BlackBerry Review: BlackBerry Storm 9500

Good morning everyone, and Salam 1Malaysia!

I would firstly like to apologise to all our readers as BBTM is currently facing a form of an information blackout from all our sources. I'm afraid that we won't be able to bring you the 'Hush Hush!' column back for a while.

Today, I'd like to talk about the revolutionary BlackBerry Storm 9500. As you know, the 9500 was BlackBerry's first fray into the touchscreen market, but despite all the setbacks, RIM did produce one helluva smartphone. From its one-of-a-kind 'clickable-touchscreen' (SurePress) to the jaw-dropping graphics, it was set to whack the touscreen-smartphone kings off their high perches.

But, there were problems.

The most obvious was the screen problems. Some complained that it was difficult to click the corner of the screen, saying the button (on which the screen floated on) was unresponsive. On my 9500, I never faced that problem.

Then there was the fact that the screen didn't fit snugly enough. And I do have to agree, because the backlighting could be seen peeking out from the corners of the screen. And in some cases, you could actually see the chassis of the 9500.

Lastly, the UI problem. There are always problems when its a first-attempt, and BlackBerry was no exception. With the 9500, RIM decided to take existing UI and modify it to fit the touchscreen interface. It worked fairly smoothly, when you're not working the damn thing. But when you use it at full-throttle, the way BlackBerry's are made to be used, it often lagged & froze. And waiting for it to reboot is a pain in the neck.

In conclusion, the BlackBerry Storm 9500 was a good effort, put it wasn't pulled off with the style & finesse expected of a BlackBerry. In essence, the 9500 was only good your first BlackBerry (as was the case with me), and not much else. But, I do maintain that the Storm, even with its problems, beats the crap out of the iPhone. No debates there.

But there's still hope. The Storm2 9550/9520 is on the way!