do is google cell providersextention(i.e 123-456-7890@pm.sprint.com and send as email and walla people will get pics as picmail, another win for iphone….
November 11th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
correction: providers extension lol
November 13th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Hi,
That was a good comparison for a prospective buyer like me. I saw a similar site with comparison chart and some videos to. Anyone looking for a buy, take a look here to:-
http://www.kanbal.com/index.php?/Latest/blackberry-storm-vs-iphone.html
November 16th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Storm will crush Iphone, this is a Blackberry. I mean really great stats on both sides, but at the end of the day ITS A BLACKBERRY!!!
November 17th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
You can find my impressions here:
http://livefromthewire.posterous.com/blackberry-storm-vs-iphone-my
November 19th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Thanks for that article i was thinking of getting a blackberry and now i know to yes..you guessed it…get a blackberry…
November 21st, 2008 at 9:34 pm
iPhone wins. again.
iPhone has wifi, the storm does NOT, iPhone weighs less, has a bigger screen, has over 600 web apps to choose from, and has itunes galaxy at its disposal.
and by the way, Jon, there is no such word as “unclarity”.
“PAGING PRESIDENT DUMB-ASS!”
November 21st, 2008 at 9:45 pm
make that OVER 6,000 WEB APPS on the iPhone.
and if you think you’re going to have any battery life after using the storms’ camera, you’re in a sad denial
November 22nd, 2008 at 1:50 am
I actually like the look of the BB Storm over the iPhone. I guess it’s just a matter of preference and to me the BB looks more professional in comparison to the iPhone. They both have their strengths and weaknesses I suppose. I wonder if the Java based BB will allow more of an open OS than Apple’s OS and if apps such as OpenOffice might work its way into future BBs. I’m not so sure why WiFi is such a big deal, I never really use mine in my laptop as I’ve never relied upon hotspots to get access to the Internet. I’ve always relied upon my wireless modem at hotels in which some charge ridiculous fees for (note Hilton is one of the worst) whereas I always get a safe, fast and reliable connex from the wireless modem without having to hunt all over for a hotspot. Otherwise I use my home cable modem to get on the net. I guess Wi Fi would be nice but not a show stopper in my situation, I’d rather have the ability to use the various messaging options in the BB over the iPhone’s WiFi capability.
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:19 pm
DUDE THE I PHONE SUCKS AND SO DOES ATT. I HAD THE I PHONE I WENT THROUGH 4 OF THEM THEY SUCK DONT SPEND YOUR MONEYU ON S**^*^T BUY YUOUR SELF A GOOD PHONE I CANT SAY NUTHING ABOUT THE STORM I ORDERED MINE TODAY SO WE WILL SEE. THE APP STORE I BOUGH SEVERAL APPS FROM THE APP STORE AND MOS OF THEM END UP SCREWING UP YOUR PHONE WHAT FREE YOU MEAN THE DEMOS THAT ARE PIECES OF S(&*^*&^T PLZ GROUP UP WHAT YOU WANT THE PHONE FOR WORK AND PLAY I PRESUME IF YOU JUST WWANT TO PLAY WITH THE PHONE GO GET A XBOX AND LET THE GROWN UPS GET THEIR TOYS FOR WORK AND TO USE WHEN WE HAVE A LITTLE DOWN TIME. BUT IN CLOSING THE IPHONE SUCKS BIG TIME DONT BUY IT AND ATT RECEPTION SUCKS EVEN MORE.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:55 am
The Blackberry will appear to a more professional audience that the Iphone may just not make it to.
November 24th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
The iphone 3g has voice dialing! Its a free app…
November 24th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Stop hating on the iphone. I own the first generation iphone. BB storm is beautiful but apple is way more advance look long it has taken this companies to catch up and there not even close. Iphone you can update love the 2.2 update. You have itunes to update and sync your phone. No mms… email it!! 3.2 mega pixels nice but no big deal. I hardly use the cam and if i do i don’t need a good picture of it. You want a good pic get a Nikon cannon or sony. All phone freeze or get stupid to bad you can’t update them to fix the errors.
November 29th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I’m not an iPod fan but I see how the iPhone competes to be the best here. Well, not the very best, but the best with a reasonable price tag on it. The iPhone I think will win at first because it has a easy to use app store. Not sure about the BlackBerry’s, but the iPhones was easy. But then again, a force feedback keyboard would be nice, but still using virtual keyboards would be hard. I just think that they should compete for price instead 🙂
December 1st, 2008 at 11:26 am
Hello,
Tell us how with either phone: How to download your phonebook (address book) to your pc ? ALso how to download pictures to your pc?
thanks.. Please send copy to fisherangel7@aol.com thanks.
December 1st, 2008 at 2:52 pm
To be honest, actually, both of these phones are garbage.
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:22 am
High quality wallpapers for the Blackberry Storm: http://www.bbstormwallpapers.com
December 12th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I once told myself I would never own a BB but now that I have one, I find it to be an awesome phone.
The storm and the iPhone are both great phones. I find that ATT vs Verizon is the big issue. I had the iPhone for over six months and had nothing but problems with dropped calls and bad customer service through ATT.
I work for a government agency and couldn’t get a signal inside the building with ATT but Verizon full coverage. Down in the DC metro subway system, its VERIZON only.
So like i said its all about the network for me. I have had both phones and i like them both. I’m sticking with the BB because ATT is just not a good network.
December 13th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
How can a phone like this not play .WAV files. It always has to be something (like missing wi-fi) with Blackberry. It is definitely the things that holds them back.
December 16th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
AT&T needs to fix its international / roaming data plan… it is prohibitively expensive. I have an iphone and because of travel, will probably make the switch to storm after 2 yr commitment is up
December 25th, 2008 at 11:37 am
I think most of these guys who support BB Storm are really wierd.
1. How many times in my life have I used MMS? 1 or 2 in past 3 years.
2. Copy/Paste, yes I agree its missing and its very useful but there are hardly any apps where I’d need it.
3. Camera, I really don’t take professional photos with my iphone, I have Nikon D40x for that.
Point is what I really need for my “smart phone” is apps, that is clearly solved by app store, installer or cydia if I jailbreak it.
Smart phone is quite useless if it doesn’t have any apps to go around, like I have E90 Nokia, its a good stable phone but very useless as its so hard to find a good app searching 100s of websites.
I had Jasjar (my last ever Windows based phone) I couldn’t get any good apps for it, hardly few apps and I have to google and search web for hours before i get something download it to my PC then install it on my PC which will transfer it to my phone (pain in behind).
As for getting people to develop apps for different phones? Windows based phone never supported app store style system otherwise they would have surely won with .NET 2.0+ for WM5 and WM6.
Nokia gives out its development software free, but no one makes apps for Nokia because its so damn hard to make and work with. But apple did it just right, made tool that makes it easy to work with its apps and made app store for people to download apps.
Secondly those who complain that iphone acts funny when they installed apps on it are pure liars because they don’t even know how iphone work.
Installing any number of applications will not change anything on iphone as iphone also uses similar much more stable layer like .NET for apps, you do not write apps directly on Free BSD or its unix core, you just write it over that core, this is why its darn hard to crack its bluetooth to make it work like serial port.
BB has just scrambled to make this new interface, that means they never worked it out as good as apple and which means you actually write native apps on BB, which means “problems”.
Best of luck with BB storm, I tried it, didn’t like it and returned it.
December 26th, 2008 at 11:28 am
They were demonstrating the Storm at a local shopping mall this holiday season. The keyboard requires that you type each letter twice, or at least press down on it with an extremely firm touch. They also don’t use a full QWERTY keyboard like the iPhone – it’s their strange thing where you have buttons with two or three letters on them and have to alternate between them. I gave up trying to type a simple address into their Storm, and all the salesperson could do was groan. I pulled out my first generation iPhone and was able to type the same address flawlessly, within seconds.
David Pogue pointed out this little problem in his review of the Storm, and quite honestly I didn’t believe him until I tried it for myself. It really is as awful as his review describes.
Charging $10 a month for the GPS is pretty silly since you can buy a GPS for about the amount of the annual fee for GPS on the phone. I got an iPhone 3G for Christmas, and I have successfully tested the GPS, but they don’t associate it with turn by turn directions. It looks like the GPS is not designed to overlay roads since sometimes when I am in a road I see the glowing position indicator a bit off-center. This means it would take a lot more programming to get directions working. Looks like I will have to stick with a regular GPS for now.
I have been pleasantly surprised, if not shocked, by how often iPhone 3G actually has 3G Internet access available — even in rural Pennsylvania!
D
December 28th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Awesome, keep up the good work guys
January 1st, 2009 at 7:11 pm
David- Not correct. Just turn the Storm to the side and you have full QWERTY keyboard and it types much b etter than the Iphone.
January 3rd, 2009 at 6:14 pm
the iphone does not have gps. verizon’s gps is the absolute best. as you are driving, the phone pinpoints your location and tells you when and where to turn. the iphone will find a route sort of like mapquest. HUGE difference.
January 6th, 2009 at 9:04 am
I have the blackberry storm and i love it. its my first touch screen/ full keyboard phone. the clicking is amazingly easier to type on vs iphones ive used. only thing that i dont like about it is the limited app suport. this may be because its a new phone and they are in the works for new ones.
January 14th, 2009 at 6:50 am
Blackberry Storm on Verizon vs iPhone 3G on AT&T
Getting Started – With the iPhone, I plugged in my ActiveSync settings into the phone and I was on my way. With the Blackberry Storm, I needed to put up a virtual Windows 2003 Server to run BES (or BPS – whatever they call it) since it doesn’t run natively on Windows 2008. I needed to create a separate user account and set permissions. This was all a major PIA and cost me a few hours. RIM gave me a free tech support instance as well as a free BES user license so I can’t complain too much now that everything works.
Network – Having Verizon is a big plus. AT&T was giving me way too many dropped calls. This was the main reason I switched. I mean come on people, I don’t care how many bells and whistles a phone has. If I can’t hold a call on a “phone”, what the hell is the point?
Call Quality – AT&T has a slight edge here with GSM over CDMA. I’m pretty particular and it may not be noticeable to most.
Phone RF noise – The RF noise emitted from the iPhone 3G gets into all my audio equipment (phones, amps, etc). The Storm doesn’t seem to affect anything.
Messaging – The iPhone interface is pretty, but that’s where the fun ends. The Storm has one place where I can see my text messages, instant messages, missed calls, sent and received emails, and in my case voicemails since I get my voicemails as wav files in email. Also, AIM will stay logged in all the time in the background. As an aside, multiple apps can run in the background on the Storm. Also, the predictive typing is better on the Storm. No more accidentally storing the wrong word in the dictionary. And finally, copy and paste on the Storm is a great feature that’s missing on the iPhone!
YouTube – The interface in the Storm is not as pretty as the iPhone, but just as functional. I had to dig a bit to find this app.
Navigation – Telenav ($10 a month) rocks with turn-by-turn directions, voice guidance, and voice input! The iPhone with Google Maps is a joke in this category.
Voice Dialing – This is a nice feature on the Storm!
Calendar and Contacts – I’d say it’s close here. Both devices seem adequate.
Picture Viewing – The iPhone is great with the zoom pinch gestures and moving between pictures! The Storm needs some work here.
Camera – The Storm has a 3.2 MP camera with flash. The iPhone has a 2 MP with no flash – what??? Very disappointing for the iPhone. The Storm also has a video recorder built in. Nice!
Browser – The Storm browser works for most of my daily needs. I also tried Opera Mini which is also just okay. The iPhone browser, on the other hand, is fantastic! The speed on both networks (EVDO vs 3G) seems good.
Music – Haven’t done too much with it. Seems adequate. Although, if I were looking for primarily a media player, the Storm would not be my first choice.
Storage – The Storm has a removable media card although it’s in a stupid place (behind the battery). I could get the 16GB card but for now 8GB is fine. Changing your mind on the iPhone size means changing your phone.
App Center – The iPhone has the huge edge here. No more Line Rider or Zippo Lighter. In all seriousness, I did like the Mint.com app, so that will be a loss. There were a few other cool apps, but mostly it was nonsense that I could do without.
User Interface – The iPhone interface just looks better and responds better in most aspects. The Storm is sluggish when scrolling around graphics or pictures. Although, typing on the Storm seems pretty responsive most of the time, especially when compared to Windows Mobile smartphones.
Reliability – I’ve noticed a few crashes on the Storm so far. I know there’s a new firmware version coming out soon. Hopefully that will address some of the bugs. The iPhone crashes seemed to happen frequently also. This is without jailbreaking and a minimal amount of apps. Both phones recover with a reset.
Jake Persofsky
Insperia, Inc
http://www.insperia.com
January 14th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
i have a storm and my friend has a i Phone, we have debated on this a couple of times and i say they are both equal. people say that the i Phone is better because of the app store, but i have a i touch so i don’t have to waste my phone battery for about 2 hours of fun, and apple already had two touch screen ipods with app stores and 2 phone, this is the fist touch screen blackberry so they tryed to do as much as they could without making it look like shit. The i Phone is suppose to be a smart phone but it lacks simple features that some free phones have like video recording, flash, and a removable battery. I also fink it nice that every time i have a text i dont have to tern on my screen or just ignore it, it has a flashing light like all blackberrys. thats just my opinion.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:52 pm
What roaming on Verizon???? Yes it does have a sim card. By the way I switched from at & t to verizon a few months ago. Reason, they wanted to cancel my contract due oen(out of extended network) I drive a truck. They claim to have service in more places than anybody…………….If you want to pay roaming charges. For anyone who doubts this, go to or contact at&t and find out for yourself. If your out of extended network more than 60 percent, they will cancel and or charge you. I nor anyone else can control the tower’s we use. This was absolutely ludicrous! at&t is a ripoff!!! Stuck with Iphone had to pay $$ for, now I can’t use it. Selling is not option, because I will not sell this for half what I paid, for 6 months of use. Love the phone, someone will come up with a hack for verizon, then I will be able to use it again and sell my storm
February 7th, 2009 at 5:47 am
Technologizer created a good early comparison table that we’ve copied for you below
February 10th, 2009 at 1:18 am
I have the blackberry storm and i love it. its my first touch screen/ full keyboard phone. the clicking is amazingly easier to type on vs iphones ive used. only thing that i dont like about it is the limited app suport. this may be because its a new phone and they are in the works for new ones.
March 17th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
well iphone is nice but the monthly plan on it is crazy expensive and blackberry r somewhat cheaper but if they brang the monthly plan down it would be more budget appealing
March 28th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
The Blackberry storm isn’t taking the iphone by storm for several reasons. The most noteable is the lack of wifi! The other reason is that iphone is still “cooler” in the minds of most consumers. Also blackberry usually fails to have decent user interfaces. In every other respect (speces), blackberry storm beats iphone 3g:
Blackberry Storm vs iPhone 3G
April 1st, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Thanks for that article i was thinking of getting a blackberry and now i know to yes
April 20th, 2009 at 3:10 am
Storm doesn’t need wifi. I use it for tether modem right out of the box,travelled four hours on I-80, never lost signal. Verizon is everywhere! (I can’t stand paying for wifi service!) BB Storm is huge step forward from earlier blackberries because of visibility issues. Nice new QWERTY keyboard, at least I can see the letters/numbers/symbols now! Microsoft Exchange works beautifully! I don’t buy apps, my life is too short (or busy) to fiddle with phones for fun. Sorry I can’t compare with iphone except to say “AT&T-only” makes it a deal-killer for me.
May 21st, 2009 at 7:25 am
I think both of these phones are garbage.
May 22nd, 2009 at 11:18 am
Nice article. you were very fair in your opinion. I prefer blackberry, but like you said everybody has to weigh there options
May 29th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
test
July 1st, 2009 at 8:57 am
No Wi-Fi on Storm? Case closed. Next.
August 9th, 2009 at 1:19 am
Hey, great post, really well written. You should post more about this.
August 28th, 2009 at 12:39 am
Even this post is quite old, the information is still useful. Thanks.
August 28th, 2009 at 6:56 am
To be honest, actually, both of these phones are garbage.
August 28th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Thanks for compare information. I think i will be interesting the BlackBerry.
thank you alot,again.
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:54 am
well iphone is nice but the monthly plan on it is crazy expensive and blackberry r somewhat cheaper but if they brang the monthly plan down it would be more budget appealing
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:57 am
Hey, great post, really well written. You should post more about this.
September 5th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
To be quite honest the bb storm is better over the iphone any goddamn day. The camera and screen resolution are exceptional I mean come if you have a phone with a good camera wouldn’t you not have to lug around a digital camera as well? And texting on the bb is great it’s responsive and precise. The iphone for me personally makes no sense cause why should i have to use 2nd hand applications just to text come on shouldn’t that come as a feature preloaded on the damn phone? Iphone has the big display with such poor resolution what the hell waste of my time and a calender with no to do list and waste of my time and money. And besides that the iphone has no aesthetic qualities about it. Smart people buy Blackberry any day ha!
September 15th, 2009 at 10:12 am
After owning a Iphone and just recently purchasing
a Blackberry strom 9530 I’ve been able to see difference
between the two.
In my opion I think that the Strom pound for pound is a better
phone than the Iphone.
People keep bring up the fact of all the cool Apps on the Iphone
in which most of them are completely useless. Apps are a application
made my another company for the Iphone. Blackberry has the same.
Look under Blackberry App World in which they must have close
to 1000 Apps there..
As for the phone it does have alot of the same fetures as
the Iphone.
The Storm DOES HAVE VOICE RECORDING AND VOICE DIALING use it
all the time. 3.2 Mp camera takes pictures like no other
plus the video camera with flash.
Tapping on the screen in picture veiw mode allows zoom
simaliar to iphone. (i DID SAY SIMALIAR NOT EXACT)
Useing it as a modem big plus done it more than a few times.
The Bluetooth stereo feature not offered in the iphone
is also awesome use it all the time..
Mine is a Unlocked Global Strom in which I’ve used
it in europe this past year with no problems
and currently run it on T-mobile.
I also like the feture of being able to open
more than one appications and return to finish your work.
Iphone that a negative..
MP3 players more or less the same.. Love how easy
it is to import your Itunes music to the blackberry
plus the numerous different types of file you
can import.
All in all I believe that the Strom is a far Better
phone that the Iphone.
September 17th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Technologizer created a good early comparison table that we’ve copied for you below
Thanks for compare information. I think i will be interesting the BlackBerry.
thank you alot,again.
September 28th, 2009 at 12:07 am
Thanks for that article i like the “Apple iPhone 3G” but i don’t know it will support on the thailand’s network
November 4th, 2009 at 10:23 am
No Wi-Fi on Storm? Case closed. Next.
November 9th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
For all those that say “no Wi-Fi” no argument, case closed. Are you morons?
Why do you need wi-fi if you are using the Storm’s always connected web connections???? I don’t get it what good does having wi-fi access do if you are rarely or ever in hot spots when you are connected at will on the BB?
February 21st, 2010 at 6:48 am
Hey, great post, really well written. You should post more about this.
hahahahahah….haha.
February 22nd, 2010 at 8:50 am
For everyones info the new Strom has Wi-Fi and like it’s previous strom
also you can use your strom as a IP Modem for your laptop.. What is that?
Apple doesn’t……..
May 8th, 2010 at 11:56 am
Just to let you know, I’m typing this from my Storm2. I love this phone. I have a couple of friends who have the 3G and they seem to like mine better. True, the 3G may be faster, but for overall usability, you can’t touch this.
September 22nd, 2010 at 3:43 am
The real show stopper for me is the fact that the Storm CAN'T play wav files. Come on, in this day and age? This I need for unified messaging with my voicemail system at work. Geez RIM, what's the deal?
October 2nd, 2010 at 10:14 pm
I think I-Phone is better. I love to play game.
November 1st, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Hope Storm would have full qwerty on the screen, I don't really like to press twice or more to get the correct symbol.
December 25th, 2010 at 1:56 am
like an iPhone wannabee–and what’s a BlackBerry without tiny plastic keys? But the BlackBerry Storm, which will be available on Verizon “soon,” is clearly more than a boring iPhone clone
January 23rd, 2011 at 7:42 am
Only blackberry and iPhone are fighting for customers these days.
February 5th, 2011 at 4:29 am
Good information comparing iPhone and BB. very useful for mobile users.
June 3rd, 2011 at 12:15 am
I like i phone4.
October 26th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
thank for sharing
October 26th, 2011 at 6:02 pm
thank for information I love it
November 22nd, 2011 at 11:11 am
Voice recording: The Storm has voice notes