Taking The World By Storm: Blackberry Storm 2
It is safe to say that the original Blackberry Storm was the black sheep of the Blackberry family. It was not very well received in the market and was fraught with flaws. The Storm 2 is the company`s attempt to correct the flaws in the original, and for the most part, they have succeeded.
The original version of the Storm was Blackberry`s answer to the iPhone and was the first Blackberry to have a touch screen. But,
unlike the smooth touch screen experience provided by the iPhone and other smart phones, the Storm`s touch screen was not easy to use, there were many software glitches, it was not wi-fi compatible, and trying to type proved very frustrating for most users.
The Storm 2 has a similar look to its predecessor, but that should not fool the user into thinking that it too is not worth considering. The overall user experience with the Storm 2 is significantly better. The software has been majorly improved, it is wi-fi accessible, and the display has been revamped.
The touch screen on the Storm 2 is much more user friendly. Users can now feel a gentle vibration when the screen is touched, but it does also make a clicking sound that cannot be turned off. So trying to discreetly use the phone while in a meeting may not be so easy.
There are several different keyboard layout options so that users can choose their preference. Unlike in the previous version, the QWERTY keyboard is now available in portrait mode, and while it is quite small in this mode, it just takes a little bit of getting used to and then it is easy to use. While the typing experience is still not as smooth as on the iPhone, it is worlds better than on the original Storm.
Because all other Blackberries do not have touch screens and the Storm 2 runs the same Blackberry operating system, users may get the sense that it was not quite designed for a touch screen phone. More clicks than should be necessary often are required and the structure of folders is not particularly intuitive. It is also easy to accidentally click on items.
The speed of the interface and the scrolling features also cannot be compared to the original Storm as they are very significantly improved. Again, scrolling is not as smooth as it is on the iPhone, but it is much more pleasant than on the older Storm. The phone works much more quickly and the web browser loads pages faster and allows for an easier time navigating to different pages. There are still several glitches, however, and clicking on links and managing several open pages at once are still difficult to accomplish.
It remains unclear why the original Storm did not come with wi-fi access, but the problem has been corrected with the Storm 2. It also includes built in GPS, always a useful tool. For those who want to use their Storm 2 as an mp3 player, it has headphone jacks and easily syncs with iTunes.
Of course, true to Blackberry`s strong suit, the email capabilities on the Storm 2 are sublime. This phone is a good choice for those who are big fans of the Blackberry operating system, but who also favor the touch screen style of the iPhone.
