What RIM needs to change in the BlackBerry Storm 2
BlackBerry Storm 2 needs some improvements.
(Credit: Don Reisinger/CNET)Research in Motion said Monday that it plans to release a new version of its BlackBerry Storm. Speaking to Reuters, company CEO Jim Balsillie said that the time is right for a new BlackBerry Storm. He believes the market is "very large and untapped."
He went on to say that the BlackBerry Storm was "a huge success in terms of sales and adoption." Balsillie said he believes the next iteration of the mobile phone could enjoy the same kind of success he claims its predecessor did.
I had the opportunity to use the BlackBerry Storm when it was first released. It was a mess. I had trouble clicking the desired icons, and I was generally unimpressed with the device's OS. The idea of "clicking" the screen to access the desired app, while good on paper, turned out to be a nightmare, in my experience. I was disappointed with the BlackBerry Storm.
But that doesn't mean I'll automatically rule out the BlackBerry Storm 2 (or whatever it will eventually be called). I think RIM had a good idea with the first device, but now it needs to refine its offering.
Kill the click
Though it became the Storm's signature, RIM needs to kill its clicking mechanism when you push on the screen. I realize that it provides some tactile response that the iPhone doesn't, but after using both I can say that it's much easier to use Apple's device than RIM's. The Storm didn't make typing any easier. Clicking on apps was difficult. And more often than not, I was wondering how hard I would need to push just to perform my desired operation.It needs to go.
Add a trackball
I know that RIM was trying to take aim at Apple, so it kept the Storm as simple as possible, but adding a trackball would totally transform the device. It would make finding and choosing apps simpler. And most importantly, it would make using the device much easier. As a proud owner of a BlackBerry Bold, I don't know what I would do without my trackball. It's convenient. The BlackBerry Storm isn't.
Ditch the virtual keyboard
Just because Apple thinks the virtual keyboard is the way to go, it doesn't make it right. The BlackBerry Storm's virtual keyboard is awful. I had trouble clicking the right letters and at times, I was so frustrated with it I gave up. In those moments, I realized something: what makes the virtual keyboard such a necessity?
The BlackBerry Bold's physical keyboard is fantastic. RIM should add a nice, full-size QWERTY keyboard, similar to the Bold's, that slides out from behind the Storm 2's big screen. That way, the touchscreen is employed to do special things like "pinch," while the keyboard is used to help professionals and consumers enjoy a better experience with the device.
Enhance the App World
The BlackBerry Storm 2 will never achieve the kind of success Apple has with the iPhone unless it can improve the BlackBerry App World. Right now, there is no comparison between RIM's store and Apple's. The BlackBerry App World has just a handful of useful apps, while Apple's is filled with outstanding services.
If RIM wants the Storm 2 to be successful, it needs to make a concerted effort to work with developers and coax more of them to the store. Apple has transformed the mobile market into a space where add-ons really, really matter. RIM has, so far, not competed on any level with Apple's App Store. It must if it wants the Storm 2 to be successful.
That might seem like a lot of work, but if RIM really wants the Storm 2 to take on the iPhone, it needs to change. A lot.
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Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Everything that he wrote was correct! Anyone that has ever used both type of phones (with virtual keyboard and without) knows that regular keyboard it 100x more practical and more user friendly than virtual keyboard. I 100% agree that Storm needs a regular keyboard just as iPhone does. After using iPone for six moths, I finely got read of it because typing on it was "pain in the a**". When you said that you like Cha, German and Lee what you mean is that you want someone who will keep hyping the "iPhone junk""???
A lot of the complaints about the keyboard and slow accelerometer were fixed by leaked OS's that I installed. If Verizon or whomever your provider would just get its act together and put out an upgrade on the OS a lot of those problems are fixed (even a full qwerty in portrait mode if you want, a nightmare IMHO). We don't need another Bold or Curve, give me a better Storm.
Hopefully HTML5 & BONDI (or PhoneGap) will gain traction, so application developers can target multiple smartphone OSes, with a single app.
What the Storm 2 needs is a standardized UI SDK, so things that I am expected to click look like "chiclets", instead of underlined text links. The biggest distraction is the inconsistent UI (Google Maps, Facebook, Twitter) are all written by 3 different developers, and all three have major inconsistencies.
Storm 2 needs a more efficient chipset or they need to tweak the speed of the device. Seeing the hourglass when I am waiting for Google Maps to redraw makes me want to throw this thing out the window.
Also, keep fixing the dead-end glitches in the UI. If I compose a new SMS message, don't let me select which address (phone number or email) to send it to.
RIM needs to do an audit of their clickstreams and see how inefficient the Storm really is compared to iPhone or even WinMo.
Though it became the Storm's signature, RIM needs to kill its clicking mechanism when you push on the screen. I realize that it provides some tactile response that the iPhone doesn't, but after using both I can say that it's much easier to use Apple's device than RIM's. The Storm didn't make typing any easier. Clicking on apps was difficult. And more often than not, I was wondering how hard I would need to push just to perform my desired operation.
It needs to go."
Right....
I can honestly say, for the exact reasons you said you hated the storm I loved it. I wouldn't buy a touch screen phone ever, they are annoying to me because as they jostle around in my pocket they hit buttons... no. The storm doesn't do anything until you click the screen, this was an awesome idea, and it makes typing on the keyboard bearable. I have rather thick fingers, so my biggest issue with a touch screen is it never clicks the right button for me - the Storm highlights what I want... if it's wrong I adjust slightly, and THEN click. If the Black berry storm 2 lacked the click-screen, then honestly I would not regret my purchase of the first iteration in the least.
The storm 2 needs one thing only - a reworked UI would be appreciated, and WiFi would be a nice addition.
Kill the click: ***? The best innovation ever to come to touchscreen smartphones, and you want it away? The haptic screen is the most clever idea on the storm, and it makes the user experience much more natural than the current schema by iPhone and other competitors. Can you point something in the iPhone without executing it? No! With the Storm you really can have select and execute as separate behaviors. So, the Storm screen is the most real representation of a desktop OS in that aspect. And you get soooo used to it that it makes all sense after a few tries. I'm a text-intensive user on my Storm, and it's hard to see anyone on an iPhone typing faster than me, and that's because of the haptic screen.
Add a trackball: This could be a good idea indeed, but I can live without it. I would actually not add a trackball but turn the volume up/down buttoms in a side-wheel that acts also as a selection helper, just as the first Blackberries used to have. If you're in a call or playing multimedia, the wheel will do the volume. Everywhere else, it will help selection of links and icons. Adding a pressure "shift" to force volume up/down in special occasion could be the best. But a visible, front-case trackball? Not neccesary at all!
Ditch the virtual keyboard: I'm sure this guy hates RIM and wants the Blackberry Storm die! So, let's go to Apple and tell Steve Jobs "hey, I just read a guy who wants RIM to ditch the virtual keyboard. Now you need to ditch the iPhone virtual keyboard as well, as it suck even worse!". C'mon! The virtual keyboard is a reality and the best we can do is get used to it in smartphones and in a few years in just anything. And I really laughed out hard with his suggestion of adding a flyout keyboard behind the screen. Those phones with flyout keyboards are clumsy and thicker than any similar device. The Storm competes in a market where simplicity is the key factor. The Storm is NOT aimed at regular Blackberry users that "really can't live without a physical keyboard"; the Storm is aimed at consumers and executives that wants solid rock performance in business features (which the iPhone lacks) while going into new trends. It's difficult to see love to the Storm from old hardcore Berriers, but they need to get ready for a world without keyboards. And the Storm may be Lesson 1 of the class!
Enhance the AppWorld: The only thing I agree with this author is this. RIM's AppWorld is just a bunch of pre-existing apps with little new players put together in a single place. And while many of the good apps are not free, that's nothing wrong with that when you remember the Blackberry is lineup of high-profile devices, used mainly by people who can afford just any app without complaining on the price tag. Of course I want to see more apps in AppWorld, free or not, and this is something RIM really needs to better.
What this review is missing?
In my opinion, the main drawback the Storm has right now goes to the lack of Wi-Fi support. With Blackberry BIS/BES plans this is not such a big issue, but it won't hurt to have also Wi-Fi in the Second Storm.
Second, I think that the real improvements of the Storm should go to the OS. The iPhone "feels" smoother than the Storm, and the OS response time is much better in the iPhone than in the Storm. We need the Storm to be faster!
Why would the device need a trackball? What's faster than touching and clicking an icon, even in one hand you can use your thumb to reach almost anywhere on the screen?
Wi-Fi support would be nice, but better than that would be a real browser like the iPhone has. I can't say how tired I am of getting the "HTTP Error 413: Request Entity Too Large", UGH. I know that BES admin has a bit of control over this but still the max is 1024KB? That's just asinine.
Fix those and you've got another great device (I love my Storm).
First off, a trackball? No. Ditch the trackball idea. I love the touch screen interface and the click feature of the storm.
There's only one thing that blackberry storm 2 needs to do to be successful: Get rid of the bugs.
If BBstrom now is as fluid as the iphone, there's no need to change anything.
Ditch the Virtual Keyboard? No. It needs to stay. i type faster on the vkeyboard than on the ragular physical kboard. and truly this is a personal preferrence. A storm wouldnt be a strom if vkeyboard isnt there.
Everything on the storm right now functionality wise is very good. No need to ditch anything but the bugs.
Bottomline: Wouldnt you want a blackberry storm like it is now with a fluid iphone-like UI? Yes indeed. WIth that in mind, RIM will be looking at the PERFECT STORM!!!!
As far as the trackball goes...uh...No?Get the Bold or Curve if you want a track ball or physical keyboard. Unless RIM can engineer a form factor that includes a physical slide out keyboard of equal to or less than dimensions of the current Storm it is also a definite?No. The virtual keyboard is the way to go to keep it light and sleek. My teenage daughter is already is telling me my Storm is too bulky?to heavy. Compared to the iPhone..I agree.
Enhance App World = Yes
My only other grip with the Storm is the lag?Need to speed up the processing power. All too often I find myself staring at the hour glass. Wifi would be fine for me but not really an issue either. A 4G version might just put this argument to bed anyway.
Think about it. Replace Palm's squishy keyboard with the Curve's hard ones. Instead of the gesture area, but a trackball there. You've now got yourself a touchscreen Blackberry.
The guy who wrote this article is an idiot. I'm glad that RIM employs the top minds of Canada in R&D so that it puts out a usable product that makes sense. If you want a track ball buy a Curve. If you don't want a touch screen virtual keyboard buy a curve. You should be fired for writing stupid reviews.
I like the 'click' quite a bit.
As for the virtual keyboard, it makes the phone's size managable and allows for a much larger screen. If you use the phone for anything more than contacts, this is IMPORTANT.
What the Storm 2 really needs is more powerful hardware and a better/smoother UI...this is where the iPhone trumps the Storm. Many of the storm's problems come from not having software that runs quickly enough.
If they can fix those 2 issues, I'll be picking up another storm. (unless the palm pre gets a microSD slot..)
I find the storm to be a fantastic device. I agree a speed improvement would be nice, and more applications please!... especially a good profiler application for turning on and off sounds at particular times e.g. turning off the email notification between 11pm and 8am.
What the storm really needs that the iphone has is a clever way of positioning the cursor. On the iphone when the user is trying to position the cursor in a text document a small magnifying glass is displayed allowing you to finely adjust the position... this is virtually essential as positioning a small cursor with a finger just doesn't work (but I don't see the need for a trackball).
- by bigred071 May 22, 2009 6:22 PM PDT
- all phone has issues,, the itoy is a nice phone, its not a multi tasking phone,software sucks,no security at all, i suggest highschool get th itoy i mean iphone,come on now guys the iphone cant even send video or pics. my storm has issues its true what people say about the storm it has bugs and slow at times,the trick about this phone is patience. you cant be cliking and clicking on stuff.now for people who dont have patience dont buy the storm,for people who like the itoy dont buy blackberry,the sure press can be imporved jus a little bit, please rim dont remove the mulititap or sure type.
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