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So, my Verizon contract ended a few months ago, and the iPhone 3GS announcement has me thinking of upgrading from my current LG phone.  But, the thing is, I'm pretty happy with Verizon's coverage and not sure I want to switch to AT&T (or back I guess, since my first ever cell phone was with Pacific Bell which later became Cingular).  I was interested when I first heard about the BlackBerry Storm, but once it came out it seemed to not live up to the hype, just like pretty much every other attempt at copying the iPhone.  But what matters, is it good enough for me?  I was hoping if anyone here had one they could offer some insight.  Most of the online iPhone 3G vs. Storm reviews seem to date from the Storm's release, so they don't factor in things that have been fixed in software updates for the Storm nor any impressions after using the phone for a while.

This wouldn't be my first ever smartphone.  Although my last couple of phones were regular phones, before that I had a T-Mobile Color Sidekick (the color screen version of the original).  It was a nifty data device but a mediocre phone and not super reliable; after a bit over a year and a half and having gone through three, I hawked it on eBay and switched to Verizon.  Email and IM on it were nice, and web browsing was decent, but being GPRS only naturally a bit slow.

So here's what I'm thinking I need and don't need out of a smart phone, any thoughts on these functions?

First and foremost, it has to be a decent phone.  It can't be awkward to hold up to my ear like the Sidekick was, since I don't want to walk around with my Bluetooth head seat all the time (it mostly comes out of the car only when it needs to be plugged in).  Based on my experiences, Verizon's coverage is not going to be an issue.  I don't travel out of the country terribly often, and when I do I don't usually turn my phone on since I don't want to pay the high international roaming rates.

Email and IM are my most needed data services.  When I had the Sidekick, it was nice to be able to have access to them from anywhere, and on short trips not to have to bring a laptop (even one as small as my current 12" PowerBook).  I use Gmail primarily, so IMAP should work fine.  For IM, AIM and Google are what I'm most interested in.  I assume these work pretty well, and will let me stay online while doing other things with the phone (e.g. email/web)?  I haven't had a chance to watch the WWDC video yet, but it sounds like these are enhanced a bit with the iPhone 3.0 software.

Web browsing is nice to have as well, but less critical and I expect limitations with a mobile device (if nothing else, the screen is small).  I found a few videos on YouTube and it looked like it worked decently enough.  Last year I borrowed a friend's iPhone to check in online for a Southwest flight and while it worked, I did have a bit of trouble getting it zoomed and positioned right, so it seemed like the separate zoom and pointer modes on the Storm might work out well for me; though I assume with a bit of practice I'd get used to the iPhone.

I rarely take photos with my phone.  I have a DSLR for serious stuff and a small point and shoot digital camera for more everyday type of stuff, and I'm not the type that takes tons of photos, so even though I don't have a camera with me most of the time, I rarely use the camera phone and I don't really expect that to change.

I'm not too worried about the lack of WiFi, although as an AT&T DSL customer I do get free access at their hotspots.  My current phone is EVDO capable and coverage seems good.

I did recently buy a Magellan GPS unit after a friend told me that his experience with trying to use an iPhone for navigation didn't work too well.  This was before the announcement that 3.0 would support turn by turn directions, though.  How well does this work with the Storm?  I have no desire to pay for VZ Navigator (I think my current phone supports it actually); will it work with Google Maps or BlackBerry Maps?  While the Magellan will work, one less device to travel around with would be nice.  One neat feature a friend showed me on his BlackBerry Pearl a couple years ago was the map showing traffic conditions a la traffic411.com.  Is there support for this on the Storm?

It sounds like the Storm will work with non-DRM protected iTunes music.  It would cost me about $30 to use the iTunes Store to upgrade my library to iTunes Plus.  Not a big deal though, as my 4th generation iPod is still working and I mostly use it when I'm on an airplane.  Again, one less device to carry around would be nice, though.

Looks like PocketMac for Blackberry would be needed to sync iTunes, iPhoto, etc from my Mac.

Pricing confuses me.  I think the "BlackBerry Nationwide Email" is the plan I need.  I don't come even close to using my full 450 voice minutes, so the $79.99 plan is what I need.  It mentions wireless data for access to email, does this include web, IM, etc?  I hardly ever use SMS so I don't think I want the "BlackBerry Nationwide Email & Messaging Plan".  As it it, it's already $10/month more than the comparable iPhone plan, which looks attributable to Verizon's slightly higher voice plan rates.

Finally, I did see some comments on some forums about issues with people having to reset the phone by pulling out the battery?  Is this really a common problem, or more of an issue of the minority of people that have run into issues making lots of noise, while the majority of customers are silently happy with their device?

Last edited by hawaiian717 (2009-06-13 5:56 pm)