Back in March, we reviewed the brand new and much-hyped BlackBerry Storm smartphone. The Storm was really the first major attempt at competition with Apple’s market-defining iPhone. After trying to use the Storm, we decided that, for a number of reasons, the Storm was largely a flop. Its operations were sluggish, and it just didn’t measure up to the new set of expectations defined, for better or worse, by the iPhone. Now, however, we want to dial back the criticism a bit.
It’s not that we feel we were too harsh in the beginning; it’s just that the device has actually matured into a decently functioning smartphone. New firmware updates (automatic improvements to the device’s software) have improved its functionality, fixing some of the sluggishness that was so disappointing from the outset. So as it turns out, the Storm is turning into a fun and functionally robust smart device.
If you are thinking about purchasing a Storm, it’s important to think about what you are looking for in a smartphone. After having spoken with several Storm users, we have generally found that users who switch to the Storm from an iPhone or similar device tend to enjoy it more than users switching from another BlackBerry device. BlackBerry has made an honest attempt to make a device comparable to the iPhone, meaning that the Storm isn’t necessarily all that similar to other BlackBerry devices. So as long as you are aware of that difference, we feel like the Storm, with its new maturity, would be a good purchase.