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BlackBerry Storm
Product Rating   
Features of the BlackBerry Storm include:
- Camera: 3.2 megapixels with autofocus and flash
- Video Camera: Yes
- Display: TFT, 480 x 360 pixels with user selectable font size
- Music Player: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMA ProPlus formats
- Ringtones: MP3 ringtones, Vibrate mode, LED indicator
- Messaging: SMS, MMS, Wireless email with corporate data access, Instant messaging and text messaging
- Games and applications: Organizer
- Special features: Easy Touch Screen Navigation (SureType & QWERTY virtual keyboards), GPS with BlackBerry® Maps
- Memory: 1GB onboard memory, 128 MB Flash plus support for microSD™ card (up to 16GB)
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, wireless modem, 3.5mm stereo headset jack
- Internet: Web browser
- Operating Frequency: GSM plus 3G HSDPA
- Size: 112.5 x 62 x 14mm
- Weight: 155g
- Talk Time: 5.5 hours
- Standby: 15 days
Expert Reviews from other websites (1 review)BlackBerry Storm Review at Mobile Phones UK (1 October 2008)
BlackBerry Storm Consumer Reviews
(179 reviews)
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Reviewed by malk on 27/07/2010
i have blackberry storm for 12 months , never had a prblem and think its brillilant, love it
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Reviewed by Ollie on 27/07/2010
I cannot wait until my 24 month contract is over so I can say 'bye' to vodaphone and this terrible phone. I miss my 3210 when I use this!
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Reviewed by SULEHA KHAN on 15/07/2010
I'm hating it! The battery life is soooo bad that I want to smash the phone! It's hardly 5.5 hours talk time, it's more like half hour. The minute you browse the web or make a call, battery dies instantly. I wish I could cancel my contract. Being on Vodafone network doesn't help either. Very poor reception, could hardly make a call from inside the house. Otherwise, the phone is a good one to have!
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Reviewed by d makki on 13/07/2010
the blackberry storm is a piece of rubbish it is slow and the PRESS screen is not accurate.
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Reviewed by Niall on 22/06/2010
It is slow, doesn't get signal on Vodaphone anywhere and always cuts off calls. The texting is a nightmare. Few of my friends got the curve and it is much better! I am buying one of them from play.com sim free! Cba with the storm anymore!
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Reviewed by John B on 08/06/2010
I have just got O2 to replace my first Blackberry Storm 2 as I thought it was faulty - awful call quality - constantly drops calls - not very user friendly menus for contacts. The worst thing is the battery life as i get a lot of emails it drains almost completely in the night even when in bedside mode. So as a business tool for making and receiving calls it gets 0 out of 10. Emails and speed of sending and receiving is excellent - camera is fine as is all the other bolt on's BUT the call side is terrible. I am back to my good old Nokia E51 ! hope this helps someone - believe me I have tried hard to work with the Storm but the call quality for me is the killer. John B
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Reviewed by Lilly on 29/05/2010
great phone i recommend it to people who store lots of photos, messages, notes and more its the best phone i have had
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Reviewed by m.norman on 26/05/2010
I have just bought the storm off a friend. I will admit that at first it seemed slow and I was getting frustrated with it. But then I updated it via Blackberry. Was ruunning on the 4.7 software but now running on the newest version of 5.0.0 and it is like a completely different phone. I've watched videos online comparing the storm and storm 2 and I can honestly say with this update it runs just as fast. Anyway... the phone itself seems well made. It isn't the lightest phone out there on the market but if you're like me then you won't mind. I prefer heavier phones as they feel more durable and you know you've got it with you. Screen resolution is great and the touchscreen itself is a joy to use. The button system or sure press as RIM call it takes a bit of getting used to at first but once you're used to it you will wonder why all touchscreens are not the same. Camera is average really. Flash is very bright and does help in low level lighting. Easy to text with with either the multi tap, sure type or full qwerty keyboards. Anyone who is used to Blackberries will be used to the qwerty style so not hard to get on with. If it's your first just be patient as it will take a while. If not use sure type - very easy to use. Overall I say that this is a great piece of kit. If you can't afford the Storm 2 then this is the next best thing. Just remember that you need to check the operating system version. It's under options - about. It's usually the 3rd line down. Mine reads v5.0.0.451(platform 4.2.0.198) Well hope this has helped. If you're still unsure maybe go for the Blackberry Curve 8520. I also have one of these. Very cheap new and are brilliant bits of kit. With WiFi and very customisable. Just not as good build quality etc but it is a lot cheaper than a Storm. Thanks for reading.....
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Reviewed by john on 19/03/2010
honestly the worst phone i have owned cant wait for my contract to run out. very unreliable (comes up with jvm error 102 then have to wipe phone completely, has happened 6 times in 2 months!) full of glitches, battery life is rubbish and signal is terrible!
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Reviewed by Katie on 08/03/2010
Awful phone. Nothing but problems. Crashes constantly. Screen freezes, when I try to use the camera the phone freezes, I have to switch the phone off then I get a message saying 'device error report' the phone then takes quite a while to switch back on. Sometimes the browser doesn't work so I had to remove the battery and switch on again. Battery doesn't last a day. Now the phone won't charge so had to purchase new charger and battery. I have used blackberry for a long time but this phone has put me off for life, I will never have a blackberry again.
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Reviewed by bigman on 04/03/2010
The keyboard is rubbish. The battery life is rubbish. Screen freezes. It gets hotter than Hades by the end of a long call. Drops calls. Standard size ear bud plug doesn't fit the hole. Menus come and go for no obvious reason. Switches to "hands free" for a second occasionally and blows out my eardrums. I hate this phone. I wish it was yours instead of mine.
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Reviewed by clintcadungog on 03/03/2010
hi i got my blackberry storm from vodafone australia and i love the phone except for its battery life..i am a heavy user and my phone would last from 12.30 lunchtime until 8pm..it's not too long but i am very satisfied with its features like email and the yahoo messenger..i always chat with my girlfriend whenever we're not together and that what makes me stick to my blackberry storm..a thumb up for this phone but out of 5stars for its battery,i only give 3stars..but you could always search the internet for replacement batteries that has 1600mAh (compared to the original 1400mAh battery that comes with the phone) or 2200mAh, 2400mAh, and the biggest yet is 2600mAh..but we appreciate if the batteries really come from the manufacturer,in that way we don't worry too much if we get electrocuted or having the battery lasts only for a few months..i conclude,the blackberry storm is good but still needs a few improvements but still a kick-ass smartphone.. :)
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Reviewed by Marc Parsons on 22/02/2010
We have 3 Blackberry Storm in our family. None of them work properly . The click screen doesn't work after a while, calls people randomly. Have sent them back to be repaired and keep getting refurbed units. Avoid at all costs. Go for an i-phone
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Reviewed by BB on 09/02/2010
Had this phone for three weeks when my Bold finally gave up after just over a year. If you are considering this phone then dont. I am currently awaiting a 9700 replacement. Briefly some of the bigger faults include; terrible battery life, worst touch screen (inaccurate, slow, infuriating), slow switching screen portraits, glitchy. Forget typing emails on this, it will end hitting a wall... Never had a more frustrating half baked phone, shouldnt bear the BB name.
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Reviewed by CarolB on 03/02/2010
This is the worst phone i have ever had. It has gone back for repair again ! I am now awaiting my 4th Blackberry and I am just looking into the legalities of ending my contract as Vodafone are not providing me with a service in return for my money each month. Very poor battery life -- 2 phone calls 10 texts and its half drained -- poor signal, cant get e mail/internet, can't get it to stay on vodafone etc etc The service at the shop is so poor it's laughable, in fact thats exactly what I did -- laugh-- when they said the answer to my problem was to buy a signal booster for £5 per month extra. Pathetic !! Don't get one of these phones !!
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Reviewed by Tom on 03/02/2010
I returned my first Blackberry Storm because the the one thing I really need --- a phone --- was absolutely terrible. Everyone I spoke with complained about not being able to understand anything I said. Even the voice command feature could not translate even basic names and constantly fed junk back after attempted voice commands.. Many folks would not talk to me unless I called on another phone. Verizon agreed the phone was terrible and gave me a new phone ... SAME PROBLEM ... don't care about any other features if the phone's rubbish ... Fix it or the public will all abandon Blackberry and RIM will tank even further ...
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Reviewed by william block on 27/01/2010
i was due an update when my previous contract with vodaphone expired a few months ago. i read all the reviews about the blackberry storm. i thought this was the one for me. i wish id never bothered. one of the worst phones ive ever had. i had a technical problem with the first one and sent it back. they sent out a replacement which worked well for a month or so. apart from the poor battery life which i can live with. the phone constantly freezes up a will not respond to any of the functions on the touchscreen. on numerous occasions the only way i could disconect from a call was to take the back off and remove the battery. this is unaceptable. given all the initial hype on this phone. ive given up on this phone as its ureliable. so all you out there i wouldnt go near this phone. any calls to the vodaphone helpline are answered with the same old drivel. take the battery out and leave for a few minutes and put back in. who wants to be doing that numerous times a day. verdict. stay away from this one.
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Reviewed by Bryan of Fleet on 18/01/2010
They should be taken off the market! I bought the BlackBerry Storm for work. Very poor coverage & signal strength compared to my Nokia, ie. always drops calls & battles to receive network signals. Keyboard is not at all user friendly. Going for an iPhone ASAP.
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Reviewed by unknown on 09/01/2010
this phone is completely useless! if you want a phone that will not give you migraines and headache don't buy blackberrires. i warned you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Reviewed by anonymous on 09/01/2010
I had this, it was terrible ! Very difficult to use, it feels as if the screen moves when u press anything. The touchscreen keyboard is very hard to use, and takes a longtime to get acquainted to. I now have the blackberry bold, which is 100 times better. It is not worth it. Any other blackberry is better.
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Reviewed by philip on 07/01/2010
blackberry storm,,rubbish,,i cannot recieve anything via bluetooth and also cannot download any maps,,the phone is slow and the only way to make sure it dont ring someone when in your pocket is to put on a password protection screen which you have to type in everytime just to even read a text message,,,slow,slow.slow..im highly dissappointed with this phone
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Reviewed by denise lally on 01/01/2010
this is my second blackberry storm which i have had from Vodafone, I am really annoyed. I lost so much stuff from my phone, music,contacts,address and calendar dates. My phones have frozen and i have had to revert to my old faithfull nokia. i am waiting to find out if there is a way of retaining my information when i send it to be repaired, apparantly not they just wipe the phone and send another. !!!!!!! Very unhappy with this phone.
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Reviewed by Rob from Midlands on 30/12/2009
The blackberry storm is the worst phone i have ever had!!! I am on my third storm in as many months. It locks up almost on a daily basis necessitating removing the battery, and then you have to wait about 10 minutes for it to re-boot. My friend has the same phone and is having the same problems. Do not get this phone.
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Reviewed by Chris on 20/12/2009
I am now on the 2nd unit, The device keeps on rebooting. It was ok until my 1st one which was on for about 12 months had an OTA upgrade, then it kept on rebooting, it was changed by vodafone after repair. the new one did the same thing. got the new one back after repair yesterday. then last night the little clock of a reboot.... (The only apps loaded are Facebook & Google maps) from the applications on the phone...
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Reviewed by reg on 17/12/2009
absolutely awful,battery life woeful buttons work when they feel like it,don't use it for media, it will shorten the 4 hour battery life,which will lead to depression and dark moments when using this dreadful piece of plastic.i've takem my sim out of this and now use it in an old nokia,much happier now,and the days brightened up already knowing my 1998 polyphonic ringtone black and white housebrick is 10 times better than a 2009 piece of junk
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Reviewed by Kezz on 16/12/2009
Great Phone! Honestly unbelievable the only slight down side is the battery but still im used to charging phones once a night so amazing!
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Reviewed by Charlie on 09/12/2009
Worst phone I have ever owned, how can you say the keyboard is easy to use? It's virtually unusable, even for my 12 yr old daughter (who has skinny fingers, using the landscape position). Hopeless battery life too. Customer service from Vodafone is borderline obstructive. Having lived in the US, I've been a RIMM user for nearly 10 years, this is their worst product by far; should offer a swap for another product, that would be the fair thing to do.
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Reviewed by jeff on 29/11/2009
Good phone but am getting rid of it. Have gone through two batteries that stopped holding charge and now my storm won't start no matter what I do. Just the little red light top left and no other sign of life....despite pulling the battery several times and for plenty of time in between. it is disappointing and infuriating. I would not recommend it. Wish I'd bought an iPhone.
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Reviewed by will on 28/11/2009
havnt made the effort with the phone really, none of my mates have blackberrys so i didnt bother with the instant messager, even though im sure its very easy to sort, didnt sort out an email account because i dont really need to view my email on the go, i think i got the wrong phone really, i bought into the whole image of the phone rather than the substance, good for businessmen i imagine, but if i was businessman id probably go for the bold, so its a bit of a non entity really, looking forward to getting an iphone, hopefully the reception will be better
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Reviewed by Daniel Pollard on 26/11/2009
Battery last til about 5pm even when its charged up all night, every night. Facebook app doesn’t work. E-mail wizard and e-mail doesn’t work. Switching between portrait and landscape view is way too slow. The keyboard is slow. The whole phone slows down every few weeks and needs a full power off and restart which takes ages. Alerts decide to stop and start working whenever they like. It’s too heavy. I’ve added 2 favourites to the web browser and it won’t let me add anymore. There are so many issues its unbelievable!
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Reviewed by Brittany on 11/11/2009
I've had this phone for almost a week and the only problems I've had are freezing it gets really slow when I go to a website that has a lot of downloads. The battery lasts me a while if I don't watch videos. But I love it so far. I guess they updated it
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Reviewed by Sophie on 06/11/2009
This phone is rubbish, i have had so many problems with it and im stuck on a two year contract which i regret. i would advise people not to get it.
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Reviewed by Paul Haldane on 26/10/2009
Had the phone for 10 months. Dropped out off it's upteen times without any problems. Being a tradesman i had my doubts with all the stoor and water that could affect the phone. Never let me down till a few weeks ago when it was knocked out my hand and bounced about five times on a concrete floor. Had problems after that so it's not indistructable lol. Anyway it's fixed now. Only bad point on this phone for me is the fact it doesn't have wi-fi however i'm told the newer one has. 4/5 for me.
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Reviewed by Del on 25/10/2009
What's wrong with the Vodafone Storm 9500?? Nothing!! I have been using this phone for several months and I have found it to be easy to use with a super touchscreen. The IPhone always jumped the gun on the touchscreen but the Storm enables you to 'hover' during tochscreen applications. I have synchronised my PC email with the Storm and it has never frozen or locked up. Each to their own but anyone who HATES the Storm probably doesn't understand the Storm operating system and would be better off with a basic mobile.
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Reviewed by audrey Shirley on 22/10/2009
I HATE the Storm. Strong words granted, but its touchscreen is useless, it has a slow response time and I have had no end of problems with it. I have little thumbs and quite how anyone with big hands uses this phone is beyond me. I took out a contract 2 months ago (giving me plenty of time to get used to it) but ended up spending another £300 to buy a Curve handset (without a contract) in order to just have a phone I could use but without all the hassle. I would NEVER recommend the Storm ... awful, awful, awful ... what were BlackBerry thinking?
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Reviewed by Dani on 15/10/2009
I upgraded to this phone in February after being convinced by vodaphone not to leave them and join o2 for the iphone. Note to self, always go by your instinct as I have been paying for it quite literally for the last 9 months. I have installed the upgrades, charged my phone on a regular basis, phoned vodaphone on so many occasions I don't dare to count, but today enough was enough and I have returned to the phone store and they have bought me out of my contract. The storm is a ridiculous over rated piece of plastic...Because that is just what it is...I doesn't work, it freezes during applications, it doesn't get signal, half way through a call it will tell you that it’s failed. The battery will last 6 hours if your not using it and when your on the phone by the touch of your cheek it puts people on hold, yet when you try typing a text the buttons don’t respond. Do you need me to go on? Blackberry have rushed this device out and ruined what could have bee n a better product than the iphone, but they where to greedy to loose custom. If you don’t use your phone much, you don’t mind it not working, and it doesn't bother you that vodaphone or blackberry done have a solution for the problems and will fob you off then I suggest that you go and waste your upgrade, otherwise stir well clear.
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Reviewed by Sean on 13/10/2009
I have had mine since January and I love it. It is the best phone I have ever had. I do know some people have had problems with theirs, perhaps I have been lucky. Eagerly awaiting thje Storm 2, lets hope those who have had problems and go for the Storm 2 end up loving it as I have my Storm.
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Reviewed by Paul on 08/10/2009
possibly the worst phone I have ever owned, its has had one thing or another wrong with it since day one. the worst being attempting to send a simple text, pressing any key on the left or the right of the screen gives you a letter/number somewhere else on the keypad, it is an absolute nightmare. my advice, stay away from it, it all seems great at the start, but after a couple of weeks, all the gremlins start.
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Reviewed by Martin on 08/10/2009
I've only just found this website and reviews - I got suckered into a contract renewal extension and not being very interested in mobile phones accepted the offer of a Blackberry Storm. since then I have had to spend hours messing around with new service books being sent, replacement phone, no signal, no e mails, rubbish keyboard which doesn't type and slow response. it is a waste of time. Luckily i was complaining within the 7 day period and will go back to a Curve. this phone has been desgined by somebody with too much time on their hands.
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Reviewed by stu green on 02/10/2009
worst phone I've ever had! simple as that
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Reviewed by J L B on 01/10/2009
The recent upgrade to the Storm's operating system (v. 5.0) has improved operational use. It is now much easier to edit text and it can play 'Flash' downloads. However poor build quality, weight, and a poor battery life make the Storm an under-performer in what is a competative sector.
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Reviewed by Jason, Scotland on 22/09/2009
Still can’t believe that this phone ever got to market. I’m a heavy business user and my every day phone is the storm. If there are 5 star ratings on this device they must be staff members or paid off strangers. This device is pathetic, battery life, touch screen the list is endless. The most truly cretin thing about my storm is that it wont lock? I spoke to RIM and Vodafone and they have told me it can’t lock due to a fault in the latest software. I downloaded “the storm slider app” to lock the device but the battery wont even last half a day because the screen keeps coming ….and that’s not even using the stupid phone for any calls??? Hmmm what a joke. The best part is that Vodafone won’t let you change it or hand it back. They told me there’s nothing wrong with the phone?? Really! Well I walked into the store and removed my sim card and told the manager to donate the phone to their bin! Anyone thinking of getting this phone just don’t do it! If you want contact me do so through our company website, www.realitydebt.com
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Reviewed by Alice on 22/09/2009
I ordered the storm without looking up reviews and was mortified to read all the negative comments. I was all ready to send it back but thought I would trial it for a few days and I'm glad I did. Battery life for me is brilliant - I played on it for most of the day today and only lost 1 bar. I did charge it for 12 hours initially which may have increased the battery strength. The touch screen took a bit of getting used to but now I'm really quick on it. I can't fault the phone. I really recommend it.
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Reviewed by rob from uk on 21/09/2009
very dissapointed had 6 replacements in 6 months same problems over and over again,turns itself off,disconnects while talking to people,does not respond first time when touching buttons on touch screen,does not respond when i press return button and Blackberry button also freezes constantly have to take battery aout to reset.This is the worst phone i have ever had.
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Reviewed by Chris S on 07/09/2009
I have had a Storm for about 9 months now. Never had any major problems. Battery life is poor but I just charge every night and plug into usb when at my PC so not such a big deal when u get used to it. The reception is poor in my area even for standard calls - worse than my previosu vodafone phones. Lack of wifi is the biggest downfall for this phone and where is the radio?. eMail is just fantastic as are all the messenger applications. FaceBook, MySpace and other applications just get better with every upgrade. Screen quality is amazing for video playback. I download off BBC iPlayer and copy to phone using USB Mass Storage function and the quality on screen is amazing - better than any other phone I have seen. All in all it seems to be bit hit and miss with this phone - I know people who have had major problems with theirs.
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Reviewed by Matt on 04/09/2009
Without reading every other comment below I am sure I'm going to say the same! Very poor battery life, keeps crashing and needs rebooting, nowhere near as good as the iphone.
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Reviewed by B on 03/09/2009
Being A Nokia man through and through for the last 14 Years, I was happy with their menu system and general way of working which was a pleasure to use. However, the need to have a reliable blackberry system forced me to jump ship and so I went across to the dark side and took out a contract with Voda on a Storm. This phone looks amazing and looked like it had great potential. However I don't want to repeat all the criticisms made by other reviewers as these are all true and I have found them to be the same for me. However I will add to the list of gripes with some more: - Whilst in call with any one, if the touch screen gets too close to your face, you end up putting the caller on hold or switching them to speaker phone. - The screen lock is the most useless button ever created by man - it will not stay locked no matter what you do - result - inadvertent calls made to people annoying the hell out of them. Nokia's use a 2 button system so that the lock does not come off by accident (menu - *), here, just a little pressure whilst in your pocket releases the lock with voice command kicking in saying 'say command...' I also can't stand using the touch screen as there is no sureness that you feel when pressing a button, so thankfully at least I have learnt that I am not a touch screen type of person and will stick to buttons from now on. 3.2 mp Camera - Worst pics ever taken, constantly blurry Good bits: - Great GPS System – works a treat Result: switched to Bold. Happier now.
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Reviewed by sherwin on 27/08/2009
iam a blackberry fanatic since i work in dubai blackberry storm is superb mobile i started blackberry pearl now i shift to storm keep up the good inventing a good gadget
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Reviewed by Michelle Caunt on 27/08/2009
Have just transferred to a Blackberry Storm and my first impression is very good. Although it might be slightly heavier and larger than some people might like, the larger keyboard and lettering make it easier to see and touch without the need for glasses. It has an advantage over is predecessors of the minute keys which were hard to press without the need for a pen. The battery life is not a problem, particulary now with the methods available to charge and have found that we have no problem with coverage. Overall I am finding the Storm very good and would certainly give it a top rating.
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Reviewed by Barnes Hawkins on 27/08/2009
Nothing good about this phone at all. I've had it 6 months, this being the very last day until the 8900 arrives. I am so happy! Its a VERY bad business phone.
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Reviewed by Dani on 24/08/2009
This Phone is the worst phone i have ever had!!!, Dont buy it, dont get it on an upgrade even if it is free, The battery is rubbish, it freezes, the call constantly fails, the touch screen isn't senistive enough and you can't personalise your ring tone and to top it off if you tell your moible provider theres a problem they do jack all about it. I wish i had never left my trust worthy nokia...Only another twelve months of this rubbish to go... Totally useless technology on the market that pulls buyer in with a false sense of security because it has the touch screen and you can't get the IPHONE unless your on O2....advice is as follows. Avoid this phone like the plague, chance network provider and buy the iphone like my brother did who loves it.
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Reviewed by Beu on 21/08/2009
This is the worst purchase I ever made! The battery life is dreadful, the touchscreen is so tempremental that it makes texting an absolute nightmare and it is so unreliable on the software side it is almost unusable!
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Reviewed by Tracey on 18/08/2009
Got the blackberry storm in december. Had trouble from the start with poor battery and signal. Also the screen kept freezing and wouldn't allow me to receive calls. Final straw came in july when the phone froze one day and turned off. Would not come back on. Took it back to vodafone who sent it away to get "repaired".....only for them to return it to me! They said it was broken due to moisture damage and would not fix it or replace it! They classed moisture damage as using the phone in the rain or in a bathroom where a shower or bath had been running....and even the cheek to say it may have been due to climate changes! This is completely appalling as I live in scotland where we often have rain and climate changes! I have never exposed the phone to moisture and I am completely dissappointed in vodafone and the blackberry! I am now stuck paying £40 a month for the next 14 months with no phone! My only advice is never get the blackberry storm.....and never take out a contract with vodafone, their customer service was a disgrace!
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Reviewed by Robert Powell on 18/08/2009
This phone is rubbish. It's way too fiddly to use and when you want to do something quickly forget it, the operating system takes too long to catch up. I'm too far in to my contract now to replace it so unbelievably, I use my SIM card in an old Nokia 6230 which is such a pleasure to use. Wish I'd never encountered this Blackberry. Read Stephen Fry's (yes THAT Stephen Fry) website to see what he thinks of it as well, much more eloquent than me but equally as damning.
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Reviewed by Steve on 18/08/2009
The real problem with all blackberry phones isn't really RIM's fault at all. It's that when you perform enterprise activation the IS department for your company gets to lock down the security on your phone in a most inconvenient way, if they choose to do so. Not everyone will experience this, but I had a blackberry pearl for years and it was adequate. Now my boss upgraded to a storm and it seems pretty good, almost as good as the iphone. Sadly though, he too is forced to have a password meeting horrific complexity standards. On the other hand, another manager at my company had a new iphone 3GS. He can connect to our corporate exchange server as if he had an outlook client and our IS department has no say over the security that he chooses to implement on his phone. Much better. He can choose what he wants to lock and what to leave convenient. The IS department might not like it, but that's tough for them. I'm carefully evaluating for myself, but the Storm suffers the same problem my old pearl does... lock down. The iphone 3GS is looking much better so far.
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Reviewed by Gavin B on 10/08/2009
A total piece of junk and a waste of time. I have been to Vodaphone who are completely uninterested. I even offered to take a more expensive contract in order to just get rid of this but they stupidly do not want to know. I will never ever use vodaphone again. I cant stress enough to people NONT to use Vodaphone - once they sign you up - forget any help or service.
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Reviewed by Simon Lance on 06/08/2009
This is the worst phone I have ever had, it has changed the way I do business as I can't be bothered to send emails on it anymore
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Reviewed by Naomi on 01/08/2009
I've had this phone for over 6 months and would STRONGLY recommend NOT getting it. I've had problem after problem with it. Firstly, the battery life is very poor. I don't even make many calls but have to charge it every night, if I forget it will be dead by mid morning the following day. Secondly, the quality of the calls made is very poor. Often people I speak to say they can't hear me very clearly and describe the sound of the call as "muffled" like I've covered the speaker set with some material and attempting to talk over it! Thirdly, the phone often freezes and switches itself off, even when doing the most basic of things, such as making a call! Fourth - the browsing/internet feature is very slow There are some good things with the phone however, which have generated the 2 star rating which are: - This is my first blackberry so very impressed with the blackberry email features - The scrolling facility on the phone is brilliant - Two types of keyboard - qwerty and standard phone keyboard is handy, particularly when adapting from a traditional to a smart phone - The "clicking" feature on the pad makes it a lot easier to use the touch pad. So to conclude - don't buy this phone - get the iphone instead. However, I've heard the Bold/Curve are better handsets, I'm trying to exchange my Storm with either one of these models, but I'm not holding my breath considering the poor level of customer service that Vodafone offer.
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Reviewed by AJ on 31/07/2009
When the fone works it's awesome, but more often than not it doesn't! The screen freezes too often, the portait/landscape tilt mechanism is often too slow - sometimes I have to tilt and re-tilt it 3/4 times before the screen catches up. How can they call it touchscreen? It's push screen, yes you get a reassuring click feel when it's working, but three times now I've had to send my storm back for repair because the screen gets jammed, especially in the corners. I even went out and bought a click-on-belt holster thing, to protect the screen on my fone, but to no avail - stuck again and is now back in the shop for repair. It's been in for repair 3 times, had software upgrades and am on my second battery and this is all nine months into an 18 month contract. Now the thing keeps "dropping off the network" which means that it wont receive texts unless I hard boot it which is no good, cos once I've realised I've missed texts, it's too lat e. The service from vodafone has been disgusting - tried to fob me off with a "reconditioned" replacement. Things is they continually admit there is a fault with this fone, but will do nothing about it! I'm getting out of this contract as soon as I can, and I wont ever be using vodafone or blackberry again!
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Reviewed by Alicia on 28/07/2009
This the worst phone EVER! Battery is rubbish it lasts about 6 hours, it freezes all the time and is really hard to text etc. Please don't buy this phone it will be a massive waste of your hard earned cash!
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Reviewed by Martin on 27/07/2009
Signal strength is awful. Vodafone customer service similar! Local store admitted that they had nothing but issues with the Storm and it is not on display.
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Reviewed by DE on 27/07/2009
I am a business user with an Enterprise version. I am now, in a matter of months, on my 4th handset. I love the phone but reception is poor, battery life is poor and it keeps on going wrong. This will be a great phone if/when they can sort out the bugs. Interestingly if I run my BB Pearl alongside the Storm the Pearl gets good reception and the Storm gets none.
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Reviewed by Ngwako on 24/07/2009
The handset is ideal for use with the email,messaging and all the other functions but there are two things that reflect negatively on the phone.... My handset tends to freeze especially when i work the dial pad and the call logs and yes the battery life...but otherwise its a cool phone....
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Reviewed by Mark Millward on 23/07/2009
9 desperate months of an unresponsive touch screen, 20 second pauses while the software decides to respond and I've had enough. Now the iphone 3g S is out I'm happy to lose three months of contract payments - O2 here I come!
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Reviewed by Harry Bain on 21/07/2009
Had the phone for one week and sold it on as the battery life was a disgrace. the phone itself handles well and does what it should but the battery did it for me - useless.
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Reviewed by ABz on 17/07/2009
Sorry, maybe its me, but moving aside the issues with signal and battery life, what about the user interface? Is it only me, or is it mind numbingly frustratingly useless? I have to click on icons several times, and when you want to make an urgent call, and have to wait and disregard numerous calendar "reminders" before you can even get to call someone!! Sorry RIM, but I am selling mine on ebay and buying a Nokia.
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Reviewed by dora callington on 15/07/2009
A nightmare of a phone!!! They should be removed from circulation straightway. I had a replacement,btu was much the same. Lots of problems. I am trying to get my contract cancel
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Reviewed by Ian Hindson on 12/07/2009
I,ve had my Blackberry storm now for just over a week at first this phone is complicated with very little instructions and the book that came with it just covers things like how to insert your battery, sim card and how to switch it on. if you have a mobile they are all pretty much the same and thats were the storm stops. Having sussed out how to put the battery in ect I downloaded the disc that comes with it that syncs my storm with outlook express, word, excel and powerpoint... Fantastic although a little complicated to get started. Be warned !!!!! You do need a computer for this phone, even to read the full 300 page instruction manual thats on PDF. Every day I,m learning somthing new about this phone, it just keeps on impressing me with what it can do, its like christmas everyday ! I do find the qwerty key board difficult to use when in portrate mode but turn the phone to landscape and its easy. Was worried about the phone not locking when I put it in the houlster ( that comes with the phone ) but with a little fiddling set up security password and now the phone locks and switches to standby when inserted into the houlsted, you can see the phone go to sleep when you slide it into the houlster... be warned !!! you will need the leather houlster that comes with it ! This is a fantastic little phone that looks neat and doesnt scream at you 'look what I can do'. It does the lot and more ! FANTASTIC !
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Reviewed by Chris Edge on 10/07/2009
I actually waited for Blackberry to nail the market cos thats what they are good at. Worst mistake of my life. Im in an 18 month contract where I cant make and randomly recieve calls. OS is at best rubbish. Avoid. After all the hype would give it 0 if I could.
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Reviewed by Jonathan on 09/07/2009
Having owned the Storm on Vodafone since February, I've survived the worst and the future looks rosy. The new firmware is very promising, with great improvements to stability, speed, battery life, and general usability. In the past, most of the applications available were either poorly contrived, poor in execution, or just plain useless. Recently, especially with the release of the BB App World, good applications are starting to appear (Poynt, Viigo, Weatherbug), and improvements have been made to existing ones (eg Bloomberg, Facebook). The overall user experience is vastly improved compared to launch.
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Reviewed by Kev based in Germany BA on 09/07/2009
Ive been using the blackberry storm for 3 months or so and i have to say that it is very dissapointing to be honest, the battery is pathetic especially for the job i do, its sluggish and crashes at random times, making me wait a good five minutes for it to reboot, no matter how good your signal is, the connection to the net is rubbish and finally due to mine being used in germany the apps store is not available here, so AVOID it.
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Reviewed by g jones on 06/07/2009
rubish
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Reviewed by RR on 02/07/2009
This has got to be among the worst phones I have ever had. After 4 months I can't wait to get rid of it - appalling signal, dreadful battery life especially when using blue tooth in the car and generally flaky phone. I would avoid these if at all possible
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Reviewed by Imran Khan on 28/06/2009
I bought this phone SIM free and I am happy to say....I have found a buyer for it. Too many problems to name but I have given it 2 stars because the touch screen was a joy to use for me but the daily tasks were not made any easier by this bit of innovative technology. The camera is very good but I can't give it more than 2 stars because it sucked at everything else. Battery life is worryingly bad and the internet speed was an issue, which is the main reason I am selling it on. Great design but useless as a phone.
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Reviewed by Lillian Mahon on 26/06/2009
The password entry is an issue on this phone because when you lock it, you have to type in a limit of four letters to unlock it, which is awkward every time you want to use it, when i disable password, its fine except, placing it in handbag, can switch it off or wipe off everything stored on it, which happened to me, luckily, i had a backup on pc. Love this phone otherwise.
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Reviewed by James on 25/06/2009
SHOULD NOT BE ON SALE - Had a new Storm for 5 days - the most horrible awful phone device ever - just problem after problem after problem - Vodafone totally unhelpfull and very rude - tied into 24 month contract and they point blank refuse to do anything despite massive problems for the first 5 days - I have been truly shocked at how they treat their customers with a could not care less attitude at every single level - unless you like hassle and grief in large ammounts DO NOT BUY A BLACKBERRY STORM and DO NOT USE VODAFONE
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Reviewed by The Truth on 24/06/2009
Dont be put off by all these negative reviews. The pro's far out weigh the cons. Im noticing that most of the douchebags on here that slagged off the storm, took it back to the shop within 14 days and not giving it the time it needs for you to get used to. The battery life isnt great i admit, but its never run out on me and im constantly on the bloody thing. Just charge it when you go to sleep at night and you are sorted. If you have a problem configuring the device, then you are clearly too stupid to own a smartphone and should look at getting a more basic device. This phone is the friggin balls, the only other phone currently available worth mentioning in the same breath is the i-phone. Download the new OS and stop bitching.
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Reviewed by gary on 20/06/2009
awful phone keeps crashing and call volume very bad
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Reviewed by Bart on 19/06/2009
Sent this phone back after less than a week of having it. Terrible reception, poor battery life - needed charging every night. Then, as i was texting the screen went black and that was the end of it! the keyboard was slow, and difficult to use, it also wasn't very responsive when turning it landscape/portrait!
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Reviewed by John Doyle on 15/06/2009
Has excellent features but in term of usability it the most inept phone I have ever owned. It is obtuse to update (attempting to update ended in the phone deleting itself), and has a pathetic battery life, and the longer I have it the worse it gets. Avoid
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Reviewed by Alex on 14/06/2009
it is rubbish
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Reviewed by JonnyK on 13/06/2009
The phone itself is very good. I like the look of it and its not too heavy. The click keyboard takes a few days to get used to but when mastered it makes good sense! The screen is fantastic and picture quality is great. Camera isnt the best though. E-mail, SMS etc is pretty user friendly. However, the battery life on this device is shocking beyond belief! Just with general use you'll be pushed to last much more than a day. The signal quality isnt great either. Sending mine back to be replaced by a Curve 8900! Shame as i like the phone on the whole.
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Reviewed by Lina on 11/06/2009
I just got this phone 3 days ago and having slight problems. The service is terrible and it freezes from time to time. Also it won't let me go on msn mobile because of some internal service error? What is that all about? Other than that I love the web browsing And keyboard. Hopefully I didn't get any from the bad batch. I had the env before from a bad batch and it was tres terrible! Anyway this phone
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Reviewed by Adil on 04/06/2009
The worst phone ever. I wonder if they tested the phone before releasing it. I took me more than 25 minutes to type a message. I had to type each letter thrice (I swear), u type p, it shows O, u type O, it shows L. Not to mention it is so slow, the phone hung on me 3 times typing this message. I havent used a phone more complicated to type a message.... Anybody who is thinking of buying this phone, please DONT. By the way, dont think that Im a 80 year old with slow shaking fingers. I'm a savvy guy of 27, with fast thin fingers. So, I guess u get the point...
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Reviewed by Domhnall on 24/05/2009
I managed to work around the battery life problems by getting a second battery from Vodafone, they said I shouldn't expect to get a full day's use out of the phone. I still have major issues with using it as a phoen though. It struggles to complete phone calls as it seems unable to maintain a network connection reliably - despite having a full strength 3G signal, moments later it will ose the call and say "SOS calls only". Vodafone can only say they're aware of the issue and are working to resolbve it. Well it's been 6 months so far and still I can't rely on it to make or receive calls. The fact that I have to carry a backup phone to cover my voice needs says it all. Email works well but typing is slow due to the awkward touch keyboard and the bizarre alternative (made up?) words which the Storm costantly suggests. If looks matter more than functionality by all means get the storm. If you want a phone that you can do advanced things with (like make voice calls) then do yourself a favour and avoid this rubbish.
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Reviewed by Mark Gladwell on 23/05/2009
Well to be honest i would rate this phone 5 out of 5 because most phones compete with the Iphone now and the blackberry beats it in my view the bads 1. battery life dotn last long but what can u expect from a phone that has msn, facebbook, youtube etc(if u download appilcations but if not use the internet. 2. texting is not as quick as doing it from a slide out qwert keyboard but the keyboard on the fone is good. the blackberry beats the iphone beacuse they based it around a phone not a music player the texting is easy and quick if you have smal lfingers but still pretty easy the ringin is as good as it gets loud and clear plus the fone pics up good reciption, plus updates will come on the phone what will make battery life last longer like the last one did! the signal depends on where your from because its more network than phone music videos and pictures are great! the camera seems fuzzy at 1st but when u take the picture its as clear as any thing, im not saying an y of this people that have write below are wrong but as i got the fone later than them updates have been instaleld etc! the phone respnse is pretty quick tbh i say get the phone dont have second thoughts!
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Reviewed by Doug on 21/05/2009
The Blackberry storm is complete rubbish, this touch/press screen is possibly the worst feature of a PDA/mobile phone ever. The accelerometer is slow to react (if it can be bothered to switch orientation). I cannot wait to get rid of this piece of junk. This will make a serious dent in RIM's armour what with a lot of decent machines coming out from Samsung, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, HTC and or course Apple. I bet this phone would not have even got to Prototype in Labs belonging to the Apple Corp.
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Reviewed by kagan on 20/05/2009
BB has done the worst work ever...touch screen mobiles not user friendly at all... Bold is much better...or N71 which is more stylish..
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Reviewed by Frustrated !! on 20/05/2009
I don't protest to be techicnal and bought this more as I wanted something that was trendy and looked good (shallow I know) so can't comment on the business aspects of the phone nor the media but more the basics of the phone. The touchscreen takes days to get used to but have just about got my head around it now. I can imagine using the keyboard for emailing would be a nightmare! Battery life is horrendous and you have to charge it daily and even then, it dies within a few hours! The main problems I have had with this device though is that the screen freezes up and you have to take the battery out and load it up again to rectify the problem. Also, it can randomly cut you off on calls and alot of the time you can't hear each other on calls although it is stating you are still connected. I am on my 3rd replacement and they have all had the same problems inc the one I have currently got.Vodafone have been a complete nightmare, you can not get through to the same person and I've been constantly passed from pillar to post having to repeat my predicament and still don't appear to be any nearer to resolving the issue. Keep a wide berth from both the Blackberry Storm and Vodafone I'd say !!
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Reviewed by Angela on 19/05/2009
I was v dissapointed with it i hav had practically all the blackberry's and this is the worst ive had The battery life is awful
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Reviewed by mnbhgmkfdnb on 15/05/2009
well nice i gaurantee it will bring u good
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Reviewed by Richard on 10/05/2009
Just appaling - I wanted to love it so much and it should have been brilliant. But it is simply not fit for purpose. The battery life is rubbish, you have to disable the mobile connections to get a day's life. The camera terrible, the signal the worst I have ever had on any phone - including my 3 contract! It cant make up its mind whether its landscape or potrait and god help you if yuo make a mistake punching anything in - its a nightmare to correct. I last 3 weeks before I got shot and went bakc to the Curve I had before which does all of the above better and doesn't weigh like a brick Hugely disappointed.
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Reviewed by paul billingham on 09/05/2009
storm wors phone ever puchased all the time sos loosing buisnes no voice mail no email should have brough two coke cans with a piece off srtrin
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Reviewed by richie on 08/05/2009
got this mobile on wed its now fri and its broken the software was very very slow when i 1st tried it its not at all accurate what so ever , the use of the internet websites its not easy at all to type the address bar , using the email you can cant download the emails saved on the server rather than just emails thats just arrived i placed my memorycard in the phone and it took ages and ages for the software to kick in to read the video and mp3`s overall i`ve had a n95 and that was great but this blackberry , this is my 1st and as people say 1st impressions last so i will never touch a blackberry again and yes its been sent back to vodafone , i never want to see this brand again keep away from this phone its bad news
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Reviewed by spencer on 08/05/2009
ive had the storm know for 5 months an its bin nothing but a pain the softwere is slow an its always freezing and crashing. proplems sound quality isn't the best The touch screen can take some getting used too. The battery's poor i got 5 hours use off a 20 hour charge.. LIKES The camera is average FOR A 3.2 The screen is bright an very clear to see its loud an doesn't distort easy it can take a GB memory card
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Reviewed by Petar G. on 04/05/2009
My love and hate relationship with the Storm will never end. I spend $330 outright so i could buy it and use it with tmobile unlocked. Since I spent so much I decided to try out all the new blackberries. I used it for a while, trade it for a Bold, used the Bold for a while and tried out the 8900 and surprisingly EVEN for my own self, I went back to the Storm. The number one thing I love about the Storm is the sureclick screen. I LOVE being able to highlight an icon without automatically going in the app or into the link and etc. The click technology is a huge plus for me and probably the reason why I would use touchscreen (I wouldn't use any other). The camera is awesome, even though 3.2 mp already trails other high end devices but the flash is welcome. Using this browser is awesome, I find it to be just as satisfying an easy to maneuver as the iphones safari. Typing on this device needs some getting used but once you do, you will be quick. It is no worse than any other touchscreen typing. The battery is average but I find NO problems lasting through a full day with it. For those of you with battery problems I suggest that YOU CHECK WHAT APPS you have operating in the background because some apps drain the battery big time. Upgrading the OS also could help the battery and there are a LOT OF THEM OUT THERE .109 .113 .114 .132 .141. Again, there isn't a significant difference between those operating systems but I find that each new one makes the device slightly less faulty and it is entirely possible that A NEW OS CAN IMPROVE YOUR BATTERY LIFE. One INEXCUSABLE design flaw that a lot of people will find out soon is that the bottom of the edges of the screen have a millimeter gap to the surface underneath and DUST can and most likely WILL get underneath your screen and it's really hard to remove (compressed air, static microfiber cloth and other methods are semi successful). I have a clear case covering everything so that never happens to me but again that to me a BAD flow to have on such a high end and expensive smart phone. 3g is wonderful to have and if you want WiFi then check out the 9500 model as the customers in USA are out of luck because Verizon wireless PURPOSELY left it out so they can charge people for data.
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Reviewed by Ernie (GEL) on 04/05/2009
I have had all models of the blackberry's including the Storm, the previous model the bold. Battery life is not what is advertised. Battery life is terrible. Signal drops in various locations may be due to limited access to 3G, the keys locks or freeze and cannot in many cases use the phone until the keys decide to unlock or unfreeze itself. This is the second exchange of a replacement for the Storm that I have had. RIM should definitely revisit this phone and have upgrades available to fix these problems or simply replace the storm for a fully functional storm as RIM can be liable for bad advertising. I am still in love with Blackberry but I am very sorry for the storm functionality which needs much more improvement.
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Reviewed by Dean on 03-05-2009
Had for 6 months now. Frequent crashes/screen freezes. I have used two different Storms - same problem. Runs very slow. Aps poorly designed/not user friendly/boring in comparison to e.g iPhone. Anyone who has given this phone a score of 3 or more must be using a different phone to me or has not experienced an iphone (which although is far from perfect is still in a different league). Very disappointing (and no, I don't have shares in Apple)
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Reviewed by Paul H Cheltenham on 02/05/2009
Useless business phone, touch screen looks good but unless you have baby fingers impossible to write or text quickly. Battery life also dire. Got 18 month contract but threw phone in the bin and back using old handset.
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Reviewed by dj davies on 26/04/2009
good but not that good its got poor signal poor battery life blackberry have gone a bit to far with this
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Reviewed by Simon Wright on 25/04/2009
Having previously used BB Pearls I had the opportunity to try the Storm. Admittedly I was wary of the touch screen as generally I find the buttons too small and end up pressing the wrong keys. Well without doubt this is the worst phone I have come across. The phone would switch off in my pocket even though the keypad was locked, sometimes it rebooted then the network was switched off. The screen would regularly lock up and was impossible to use requiring the battery to be removed. Battery life is terrible. If you like the functions of Blackberries DON'T get a Storm.I'd like to give this phone a negative score as it is terrible if I'd need to use a phone in an emergency this phone will probably leyt you down you can't call the emergency services if you can't access the keypad!!!
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Reviewed by antony whitehead on 23/04/2009
Whatever you do in this life, do not agree to a Blackberry Storm--it's beyond belief in its awfulness.
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Reviewed by Lindsey Horner on 23/04/2009
I got this phone to replace LG Viewty, which by the way was a fabulous phone. I had this for two weeks and still couldn't get used to it so took it back and swapped it for a Nokia 5800, which is brilliant too. There was nothing good about this phone at all, I had great difficulty texting, a nightmare with rotating screen, and the clicky touch screen was rubbish didn't feel like a touch screen but a big button. I could not get a memory card to work in it. It was just so fiddly and boring. Texting on it was awful as you would press one letter and get another if you don't have fingers the size of a child. I don't use the instant messenger so it may be good for someone that does. Going onto facebook on it was far too touch sensitive and I feared poking someone or maybe liking status's accidentally. I hated this phone more than any phone I have ever purchased. The battery was dead in a day, it was totally unreal. Don't buy this phone I wish to god I had read the reviews before I went to get it. The most complicated pile of rubbish ever, BEWARE
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Reviewed by Laura on 22/04/2009
i got this phone yesterday, was excited to get it but know it is here i don't like it! i'm not sure what it is i don't like but i just don't! i prefer the i phone which my boyf has but we don't get any o2 signal at home so there is no point in me getting that. its a good phone if you really need it for emails etc. which i though was useful but not essential for me. not sure which phone to get instead though!
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Reviewed by bob htc on 21/04/2009
This phone is very close to useless. I'm used to htc phones and this storm doesn't even come close. I hate to push the screen so hard and I end up pulling my hair out every time I want to answer a mail. I spend more time correcting the texts I input and it just gets on my nerves. If you have large fingers, forget about this phone. Tha cameras great, so's the screen but if you're thinking of this for business, forget it...stick to the classic blackberry models. They're great! I'll be returning my storm ASAP.
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Reviewed by Phil on 09/04/2009
Fantastic phone. No complaints, it's just brilliant.
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Reviewed by Dan on 08/04/2009
Amazing phone, with firmware updates, there's no faults. All the bugs and faults listed below are gone now.
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Reviewed by Shaggie on 03/04/2009
Having been a BlackBerry Pearl user for the past two years I thought the way to go was with the Storm. When I first got my Pearl I couldn't believe how good the email was on it, also the size of the handset was far neater than the previous devices from RIM. As the new touch screen technology was all the go I decided to get a Storm to try for our corporate account as we have had a lot of BB's for some time now and wanted to get new devices, well sadly the Storm has not lived up to the expectations. I'm not going to slate it as the email is by far superior to any other out there when used with a BES, super fast and reliable, it's just that the touch screen is not the most accurate of things and when trying to correct an email it's damn frustrating tying to place the cursor where you want it and typing the message can be a bit hit and miss and not sure about the gap around the screen and the feedback either, I'm sure it will gather lots of dust and stuff, reliabilit y could be an issue. Whats with the no WiFi? The browser is useless as was the one on the Pearl, surprised they didn't upgrade that in a new flagship device, also is incredibly slow to react to screen changes, not exactly the slickest of UI's. Application downloads, not really that great, early days I know but initially poorly executed. I have spent quite some time with this device and I just can't get past it's failings so I'm afraid we won't be going with the Storm, think the next next generation with new software will be much better but for the moment I will be staying away from it as I have cursed this device more than any other while using it.
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Reviewed by Mit on 01/04/2009
I have had this phone for 2 months, i have endured nothing but aggro, vodafone dont wanna now, the phone does nothing but crash, the texting is rubbish and you cannot upload nowhere near as much programs as you can on the bold. IO really thought this phone would be good, but it turned out to be a massive dissapointment. whats even worse is the response i got from VODAFONE. they done nothing but fob me off, i will never deal with them again. stay away from the storm and vodafone.
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Reviewed by Anonymous on 31/03/2009
iv had this phone for about 2 months now and its brilliant! the only problem i have with it is the battery life is kinda poor when you are browsing the internet on it. i always have good signal, my phone is never slow responding! i would recomment anyday!
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Reviewed by Graham on 29/03/2009
This is an absolute horror of a device. I have used both a blackberry 8800 and an iPhone for two years so I know what I am talking about. I really tried to get on with the Storm but it is just too awful for words. The ludicrous 'worst of both worlds' keyboard is so innacurate it is impossible to make rapid progress with an email or text - you make far too many mistakes and the smart text is useless. Speaking as a Blackberry fan, I think the Storm is a huge step backwards for RIM, who are obviously trying to compete with the iPhone but they have released a device which is not even close to trial testing standard. I have changed my Storm for a Bold which is way better in almost every respect, and has the proper keyboard you expect from a blackberry - it works! If you want a big touch screen for photos and internet and can cope with a virtual keyboard the iPhone is so much better and the interface is so smooth. If you want a proper work tool, get a Bold. Honestly the Storm is rubbish!
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Reviewed by Irritated from Hampshire on 26/03/2009
An awful idea that promises so much more than it delivers! Slow, clunky menus. Very poor battery life. Poor signal. Slow to respond to input on touchscreen. Basically, F+ Could do a helluva lot better.
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Reviewed by A Butt on 19/03/2009
I have been using storm since 1st week of its Uk launch last year. there is no use of any of the features if you can't use them. the battery doesnt last even 12 hours on miniamal usage. Vodafone has replaced the battery, and i am using 3rd handset, all have same problem. do not buy this hardware, it simply doesnt do what it says on box.
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Reviewed by walter on 18/03/2009
this phone is rubbish my contract is just 4 months old my phone been replaced by vodaphone 3 times the 3rd phone just had a new screen battery lasts 5 hours max vodaphone this is ok and will not replace battery,
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Reviewed by Joesphine Smith on 16/03/2009
I have had the phone now for about a month and a half. I would suggest to anyone to buy it as it is possibly the best phone i have had (and i've had a fair few ;)) The aplications are amazing and you get regular updates and new ones. My aunt lives in a very distant part of the country and i can always get signal. The touch screen is the best i have tried with the click-able screen making it sooo much easier to use. I have had no problems what-so-ever with battery life and use it all the time to play music and what not. After getting use to the landscape typing i am now a wizz at it. It does take time but any phone with the same layout would. I hav been into thw vodafone store afterhaving problems with the camera but turns out it was just the way i was doing it and not the fault of the storm at all! I am 100% in love with this phone and again i would recommend it to anyone! Also when buying the phone i was informed that the storm is blackberrys only consumer phone - something buisnesses should keep in mind.
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Reviewed by jertzy on 14/03/2009
Had the phone 2 months now, love the interface, the instant emails are superb, camera aint bad, media player is great and videos look superb on it. Applications like Facebook & Google maps work well, Youtube is patchy. Its not too big or heavy for my pocket. Texting takes a while to get used to but i'm quite quick now. Downside is that the battery usually won't last more that 2 days of average use, the phone sometimes lags but I'm hoping an overdue firmware update will sort these issues. Vodafone coverage is great and I have no problem getting a good 3G signal. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a smart phone.
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Reviewed by Danny on 12/03/2009
Had mine for just under three months now, and I can honestly say that it's the finest piece of technology I've used in a long time. The screen and user interface is top notch - yes it takes a few days to get used to the touch screen, but it's well worth it. I'm amazed at the rock solid email service (this is my first BlackBerry) and the web browsing experience is outstanding. I find the clicky touch screen is excellent, but my girlfriend doesn't like it - I think most users are divided over this; you either love it or hate it. The applications available from the Application Centre are pretty good too. I've used Yahoo! Messenger, Vodafone Find & Go (excellent replacement for my stolen Garmin Quest, and no need for another piece of kit), plus a couple of others. The only issue is with YouTube, which consistently hangs up mid-stream, but this isn't a fault with the handset itself. I've had absolutely no problems with signal strength or dropped calls (the latter plagued me on my old Palm Treo) and the call quality is first rate. Battery life is good - but then I trickly charge it at my desk throughout the day. If you're thinking about getting one of these, I can strongly recommend it. Don't bother trying one of the ones out on display in store - they're nearly always broken and never working properly - instead ask to have a go on a new one. Also, if you're an existing Vodafone customer make sure they change your contract to include the BlackBerry service - they didn't on mine and none of the data services would work until I changed it. Overall - very very good phone, a nice toy, well worth spending a little extra to get one.
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Reviewed by Mike G on 09/03/2009
This phone is a shocker. I got it two days ago and all it has done is freeze, turn itself off and run out of battery. It will be going straight back. Its as big as a brick and about as useful.
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Reviewed by Toria on 08/03/2009
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I should have taken heed from all these negative reviews but I so wanted to like and get on with the phone but it is not to be. This is for the following reasons: a) the Vodafone coverage in my house is still abysmal years on (I've tried this network before); b) the phone will not download apps properly - you download them and they are shown as installed but when you try to launch the app, you are asked to install again; c) you cannot sync this handset with a Mac, despite trying with both the Missing Sync and Pocket Mac - the Mac just won't recognise the handset; d) you cannot use bluetooth to transfer files and data between the handset and Mac/PC - I am told this is because it's designed firstly as a business device, secondly as a consumer device; e) the accelerometer is too sensitive (though presumably this sensitivity can be changed in the 'Options' menu). Therefore, as nice as this handset is to look at, it's pretty worthless paying £40/month for a useless brick so it's going back to Vodafone - all I can say is, thank goodness I got it on-line as Vodafone stores are no longer offering the returns policy - unless of course you get no signal. If I could give this phone 0, I would!
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Reviewed by James Brindley on 06/03/2009
The Storm 9500 from Blackberry In the Box... Now not wanting to be petty from the off but the Storm comes in a pretty boring looking box and it lacks the prestige appearance of the packaging of similar spec handsets. However upon opening the box there is all the usual goodies you would expect - handset, battery, charger, USB cable, wired hands free kit, leather pouch, CD with all relevant software for you computer and the paperwork (manual etc). So a pretty standard line up aside from the headphones which are of very good quality (for both calls and music) and the leather case. Would have been nice to have got a memory card included with it being such an expensive piece of kit but you can’t always get everything. 4/5 User Interface... The interface on the Storm was very sluggish to start with however a software update and removing the screen protector film will kill off a lot of your problems instantly. The menu is quite attractive and easy to use but lacks any innovative extras, like Samsung's Widget system for example. Menus can be changed with the many themes available for the phone so the level of customisation is very high. It’s navigated in the standard touch screen way of finger swipes and touching icons, but this is where the Storm really excels. The "clickable" screen basically stops you accidentally selecting icons by accidentally brushing past them - you have to touch but the click the screen down to confirm a command. Just finish off the UI section I found that the Storm has a couple of on screen keyboard options which are quite good it has the full QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode which is easy to use and you can actually type quite fast on there. It also has a Suretype (Pearl Style) ke yboard in portrait mode which is quite clever and learns your writing style and unique words the more you use it, also the Suretype keyboard has much bigger buttons so it opens up the handset to even the most sausage fingered phone users (like myself!). 4/5 Communication... Now this is the Storms dominant area. You have access to SMS, MMS, Push Email, Social Networking (e.g. Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter etc), instant messaging and PIN messaging. All messaging options integrate with the phone seamlessly and you always have an option at your disposal to get in touch, and with the ability to customise each alert tone for each type of message you will never mix up what messages you’re getting. On the voice side of things its clear, crisp and with shortcut buttons for loudspeaker, mute, conference etc it’s easy to operate whilst on the call. 5/5 Multi Media... Now the Storm is a multimedia double edged sword. In terms of video playback and viewing pictures it is immense - the screen is huge and sharp so things like films are a pleasure to view BUT (and its a big but) pictures and video taken with the phones 3.2MP camera are very disappointing and with the likes of the Omnia HD on the horizon the Storm will soon look very dated. On the audio side of things I was pleased with the clarity if music on the phone, even at high volumes. The only criticism I picked up on was that Drum 'n' Bass enthusiasts would feel let down by the phones poor handling of heavy bass through the loud speaker - it does get abit distorted in extreme circumstances. 3.5/5 Connectivity... The Storm has super fast HSDPA capability so mobile internet feels swift and the strong 3.5g signal Vodafone throws out very reliable. The Bluetooth is easy to use (IF YOU READ THE MANUAL!) and file transfer with my old Blackberry Curve was fairly rapid and also it supports my Bluetooth sound system which is a bonus. The thorn in the Storm side is its lack of Wi-Fi - all the major players at the same level (and even some lower spec handsets) have Wi-Fi so the Storm looks a bit out of place. To most its not a problem as all Storm price plans have unlimited mobile internet but to those who may use the handset abroad or those who like to go overboard on OTA downloads this is a colossal loss. 3/5 Extras... The Storm does have a arsenal of extras at its disposal which are too vast to mention but the key areas are the A-GPS (which I have tested on a drive from the Midlands to the Pennines and back without a single fault). The Vodafone Music Store is also a great little app that allows fast OTA music downloads at less than a £1 a pop, and cheaper rates if you download full albums. I did also like the powerful, but admittedly not Safari standard, browser is included which is easy to use and navigate and very quick. Also the Blackberry Store Front is just around the corner and if it is as good as Blackberry are saying the iPhones app store may have a run for its money. On the downside though the phone lacks a Video Out line so gone are the days of slide shows on my TV that my N95 gave me - however with the Storms poor camera facilities maybe I would not of used it much anyway. 3.5/5 Overall... The phone is a great piece of kit that will generally do anything you need it to. It obviously wants to heir to the iThrone and it some areas it does dominate but at the same time falls short in others. Overall I am happy with the phone and expect it to do me right until I get a new phone but I do feel it will soon be in the Shadow of collosuses like the Omnia HD so if you want one, and don’t want to feel like its dated - buy one now!
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Reviewed by Daniel Hume on 04/03/2009
Aweful phone, I have read many reviews on this phone since buying it to discover the issues i'm having on it are very common, basically I get no signal strength so cannot use any of the phone reported functions and worst of all i'm not even able to make calls, surely a basic requirement of a phone? I love the design, and menu structure but frankly I may just go back to the iPhone which I found far more reliable and actually allowed me to call people
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Reviewed by Mark on 03/03/2009
Am on my third now battery life was fine for two weeks then was lucky if it lasted a morning.
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Reviewed by Shelley on 01/03/2009
I have had my BB Storm for around 2 months now and I am still nowhere near being able to type on it without making many mistakes. Its really frustrating so I am using my O2 account to get a BB Bold. I also find the battery to run down far too quickly. I can't believe I signed up for an 18 month contract with Vodafone for this.
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Reviewed by Chrissy on 28/02/2009
I just dumped my storm today. Its horrible. I too had the Curve and wanted a "touch" phone and obviously love Blacberry period - so I thought it was a no brainer. I HATED THE PHONE. It is sooooo slow. Takes forever to type text email because the keys stick so oddly. I am sooooo much more productive with my Curve. The lady at the Verizon Counter even said they have a lot of returns on it! It's a neat phone....when it works!?!? I can honestly say I have had NO problems with my Curve, ever. The Storm would go to a blank white screen and reboot itself 2-3 times a day! Sometimes it would just totally work in slow mo. The camera - don't even get me started - SO DELAYED! Kudos if your Storm works, I am just one of the apparently MANY whose Storm STINKS!
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Reviewed by Nino Borsari on 25/02/2009
I've had this for 3 months and I hate it. I was told it would Sync with Mac, but I cannot find a way after many hours of frustration. Plus it won't bluetooth with my old phone so I have to manually transfer...aaaahhh!. But I find the typing the worst feature. It's extremely difficult to Cut and Paste or scroll through text to add/subtract a word as the screen keeps putting the cursor every where but where I want it, and the keyboard does not have keys to scroll Fwrd/Bwrd though text. It takes a long time to write even a simple SMS when you wish to use abbreviatons or mixed local lingo such as a second language....terrible phone!!
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Reviewed by Deggsy on 23/02/2009
Finally took the plunge on Saturday and bought the Storm having really considering switching to O2 and getting an iPhone, whilst the iPhone does have a lot more readily available gadgets/applications I really couldn’t be arsed in switching provider. And having been a business customer of O2 decided to stay put especially as I managed to negotiate a cracking deal and get the phone FOC without paying a higher monthly line rental. This is my first Blackberry so have not had to get used to the variances from previous Blackberry’s as commented on by others, it came with the latest firmware installed, the battery issues mentioned by others seems to be present, however I left the phone on charge for about 16 hours yesterday and overnight have used the phone today in what I would class as light usage and I am already down 2 bars, but will persist with it, the signal strength is of concern, previously on my Nokia 6300 sat in the same location I would have full coverage, currently fluctuating between 1 or 2 bars, what I have noticed is if the phone drops to GPRS from 3g I get full signal strength, not sure if that is due to a technical issue which can be resolved but that is what I have noticed, I have 14 days to be fully satisfied with it so if the signal strength & battery do not become problematic then I see no reason to return the phone. Actually as I type this I switched off the 3g for a minute or two and switched it back on and the signal strength has improved!!
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Reviewed by Dré - UK on 22/02/2009
Having had this phone for 4 days now (my first ever Blackberry),with each passing day I am more and more happy with my purchase.I was so torn between this and the Blackberry Bold but the bigger screen and the touchscreen UI won it for me as theres nothing worse than browsing on a small screen. I had my fingers crossed when ordering hoping I made the right decision and would not have to waste time sending back to get the Bold after a few days.What was I worrying for! So what the battery life sucks, but I spend most time during the day in the office so I more or less always have battery topped up. If I'm not in the office, I'm on the road- nothing an in car charger won't solve! Why is everyone complaining, this is an amazing device. I have had no problems with internet,Vodaphone network working great, the email works much faster than my microsoft outlook at work and I've also got both hotmail and yahoo email addresses added which work fantasticly. It is a learning curve with the whole click typing thing, but had it mastered after 2 days. I've given 4 stars cos of battery life, but I hear OS updates can rectify this - once I've taken the chance to do an update I will repost! Great phone, well done Blackberry!
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Reviewed by Flowerpotman on 19/02/2009
If you are seriously considering buying a storm . . forget it, I was told by vodafone that it knocks the spots off an iphone which was my prefered choice. As I am under contract I decided to go with the Storm because it was free. I struggled through the 14 day cool off period, thinking that may be I did'nt know how to use it properly. how wrong I was ! the phone locks up, it mutes on its own accord, I have an old nokia factory fitted to my Mercedes when put side by side with the storm on the same network, the storm had no signal whilst the nokia had full bars ! It has cost me £49 in credit card calls from phoneboxes because of its locking up. The list goes on & on. It put me in bad mood everyday, would I be able to make a call or not. I'm still under contract until October 2010. despite my complaints vodafone will only replace the phone for an exchange unit. I personally never want to see a Storm ever again. I have just gone out & bought an Apple iphone 3G. I'm a new Man ! you don't have to read pages of operating guides it just works & works brilliantly ! I don't even care that I am paying for two contracts. The Storm was clearly rush released to curb lost sales to apples iphone. I'm converted . . Apple do it right ! Slobbadob for now !
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Reviewed by Hazel Robson on 18/02/2009
I'm definately a 'don't like it'. Storm isn't a serious business mobile in terms of using the email. Very slow to respond and lots of times the wrong letter comes up - I've almost given up using it for work as its too frustrating. I want to go back and trade it in for an older version. As an IPOD copy for playing music fine but rubbish keyboard.
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Reviewed by kez - london on 17/02/2009
Do not buy this phone if you want to use email. It will do it but the touch screen keyboard is not fit for purpose. Period.
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Reviewed by sam on 16/02/2009
The best phone you could ever buy!- In my opinion its easy to use, and has everything you could ask for.
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Reviewed by Malik from Leicester on 15/02/2009
No doubt it is beautiful and stylish, equally though it is full of problems. My handset freezes during a call and browsing at least 3 times a day, the screen goes black and then the handset restarts itself after a few minutes. I've got an inch long and a couple of centimers wide jelly like substance in the middle of the screen which i've been told is because of a faulty handset, lets see if this will get fixed by vodafone. Please try to avoid it if you can resist the looks
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Reviewed by Matidi on 12/02/2009
outStanding phone
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Reviewed by Ian P on 10/02/2009
Thought I would drop you a line about the Blackberry Storm that I have had for about a month. Just a bit of feed back to think about if you r gonna buy one. 1/ Battery life. It’s terrible. There is more life in an OAP’s retirement home. 2/ Sluggish application response. SSSSOooooooooo Slow it feels like I am trying to access information through a drug induced haze. 3/ Touch sensitive keyboard. Absolute bunkum! My infuriation levels have got to a point where I feel this phone will need a harden rubber case as it will be bouncing off the nearest floor or wall in the next few days.
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Reviewed by kyle harding on 08/02/2009
Very hard to get use to. Once use to it pretty easy. Thankfully I always have excellent signal. FLAWS... If you are a fast texter like me stay away, after 2seconds of texting my speed an egg timer will appear and it will freeze for at least 30 seconds. Always crashing. Always ! Put it on charge at 11pm last night took it off at 1 this afternoon phoned vodafone For literally 2mins to get a text of my bWalance downloaded latest liveupdate and it was flashing red. When in a call I am constantly nocking the mute button with my cheek. Impossible to use the internet on it and lack of standard things eg. Total call time, total mb used MOST IMPORTANTLY YOU CAN NOT HAVE ANY OTHER PHONE OTHER THAN BLACKBERRYS BLUETOOTH PICTURES MUSIC CONTACTQ. ETC
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Reviewed by Fred on 07/02/2009
Now. I have had this phone for about just under two weeks now and I have to say that I do love it. It isn't absolutely perfect, but I does so many things and it does so many things so well. What I love about this phone: 1) the touch screen feature 2) the email 3) the media 4) the camera 5) the browser 6) the battery- NOT BAD AS PEOPLE SAY IT IS! IT IS FINE! I don't know what the stores are doing to all the other peoples battery life but mine still has three quarters left after one whole day! How can people say it is flat after just one day??! What I dislike about this phone: 1) texting- sometimes slightly irritating but once you get used to it, it isn't as bad as it may sound. 2) the very occasional freeze- It has only freezed once with me so far, but just watch out. The more you download, the more you upload etc.. the slower your phone may become. I think this phone is a fantastic phone with many ideal features. With a great feel in hand, a lovely sharp screen and such a fabulous email system, this phone has got to be one of my favourite phones that I have had and I am no doubt sticking to it. I am sorry for the people out there who seem to think it isn't a complete package and that It isn't what they expected, but I have truthfully mentioned the 'negative' points and as you can all see, they're not that major problems! This phone does all the important things incredibly well. I hope that more people out there go ahead and give this phone a try. It is really worth the money, trust me. I haven't been disappointed so far with this piece and I am sure that all of you out there won't be either. Lovely phone, brilliant design and indeed, well done Blackberry.
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Reviewed by Mr Rai on 06/02/2009
I am taking this back after two painful weeks. I need a phone 1st and foremost and this fails on the simple requiremetn too easily. Lots of great feature love the screen and music player. I have the latest firmware on there the battery life is still hopeless. It freezes and it scramble when changing from portait to landscape. I have to switch the 3G off to have anyhope of the battery lasting a day (fat chance).. Brilliant concept poor execution. AS A PHONE IT IS PANTS!!!!!!
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Reviewed by Terry on 05/02/2009
I think the BlackBerry Storm overall is an excellent phone. Lots of good features, push email, excellent screen quality and I love the keyboard in portrait mode (SureType). The call quality is also brilliant and so is the speakerphone. Music and video quality are really good. I sometimes find the phone a bit slow to react, this I feel is because RIM have focussed on the presentation (i.e. it fades out and in between modes). It looks nice but I would prefer it to be faster. Not a major problem though. I find the phone very addictive and don't want to put it down. Have had the phone for two months and love it!!
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Reviewed by T2 on 01/02/2009
Steer clear of this phone. I've now had mine for about two months or so and it's progressively getting slower and slower. Typing in phone numbers takes forever as the phone tries to register what number you've pressed and typing emails and text messages is a mission. I don't have a problem with using the click screen, it's just that the phone is literally five or six words behind what I've already typed in. I'm taking it to the Vodafone store this afternoon to get this sorted out. For a phone that's so expensive, it really isn't good enough. By all means, get a blackberry, just don't buy this one.
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Reviewed by david on 31/01/2009
i bought a storm 1 week ago and it is by far the best phone i have ever owned. i have had the iphone 2G and 3G, nokia n96 and samsung omnia even the htc touch hd. the storm is the only phone from that batch that i love and want to keep. everything you need is there on one device - windows live, facebook, email, hspda, camera with great video quality and that screen. love it bad but alas there are the bad niggly lows. phone signal turns off when it feels like, phone freeze and some serious lags, browser issue with certain web pages etc. i still love it but hope next firmware update will get rid of these issues. this is too good a phone not to be a success. blackberry have outdone themselves here and just need to apply the final tweaks to make this a masterpiece. just to add to the storm and the iphone are different. the iphone does what it does very well and so does the storm. the iphone lacks many basic features which you need to jailbreak and install 3rd party apps to use. the storm however has it all built in and has better screen. firmware updates will eventually get rid of all the bugs and send a shiver down apple's spine. some real bias reviews on here but watch them all run back when all is well and the storm does what the name suggests!
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Reviewed by mason on 30/01/2009
sick phone
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Reviewed by henry on 30/01/2009
If u enjoy catching your fingers in car doors, you'll love the Storm. At first I thought I just had a bad apple (no pun intended) but, after exchanging my unit twice, I realize that all the bugs and malfunctions are part of the design. This is a phone that is aimed at the ultra-pretentious, show-off, wannabe-an-exec market. It is not for anyone who wants a device they can actually work with. What's wrong with it? Battery, connectivity, etc - everything mentioned elsewhere. Also, you can't edit emails without deleting what you've written. You can't phone automated switchboards, as the phone doesn't transmit yr choice of a numbered option. (I have to use a land line/friend's phone to call my bank.) Most functions are very sluggish, and the portrait/landscape interchange is irritatingly slow. The camera activates for no reason and you can only get back to other functions by removing the battery. The phone often cuts out unexpectedly. For anyone who doesn't yet get the picture, I have a list of 27 further, specific drawbacks. The Storm is only suitable for bankers, estate agents and politicians: no-one else deserves to suffer such disruption to their lives.
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Reviewed by Jack on 29/01/2009
I was very interested in this new phone when it was announced and very eager to sign up to a new contract on Vodaphone but before doing so I asked to be shown a working version. Upon first glance it looked well built, very nice and good spec then came the touch screen part...Its not a touch screen but a hybrid you have to physically push the screen in and then it confirms your choice of options, this is bad very bad as it causes a gap to apppear allowing anything to go inside of the phone like dirt and easier access for water. Having to actually push the phone in is terrible and if it was not for this it would have gotten a higher mark. The other let down is and thanks for the gadget show is that this phone is very slow to use in terms of sending of e-mails and the like.
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Reviewed by ed on 26/01/2009
I added a review previously where I really did not take to the blackberry storm, but perserved now for 3 months. The great part is the email: easy, clear, ability to open attachments is great just like a blackberry should. But afraid after really trying to work with this phone I have better things to do and it's going to be used for out of the office trips and week-end email access only. Using the storm as a phone has been very trying, poor reception, poor sound quality, signal dropping out in random places. Using the SMS is a trial and just takes too long, switching between functions just takes too long and whereas with every other mobile I have had, using the camera was part of the fun on a daily basis. the blackberry camera is too slow so forget about any spontaneous snaps. Battery is still not great and over-all this experience has been poor. My orginal star rating was 1 but I will now give it a two. Email apart which is better than it's own previous versions, there is nothing great about this phone and for SMS & Camera I would say worse than average.
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Reviewed by Luke on 22/01/2009
Got this phone a few weeks ago and I must say I haven't had many of the problems that others have. The clickable screen works well and I can type quickly and accurately with it in either orientation. The browser works well and is very quick. I can easily browse figure rich webpages in seconds and loading google searches takes no more than a few seconds at most. The accelerometer which people seem to have a problem with works perfectly on my phone, very quick to respond. As for the battery life it is true that it is a little shorter than a regular phone but it is nothing like as bad as some people seem to be making out. I get a good three to four days with moderate use including email, browsing and phone calls which is pretty good considering the power consumption that must be needed compared to simpler phones. I have turned my screen down to 50% brightness (which is more than bright enough) and the battery life has improved with several charges under it's bel t. I found the setup quick and intuitive and had all my email accounts sorted in about five minutes. The only real problem that I have with this phone is the lack of a native PDF reader that is independent of email attachments. As for the signal - well, guess what, no problems there either. I rarely get a drop out of 3G. It's a shame that some people are having so many problems with this phone but I find some criticisms hard to believe given my experience of the device. I highly recommend this phone
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Reviewed by Guess on 22/01/2009
just got it today its awesome PEOPLE WHO ARE COMPLAINING, YOU'LL HAVE TO GET USED TO USING IT THEN ITLL BE EASY amazing screen recommended to everyone
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Reviewed by Tido on 20/01/2009
I can understand some of the issues with the battery but as long as you don't leave 7 applications running in the background it should be ok. I love this phone and am finding more and more things I like about it every time I use it.
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Reviewed by David Kay on 14/01/2009
Well, I've had my Storm for six weeks now and I have to say I am 100% delighted with it. I have no battery issues, the signal is fine, email (business and private) work a treat. My only complaint would be with the useless sleeve provided, if I want a case I want to be able to clip it to my belt. Are all those who are disgruntled with the Storm really just iPhone geeks who feel somewhat threatened. I wonder ;-)
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Reviewed by LouiseG on 12/01/2009
I have had the phone a grand total of 5 days and tomorrow I will saying farewell... and thank goodness! I communicated a lot through texting and emailing and got the Storm to make this easier (so I could recieve emails at anytime of the day or night and respond as events unfold). My previous phone was the Samsung G600 and I could text on that thing one-handed and blindfold at some speed, but honestly, no matter which way I turn the bloody screen it still takes me at least 10 mins to SMS! And emailing?? I gave up after 20mins and phoned instead! This has hindered, not enhanced, my communication ability and I would not reccommend this phone. Don't get me wrong, it looks cool and the way they screen slides through messages and photos is preety funky too, but absolutely not worth the hastle of constantly failing to operating basic functions. Oh, and it's just as well it's going back because today it stopped recieving emails and it has stopped recognising which way up I am ho lding the phone! Honestly, don't bother. Get a Samsung!
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Reviewed by Michael on 12/01/2009
Okay, I got one of these through work, as I thought it might be an improvement on the Curve. I've had it four weeks, and it has been nothing but trouble. The phone refuses to sync in Outlook with our Apple email server, forcing me (using Outlook on a Windows PC) to have to enter manually every contact. I couldn't get my task list across, and I couldn't get my Calendar to sync. Speaking with a Vodafone representative, he said it boiled down to the fact that the RIM software needs to look locally for a .pst file to read information to. This seemed rather odd to me, as my BlackBerry Curve did not have any syncing issues, using the same programmes and settings. (I have since used a Bold to sync, with no issues. I don't get it.) It took about 2 days for the email account to actually sync to the handset - and that was two days after I discovered one of the Service Books had disappeared, preventing incoming emails. After it finally synced my Inbox, I couldn't send emails - another one of the Service Books was not installed. Battery life...well, I think we've all heard enough about how horrible that is. I wanted to send the handset back, but was told that a fantastic new upgrade would fix it all so sit tight and it will make it better! I did the upgrade, and there was no change in performance for me. It did not make the battery last longer, it did not change anything on the phone, other than erase all my settings, and forcing me to reinstall the Service Books, and reactivate the handset, etc. I told Vodafone that I wasn't happy, the upgrade failed to make it better, and that I was not happy with the touch screen. I requested a Blackberry Bold in it's place. I was then told that because I had waited more than two weeks, I wouldn't be allowed to exchange. Trying to convince them that I DID request a change, but they told me not to, was a difficult task. Only by threatening to move to another phone provider did I receive a new Bold. Then, magically, the screen stopped working altogether. The screen will respond to the 'hover' function, I can highlight items, however I cannot 'click' anything. Maybe they should have built a bit more functionality into the menu system, allowing you to press physical keys as well as using the screen. The handset is now used to hold my window open, and I tend to use it as a coaster for my tea. In this respect, the handset works very well. I would also recommend using it as a paperweight. Rating 1 star because I can't rate -5.
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Reviewed by bhav on 11/01/2009
I have had this phone now for about 4 days, i mess about on it all day and the battery lasts 2 days no problem, the touch screen works from all parts of the surface and there is no real issue with the texting i make no more errors on it than i do on a normal keypad, i read somewhere that the constant pushing gets annoying.... what do you do on a normal phone you push the buttons Einstein. As the phone goes, so far so good one of the best ones i have had, the accelerometer is spot on and can not say i have faced any of the issues on the phone mentioned in the negative reviews. 5 out of 5 for me.
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Reviewed by PChan on 11/01/2009
Battery is a real issue and signal also. For some reason, I couldn't take any call as there're too slow and when i heard the ringing, the other side are already missed call. I did try with my husband called me when he was just right next to me - the phone is not ringing at my end until it's appear missed call. Email and text are fine with me but that received call things are really a turn off! Tomorrow I will send it back!
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Reviewed by Tim on 09/01/2009
I have been waiting for a decent phone to come out for ages and thought this might be it. But it seems that the jury is still out. Some people say it's great but I think those are probably the die hard fans who refuse to say no. I'm normally one of those, but I've just the other day had our IT guy tell me that whatever I do, I should not get the Storm (due batterly life, signal and the difficulty in texting). I would really like the Storm as it looks lovely, but I think I might wait until the next version is out or something better comes along.
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Reviewed by Ray on 09/01/2009
we live in an area without 3g, so rely on wi-fi. but where is it? we have had to return our phones as they are less then useful. assuming vodafone want to cash in on 3g usage rather than wi-fi! i suspect this mobile will have a wi-fi revision once the vodafone monopoly has waned.
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Reviewed by Wayne on 08/01/2009
Iv have had my storm for about a week now i think it is a grate phone its easy to pick up & use it my first full touch phone , its a grart all around phone it dose take a bit of time to get uses of it but it worth a try , it was so easy to set up my aol e-mail its was done with in 30 secs , battery life is good for the type of phone as it dose have the new firmware update on it .
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Reviewed by John K on 07/01/2009
Absolute nonsense piece of equipment, camera delay is ridiculous. Back to Vodaphone during my 14 day cooling off, seems this is Vodafones most popular phone (to be returned that is)
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Reviewed by Rob Leeds on 07/01/2009
Hi First Blackberry i have ever owned, i always liked the HTC build XDA's, have to say when i first got the phone i wasn't too impressed, took it back to Voda store as battery was only lasting half a day, seems my phone had been shipped with GPS active, switched off GPS and hey presto battery life is now fine, keyboard is a little tight (if you have big fingers), still easier than the stylus on the Orbit, i have had the Storm a week now and i can honestly say its the best phone i have ever owned, although it took a little while to get used to it. Regards Rob
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Reviewed by Beth on 05/01/2009
I HATE THIS PHONEE do not buy terrible battery life!!! never signall on any network
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Reviewed by kiko on 03/01/2009
I bought my BB STORM just yesterday and I felt very dissapointed, the handset just hangs most of the time @ 8 times in 24hr, even with simple task like typing contact details etc. Each time it stopped working I have to remove the battery because it wouldn't reboot when you just turn it off/on, it just wont do anything. I brought it back the following day to the store and they said that I just have to upgrade the software which is exactly what I did. Unfortunately it still is the same, nothing happens. I will bring it back again and will demand a replacement, because I am not willing to pay £40 a month into something which I am not happy about.
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Reviewed by TOM on 03/01/2009
Not perfect - teething troubles - for most of the time (like any 2G mobile i've owned) you are only a few steps away from a strong enough call signal..... ....... In TOTAL CONTRAST to the "lucky" 60% of 3G iPHONE users who STILL ( + will always) have their 3G permanently switched off as instructed by Apple to 'help' the endless dropped calls issue :D
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Reviewed by Keith on 01/01/2009
I am very disappointed. Battery life is a joke and have to recharge every day, evn though low use. And reception is a disaster. In areas where I know there is a good signal can only get SOS service. And in High Street you only have to walk a few paces into a store to lose reception. Is it just my phone? Or a general problem!
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Reviewed by SWM on 30/12/2008
Love the concept of the phone and when it's working as it should it's very good, email and messaging are great. Where the phone falls down is it fails to acquire a signal unless you are in a very strong signal area. This is a very major failing and needs to be addressed quickly by Vodafone and RIM.
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Reviewed by Marcus on 29/12/2008
Just a quick comment about battery life. I used to have a Nokia smart phone with terrible battery life UNTIL......... I went to the Vodafone store and the chap there said it was the 3G sapping the life out of it. So this is NOT a new thing, I'm talking a couple of years back!!! Remember, not all areas are covered by 3G anyway so it's a waste of time (and battery life) having it switched on. So, unless you are surfing the web continuously turn off the 3G. My contract's up for renewal and I can't make my mind up (as a Mac user) whether to go for the iPhone or Blackberry Storm... what do you guys think is the better phone? And it will primarily be used as a PHONE.
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Reviewed by Gareth on 26/12/2008
I have had my Storm for about four weeks now. Cannot believe the reviews are either ‘I love it, or hate it!’ This is my first BlackBerry, and I love it. I bought it for email and the internet ‘on the move.’ I haven’t been disappointed. Had no problems with connection or battery life (so far). Haven’t found any faults so far. I would certainly recommend it.
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Reviewed by Fraser Stewart on 22/12/2008
Black Berry Strom - rushed to the market place !! This promised much, but in reality was disappointing on 3 fronts :- 1) Build quality (I've had 2 units to compare) first displayed poor screen fit and the second displayed atrocious screen fit !! 2) Battery life is just poor, but this is something most smart phones seam to suffer from - so just accept daily charging!! 3) Vodafone after sales servise was most frustrating - it was almost impossible to contact anyone and my account is still incorrect 6 weeks on from receiving my first storm!! I'm now a Sony Ericssen C905 user - not nearly as fancy as the Storm, but a good all round device!
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Reviewed by Matt Bee on 21-12-2008
I bought the Storm a couple of weeks back with the knowledge that I was probably going have to give it some time to get used to some of it's foibles. Having now got used to using the phone (it's a bit of a change from the Symbian based phones I'm used to) it's turning out to be a good experience and one of the best phones that I have owned. There are a couple of downsides (hence the 4 stars) - (a) the signal strength is a bit poor, most of the time (not sure if that is just vodafone UK or the phone itself), though that doesn't seem to always translate to slow browsing / download speeds, (b) the clickable screen is not flush to the sides of the screen (by a mm or so). The latter complaint is a little concerning as I'm not sure how long it would last up with the ridiculous amount of texting / email that I do - whilst it doesn't affect the operation of the phone, I can't see such movement being good in the long run. Unfortunately I bought it from cowboys4u so takin g it back to get checked will not be fun. This having been said, the touch keyboard is great and I can text over twice as fast as I could with a standard phone keyboard and nearly as fast as phones with a physical keyboard. Now that I'm used to it, the 'click wait' will be a limitation, but I doubt if my (or 99% of users) thumbs can go much faster anyway. Battery life is fine (I presume because the one I got came with the updated OS) and much better than the last two Nokia phones I've had, the accelerometer is fine (like 1 second?!?). I can't fault the phone for the screen quality and the email facilities. Vodafone's own 'find and go' service is a bit subpar though, used it quite a bit and every_single_time it's taken me the longest route possible and, on a couple of occasions, only told me about traffic when I was well stuck in a jam. Anyway, as it's free, I'll let them off that one! Fab phone.
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Reviewed by christopher sly on 19/12/2008
first off ....i`m a gadget freak....if its avalible & it`s new tech...then I want it! I had a 16gig iphone & got rid of that... for this? BIG MISTAKE!!! send the blackberry storm back with-in the 14 day period why? well having put the newest updates on the device it still spent 98% of the time in .s.o.s. mode (no signal!) so couldn`t even do what it was designed for? MAKE PHONE CALLS!!! though I now have a sony ericsson xperia 1... which I am more than happy with....
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Reviewed by Ian on 19/12/2008
I've had the storm now for 5days now and haven't had any problems with the phone so far. The Internet is good, battery life is decent for what the phone is. I'm getting about 1 1/2 days from the battery and I'm quite a heavy user. I'm writing the review on it! I would suggest that any one who's considering getting this phone should be patient with it. It does take a little while to get used to but once your used to it you'll love it. For those who are finding the phone glitchy try and download the software update. That should fix it.
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Reviewed by Giles Knight on 17/12/2008
Started out loving the storm - so much better than the samsung omnia!!! (overly sensitive touchscreen!) The storm "gelpad" system is great.. However, there are so many software and firmware issues to have to deal with. So many niggling little problems that I can't be bothered to even go into them... Even an attempt to upgrade the software for a newer version ends in tears! You have to delete your personal data to allow for this upgrade, which apparently you can only delete this data (emails and sms)individually!!! I'm no computer whizz... but surely, any upgrades should simply overwrite the initial programme?! Why should I lose data because they haven't designed it properly? Let alone allow it to go to market with all these faults! Where's my old Nokia? I want it back!!!
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Reviewed by PS on 17/12/2008
This phone is an fantastic. About the battery life I am using it without having to charge for three days and I use almost everything from phone calls to video playing. I must say first three days were terrifying because the battery drained within a day. But this was solved after three or four recharging cycles. As for the keyboard yes there is a problem when typing at times but not always. Once you get used to it you will be fine with it. On average the size of the phone is little too big but the fantastic screen compensates for that. Reception is good I dont know about other areas its really good in Birmingham and surroundings. The internet works fine. There is one problem though when you click the internet links sometimes it tends zoom the page than taking you to the desired page. I hope this will be rectified with a software update.Overall I love this phone
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Reviewed by A7ftt on 17/12/2008
I have had this phone a month now, so I fell qualified to review it. First the battery life: I experienced problems with it to start with, but the battery does require a couple of good 16hr charges, and a software update. Now it lasts a full day with normal usage. I charge it every night regardless. I have sync'd my hotmail account, and it pushes emails to my phone automatically, no problem. The interface is not quite as slick as the iPhone, but it is not bad, and I hope that future upgrades will improve this. My phone is well built, and I dont have a problem with the signal. Sometimes I get a bit annoyed with the touchscreen not correctly understanding the keys I wish to select before I "click", but all in all I am happy, and patiently wating for future O/S upgrades to enhance the phone. Good effort Blackberry
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Reviewed by Jamie on 16/12/2008
This phone is dreadful.. it crashed alot, the battery life is appalling. i made two 15 minute phone calls and sent 5 text messages and 1 email and the battery had completely drained from a full charge..i had the battery replaced as it was so dreadful and it didn't help. the idea behind the phone is excellent but its too bulky and the battery is inadequate.. i returned mine after 10 days and went back to m motorola u9 and i am much happier despite the lack of email
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Reviewed by inspector on 15/12/2008
shame on vodafone and blackberry for coming out with this useless phone, boooooooooooooo
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Reviewed by Keith Carter on 15/12/2008
Battery life seems to be a problem. I'm nt using heavily but still having to charge daily. I have replaced battery in case original faulty but no better. Of course could be the actual handset that's the problem. I notice it gets very hot in use, so maybe not all OK. And finally the signal reception very patchy - often getting SOS only signal strength even though I know signal OK. Using both 2g and 3g together seems to help, but this drains battery even quicker. So catch 22. Phone could be great and will chase vodafone on the problems to see if can be fixed.
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Reviewed by JCB on 13/12/2008
Not so much a Storm as a Damp mist..absolutely awful, blackberry had better pull it socks up as this thing Sucks with a capital S.
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Reviewed by Chris on 13/12/2008
Ok have had this phone for a couple of days and was concerned about upgrading to it due to the hot and cold reviews of this phone. So far my experience has been great the phone is excellent and all has worked out of the box. Email set up and is working perfectly and the signal and battery seem no worse or better than my previous phone. Can't speak for those that got this phone when it was first released but i reckon its worth hanging in there, get the latest firmware and ignore reviews that seem to have been written by 12 year olds, because its a great piece of kit.
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Reviewed by Brett on 13/12/2008
There are so many impressive aspects of the storm, ranging from those features you'd expect to be first class from a BlackBerry handset such as the e-mail facility and the organiser and amount of information the address book can hold; but other great features include a decent media player, excellent internet streaming and loads of practical applicatons pre-installed. HOWEVER it is without doubt the poorest mobile phone I have ever owned for maintaining a constant signal. I'm not just talking about a constant 3G signal, I mean just a regular signal so that I can actually make calls or send texts. Fair enough I live in quite a rural area however my previous SE never had any problems with coverage. Due to the lack of coverage (VF - which is generally pretty decent everywhere) the phone is constantly trying to find signal and therefore my battery would run out after about 6 hours. I couldn't keep this phone for this reason - after all no signal equals no phone. Having s aid all of that, if you lived in an area with a really strong signal this would be an astonishing piece of kit. Using the keyboard is a nightmare and the camera isn't great but the phone looks amazing. This phone was released way too soon, I can obviously understand why, but I'm going to wait another year before even thinking about trying a Storm (or it's successor) again. BlackBerry will no doubt sort it, like Apple did with the I-Phone, but until then it's back to trusty SE for me.
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Reviewed by michael b on 12/12/2008
I really wanted to like this phone. I played around with it in several different stores and found that the staff were unhelpful (Vodafone and Phones4u). Most did not know too much about it and deny knowing about any issues. I was not allowed to play with the phone on my own for too long. It does not switch between screen modes quickly enough. The screen is not always responsive and you ahev to press the keys several times. As I say I nearly got on but having paid attention to this site since it came to market it made me think it will not be good until the 2nd edition comes out prob next year. Therefore I have gone for the iphone 3G and I did not want to get this but I am actually quite happy with it.
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Reviewed by david hoar on 12/12/2008
I have persevered for a week to try and use this amazing looking handset. I am now of the opinion that it is virtualy useless. How do you dial a number that is not in your contact list ? The keyboard is a nightmare for mis keying and every application I have downloaded does not work, I just get a message asking me to download the application again when I go to use Google Maps for example. Also it stopped receiving texts for more than a day and texting back is SLOW and problematic. Vodaphone gave me this handset for free with an 18 month contract. I truely believe I would have flipped by then and be in an institution (in a padded cell with a mains plug to recharge the Storm every 6 hours) If you really are a techie with patience and do not need the functionality for your work then go for it, otherwise DO NOT GET THE STORM.
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Consumer Reviews from other websites (100 reviews)BlackBerry Storm Reviews at Mobile Phones UK (100 reviews)
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