Blackberry Storm phone

[workn2hard2day]

LOL, I expand. I got an LG Venus phone form Future shop on a Telus Contract. I did not get any extra services.

Within the first few hours it said I had a message (Hmmm, weird didnt sign up for this).

So I called support and they told me I didn't have voice mail, couldn't possibly be happening. LOL Over the next couple days the messages kept appearing and I kept calling Telus. Finally I pressed "1" button to get my messages LOL and it dial Sarah's house. (I used reverse 411 to figure out who's # it was, I just happened to know sarah.) Her poor daughter thought I was some sort of weird stalker calling her and hanging up.

Turns out the # telus assigned me was Sarah old cell #.

If I hadn't recognized the # and called her at home to explain Telus would still be trying to figure this out.

p.s. Got the phone in Sept 8 (used it for maybe 1 1/2hrs total) the battery is dead now & the LCD face is toast. So pretty much the whole experience was a nightmare.

[Ron99]

Well, I know I am biased but the iPhone really is head and shoulders above anything else. I think the reason for this is instead of trying to make a phone Apple made a mobile computing platform that happens to have a phone built into it. Probably less than 5% of the use of mine is for making calls. There are tens of thousands of different applications you can download for free or purchase so you can add virtually any functionality to it you want. It plays your music, movies and TV shows (great for keeping small children happy in a long check out line or when stuck in traffic). It really is a small computer in your pocket with mobile internet access anywhere you have wifi or a cell signal.

And with iPhone OS 3.0 coming out in June they are making huge improvements to it. Also, if you aren't in a huge hurry there will likely be a better and faster iPhone released this summer as well. Even if you need it now the OS 3.0 will be a free upgrade for existing iPhones.

So unless you are on some corporate system that only supports Blackberry get an iPhone. It is far superior to the others and Apple releases frequent updates to make it even better. Check reviews online as well and I think you will see that the reviews generally put the iPhone on top and everybody else is playing catch up with it. If it is for personal use rather than corporate use you won't regret buying it.

But of course, as soon as they release something which may be almost as good Apple has jumped ahead of them with their own improvements :-)

[bullit67]

I would agree with Ron99 I have had my iphone for 3 weeks now and cant put it down endless uses dont get sucked into a high GB. data plan I use mine alot and have not even come close to the 500 MB on my plan this is due to the Wifi. That is a plus over the blackberry. you will be amazed how many places you can go and find free Wifi.

[Chaloupa]

Went to my Bell dealer today to possibly buy a Storm. He wouldn't sell it to me....at this point he feels that there are so many glitches that he will not sell them.....he has one...but won't sell it unless I am bound and determined...he uses one and is eagerly awaiting the upgrade hopefully on April 1....WOW, he was passionate about why NOT to get it (and was losing the sale right then and there) and advised me to wait until the possible upgrade and then to consider it as long as the upgrade fixes the glitches. He did say that iPhone is a better mobile computing device by far and that it is the better of the 2 for that.....but that if you want to do multiple things at once the Storm/Blackberry is the King.

So, I thank everyone for their honest feedback, and this guy at Bell....I will be waiting to see if the upgrade is out for the Storm...and may be looking at Rogers for the iPhone now. It does seem to win over in debate.....*sigh* so many choices...I remember when you had a couple of phones to choose from and they were LARGE phones...now your phone can do almost anything but there's 80 different ones to choose from!!!!! And NO for all you youngins we aren't talking THAT many years ago...I am UNDER 40 still.

[Ron99]

Hmmm...not sure what he means by doing multiple things at once. I don't think any of these phones really have the power to multitask effectively. You can talk on the phone and do other things on the iphone. Talk on a headset or speakerphone and take notes or check google maps etc.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by michika

It badly needs a software update. I've had mine since December 23rd and my ongoing list of issues are:

- Lock button is unreliable, constantly unlocks or locks itself
- Browser is glitchy and slow
- It eats contacts
- There is a huge delay in clicking the answer the phone and actually taking the call
- My emails come in chunks about 6 times a day, not as emails come in (potentially a Telus issue though)
- The screen randomly freezes halfway between the lock and unlocked screen
- You have to shake the unit when you change the orientation to get it change the corresponding screen
- Mine frequently blacks out, or goes into sleep mode WHILE I'm typing.
- The auto-correct/fill-in frequently fills in when I say no, or fills in with something that I don't choose.
- Battery life is EXTREMELY poor. I am lucky to get one full day out of my phone, and a typical day is checking emails and making 20-15 calls, and sending approximately 50-100 texts or emails.

All in all I think the hardware is decent, but the software requires some serious fixes. I have been waiting and waiting on Telus for a software update that they keep telling me is "on the way". Honestly though, if by April 15 there is no firm date for a software update, I'll be dumping my phone, either for another blackberry, or to jump ship to Rogers and their iPhone.

Hardware 8/10
Software 2.9/10
Customer service on the phone 1/10 (Because it seems like nobody at Telus knows anything about this phone)
Customer service at the kiosk (10/10) My cell guy is really on top of things and keeps me updated on a weekly basis.

I'd totally advise against the Storm at this moment, just because of the software stuff.

almost sounds like you got a lemmon, I would see if you can exchange it for a different one. The e-mail thing isn't telus as I get them all friggin day and I usaly go about 3 days between charging but normaly I charge it every night as I use it as an alarm clock in the bedside charging stand you can buy. by your usage I think you would be lucky to get more than a day out of any phone, and I thought I was bad LOL

I have a friend who has both the newer i-phone and a blackberry storm. he likes both but for different reasons. he likes the i-phone for some of the features with the multi media (but admits as he uses the storm more it is getting closer) and the I-phone does have that cool zoom thing with your fingers. but as a phone the i-phone loses out big time to the storm, also for e-mail and featurs like that the storm wins hands down.

I will admidt I was bummed about not having wireless capability on mmy storm as that was one of the things I wanted, but Telus does have a good network so it isn't so bad. (for the record I do hate telus and if shaw ever gets into the cell market I will switch)

Steve

[PoonTang]

Sarah
I too have been looking around lately for a new phone. Basically the storm is a good phone attached to a bad computer. An Iphone is a good computer attached to a bad phone. So take your pick. If you want a Iphone then your stuck with Rogers which is not recomended. You could wait until Bell comes out with the iphone or Telus switches over to thier new system or or or.... or simply get a unlocked iphone for the bell network. I think Bell now has the new Palm Treo too. Have a look at www.howardforums.com there is lots of info there on all of the different phones and carriers.

[Ron99]

PoonTang - Unfortunately, you won't be able to use an unlocked iPhone with Bell as there network is still CDMA and the iphone is a GSM phone. However, both Telus and Bell are rolling out GSM later this year as they want to capitalize on Olympic visitor roaming. But, you can also get an unlocked iPhone and use it with Rogers or Fido without a contract. That is what I have so I can switch to another GSM carrier when available.

Stircrazy - I've never had problem with the phone part of the iPhone. I'm curious to know what is better with the Storm as a phone? The email app in the current iPhone OS is a little weak but not that bad. They are making major improvements in OS 3.0 which will be released in June.

[Borderjumper]

Sarah, Art has an Iphone and loves it. Next time your down our way stop by and check it out. He's had it since Christmas and hasnt had any issues or problems

[pterfloth]

I have had an iPhone 3G since the first week they came out. It is an outstanding phone and great mobile computer. The 3.0 software upgrade previewed recently (free) will allow multitasking and address some current short-comings, eg. cut and paste.

Be aware that it is highly likely a new iPhone will be released in June, so you may want to hold off.