Butterfly Rainforest Exhibit in Gainesville, Fl
(For details about the exhibit at the Florida Museum of Natural History, click.) Photo uploaded by jimbuie3
I got a Blackberry Storm for Christmas -- it's the Verizon Wireless and Blackberry answer to the I-Phone -- sleek and cool. I'm still learning it, but I must say the camera is outstanding. A FLICKR application is included to easily upload photos from the phone wirelessly to the Internet.
Another cool feature of the Storm is the ability to watch an ENTIRE movie in crisp, clear digital color on my phone -- great when you're waylaid in the car or in an airport. (Update: six months later, I confess I've only watched one movie on the phone -- screen too small...much prefer to watch movies on the laptop.)
You can watch Youtube.com videos on it, if you have a high-speed data plan, though sometimes they hiccup. It's easy to integrate Facebook and Twitter, to keep up with your social networks, to share ideas, news and status updates.
To fully utilize the Storm's features, such as web surfing, you need an Internet data plan from Verizon wireless, which is $60 a month for unlimited access (kinda pricey). This version of the Storm has bluetooth but no ability to connect to a home or public wifi connection. (Update: The Storm 2, released in fall 2009, reportedly has wifi.)
The touch-screen Blackberry Storm is certainly an advance to no longer need a a stylus as I did for my PC PHONE. I tended to lose or misplace a stylus about once a month. But there are some frustrations with the Storm so far.
The touch-screen keyboards (the Storm has two) were initially time-consuming, especially before they "learn" what you are likely to type. Perhaps they were not properly calibrated on my Storm, but it took about twice as long as it should to simply type my name or a single message. One of the touch-screen keyboards I find completely unusable.
Update: I conclude that PDA phones are still not as solidly built, nor is the software as reliable and convenient as it should be. Two months after I started using the Blackberry Storm, the software crashed and I lost all of my data. Fortunately, I didn't lose a lot, and Verizon Wireless sent me a new one with no questions asked. The new one has an updated operating system and far more reliable keyboard.
But consider this: since I joined the PDA world in October, 2007, (1) My first Pocket PC, built in 2005-6 and purchased for $200, froze up repeatedly due to the unstable Windows Mobile operating system. I returned it. (2) The screen of my second Pocket PC cracked when I dropped it. I returned it and got my $200 back. (3) I purchased a third PocketPC second hand from a friend for $100 who said it had barely been used. It worked fine for a year, then the screen cracked when, in my pants pocket, it made contact with the steering wheel of my car as I was sliding into the driver's seat.
In short, I've had 5 PDA phones in 18 months.
Despite its sleek design, I doubt the Storm is yet equal to the IPHONE. I resisted buying an IPHONE because a) I though it was too pricey; b) I didn't want to be locked into the AT&T network, which I find inferior to Verizon's; c) I don't like to buy version 1.0 of anything, because version 1.0 is usually several generations away from a good product.
I broke my rule and acceded to Version 1.0 of the Blackberry Storm. I hope I don't regret it. We got a good deal on it -- about $50 since I was due for a phone upgrade. But I had to sign a two-year Verizon contract.
Phones as mini-computers still have a way to improve -- both in terms of affordability and functionality -- before they reach mass appeal.
Drill Deeper:
- Basics: Play Flute, Name a Tune (Or Make a Call), NYT: "A new era in the allure of a mobile device — the phone is no longer a fashion statement but a digital bag of tricks."
- RIM Blackberry Storm, detailed review.
- Blackberry Storm group on Facebook.
- User Group: http://www.storm-blackberry.com/
