All about BlackBerry Storm2

Less than 12 months have gone by since Verizon debuted the original, much-anticipated BlackBerry Storm. This was to be the ground-breaking, iPhone-killing hybrid boasting all the best qualities of a BlackBerry with a large touchscreen borrowed from RIM's Cupertino counterpart. In reality, this smartphone offered slow performance and crashed frequently.

The BlackBerry Storm2, slated for release later this week, seeks address many of the problems Verizon and RIM experienced with the first Storm, and I was optimistic as I opened my demo unit box. Unfortunately, my initial impressions are that this device fails to deliver on all the promises. Though the Storm2 fixes a lot of problems, there are still areas seriously lacking.

I've only been playing with the Storm for a little more than a day -- check back early this week for a complete review.


BUILD & DESIGN

Hardware-wise the device looks pretty much like the first generation, minus the chrome trim on the sides and the four physical keys (the talk, hang up, return, and BlackBerry keys). These are now an extended part of the screen, with sensors beneath them.

The Storm 2 also boasts its "SurePress" clickable display. This new clickable screen is more responsive than the first generation Storm, and seems to support multi-touch recognition.

Though more responsive, the new screen still has some misses, which at times has left me wondering if there bottom four keys are broken due to my inability to click them. Additionally I've noticed the phone refuses to switch from landscape to portrait when it's laying on my desk.

Like the original, the Storm2 lacks a physical keyboard, instead offering an on-screen one. While this generally works fine, there are still issues. After pulling up a page that requires typing it's not always apparent how to hide the keyboard. Similar problems calling up the keyboard are apparent when trying to enter numbers during a call.


PERFORMANCE

The BlackBerry Storm2 9550 does indeed correct many of the issues that plagued the old Storm. The original was lag-laden and screens froze regularly. The Storm2 answers back with what seems like plenty more horsepower to make portrait-to-landscape switches, menu scrolling, screen switching faster, more responsive, and the new OS even adds some visual pizazz to the process.

The Storm2 also boasts Wi-Fi (b/g), whose lack was a major detraction from Verizon's first Storm.

BlackBerry OS 5
Perhaps one saving grace of the device however, is BlackBerry OS 5.0, which gives us a peek at what's to be the new standard for RIM's smartphone.

The latest version of this operating system provides a lot of nice features for the new device. Chief among these are the ability to sync contacts over the air with a service like Google's contacts, the option to choose one of three keyboards in portrait mode -- multi-tap, sure-type, or full qwerty (like the first generation iPhone) -- an enhanced ability to customize notifications, and tweaks that improve the overall user interface.

A BlackBerry OS 5.0 upgrade is expected to be available for current Storm users later today (Sunday October 25) or tomorrow -- and will be a welcome addition for all of you users.

The new operating system version will be covered more extensively in the full review, along with the other features of this smartphone.

This article is from www.brighthand.com

Blackberry Storm2 Smartphone

Waterloo, Ontario -- Vodafone and Research In Motion today introduced the BlackBerry Storm2(TM) smartphone for customers in seven European countries as well as South Africa.

The second generation of RIM's innovative and award-winning touch-screen smartphone, the BlackBerry Storm2 significantly improves the BlackBerry touch-screen platform with new technology and new features to let customers stay easily connected to the people, places and things that matter most.

In the busy holiday gift buying period, customers in the UK and Ireland will be able to get the new smartphone first through Vodafone, and it will be offered exclusively by Vodafone in Germany, Netherlands and Spain. It will also be made available in France, Italy and South Africa in time for Christmas.

The BlackBerry Storm2 with BlackBerry OS 5 evolves the BlackBerry touch-screen platform with hundreds of hardware and software enhancements.

The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone (model 9520) from Vodafone features:

New SurePress Technology

The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone introduces a new SurePress(TM) technology based on an electronic system that provides the user with tactile feedback when the touch-screen is pressed. The new system responds equally to gentle pressure applied anywhere on the surface of the screen and makes clicking the display practically effortless. Typing on the smartphone's virtual keyboards is easier, more comfortable and more accurate. The new SurePress technology also allows the user to type a letter with one thumb even while their other thumb may still be touching or resting on another letter, enabling faster typing and multi-key actions such as Shift or Alt -key combinations.

Hardware Features

- Smooth design and premium finish with sloped edges, chrome accents, glass lens and stainless steel backplate

- Large (3.25"), dazzling, high resolution 360 x 480 display at 184 ppi

- Capacitive touch-screen with integrated functions (Send, End, Menu, Escape) and new SurePress technology that makes clicking the display practically effortless

- Global connectivity support: UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz), quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM and Wi-Fi? (802.11 b/g) networks

- 3.2 MP camera with variable zoom, autofocus, flash and video recording

- 256 MB of Flash memory

- 2 GB of onboard memory storage and a microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 16 GB cards today and is expected to support 32 GB cards when available

- Premium and easy-to-access phone features, background noise suppression technology, loud distortion-free speakerphone and face detection (proximity sensor) that prevents accidental clicks and blanks the screen while the user is on the phone

- Media player for videos, pictures and music, plus BlackBerry Desktop Manager for both PCs and Macs, and BlackBerry Media Sync for easily syncing iTunes and Windows Media Player music with the smartphone(i)

- Vodafone's music client pre-installed, giving access to an extensive catalogue of artists

- A 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and dedicated volume controls

- Bluetooth (2.1) with support for Secure Simple Pairing, hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals

- Built-in GPS for maps and other location-based applications, as well as photo geotagging

- Access to BlackBerry App World(TM), featuring a broad and growing catalog of mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include games, entertainment, IM and social networking, news, weather, productivity and more. Applications developed for the original BlackBerry Storm are fully compatible with the BlackBerry Storm2

- BlackBerry Internet Service and BlackBerry Enterprise Server support

- Removable, rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery that provides approximately 6 hours of talk time on 3G networks and 280 hours of standby time

BlackBerry OS 5

- More responsive experience and includes usability and visual enhancements such as inertial scrolling, spin boxes that make it easier to set dates and times, gradient shading on buttons and more use of animation

- Typing accuracy and selection have been significantly refined

- BlackBerry Browser improved with faster JavaScript and CSS processing as well as support for Gears and BlackBerry Widgets

- Customers running BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 will gain the ability to:

-- Set follow-up Flags on the handset like they can in Microsoft Office Outlook

-- Manage Microsoft Exchange email folders (Add, Rename, Move, Delete) on the handset

-- Access remote files shares (Windows Shares); Save, View, Edit, and Email documents from remote file shares

-- Forward appointments and view calendar attachments on the handset

-- Benefit from wireless sync improvements for Contacts, including sync for multiple contact folders, personal Distribution Lists and contacts in Public/Shared folders

(i) Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies.

Pricing

Pricing will be announced by the individual in-country operating companies. As an indication, Vodafone UK will be offering the BlackBerry Storm2 free from GBP 35 per month on a 24-month contract that includes 600 minutes talk-time, unlimited BlackBerry Internet Service, unlimited text messaging, as well as unlimited access to VMI (Vodafone Mobile Internet) and broadband.

This article is from www.mobiletechnews.com