Sounds like the Storm isn't much of a music phone

The reviews are in on the Storm, the new touch-screen phone from Research In Motion, and nobody loves it. Check out takes from CNET, Engadget, Gizmodo, and Time for a sample.

In particular, the mechanics of the touch screen--you have to press areas on the screen with some force, as if they're actually keys--have been greeted with almost universal frustration.

Looks great, but how does it sound?

(Credit: CBS Interactive)

But for a would-be iPhone killer, the reviews are remarkably light on the Storm's music features. It's true that BlackBerry users are traditionally e-mail junkies, and the phone's communications features (apart from the touchscreen weirdness) are expectedly top-notch. But if this is going to be a consumer phone--Verizon's attempt to make up for its epic fail in passing up first rights to the iPhone--music is critical. A big part of the appeal of the iPhone is that you don't have to carry around a separate cell phone and MP3 player anymore.

Apparently, though, the Storm isn't much of an improvement over the nontouch BlackBerry Bold, which was announced in the summer and came out a couple weeks ago. The Storm's got an 8GB microSD card, as opposed to the Bold's 1GB, but otherwise, it uses the same media management program from Roxio (known for creating functional but not particularly user-pleasing software) and the same ability to sync your iTunes library, and that's about it. There's no on-board music store, although this Time review says a deal with Rhapsody is imminent. (No V Cast? That's no big loss.) And the BlackBerry app store isn't set to launch until March--the current iteration has only eight apps--which means you won't have any great musical add-ons like Shazam, Bloom, Finetune, OurStage, or JamBase.

Of course, if you want a smartphone with a touch screen, and you insist on using Verizon, you're probably going to buy one of these. In fact, you probably already have. But if you're a music fan, don't count on replacing your MP3 player with this particular phone.

[bigkid828]

So you're saying that some couldn't replace their ipod with this phone because
1)I cannot purchase music through the phone (Which you cannot do on a 5th gen ipod)
and
2)I cannot use 3rd party music applications such as Shazam (Which you also cannot do on a 5th gen ipod).
Seems to me that the music player will work just fine for the grand majority of users. It also seems like you're just looking to jump onto the Storm hating bandwagon by making two very minuscule complaints and trying to stretch them into deal breaking flaws.

[osswf]

I do not believe the author was commenting on the lack of music download and additional applications as a "deal Breaker". All he is saying is that if you are used to and like the simple and intuitive interface of the ipod touch/iphone then this may not be for you considering the software built into the storm (Roxio) does not measure up as well. If you are looking to replace your ipod for a phone with a music player in it this may dissapoint you.

[ausernamenoonehaschosen]

This is the second time I've read that the Storm comes with 8 GB, even though others say it comes with 1. The specifications say it only comes with 1 GB as well:

http://www.blackberry.com/blackberrystorm/specifications.shtml

What am I missing, does it come with the option of an 8 GB for more money?

[DigitalFrog]

I GB built in, and comes with an 8GB microSD

[ausernamenoonehaschosen]

Only comes with 8 across the pond though, I found unfortunately.

[ausernamenoonehaschosen]

Some other reviews of the Storm you missed:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/154212/blackberrys_storm_awkward_and_disappointing.html http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/technology_news/4292541.html

[DigitalFrog]

I find this a pretty lame review of reviews. If you're going to review a product, get some first hand experience with it. This is nothing more than a regurgitation of the authors choice of reviews. Here's a another more in depth review:
http://www.mobileburn.com/review.jsp?Id=5759

and why would this one:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10105596-94.html?tag=rtcol;pop
also from CNET, say that "Initial reviews of the BlackBerry Storm have been fairly good. "

If you have actually used the product and don't like it, then fine, go ahead and give your comments. I don't have a Storm, but I intend on testing one myself before I form an opinion. Don't start rehashing other's reviews and present them as if they were the final word. It just makes you look cheap and biased.

[hightechnh]

I think Verizon screwed up on availability.......Lots of people want(ed) the Storm but were unable buy one due to Verizon being unable to provide them.
Last call to Verizon store said they don't have them in stock....if you order one today..you'll have it by December 15th.....Duh.......The Samsung Omnia is due in the store December 8th....and IT's got WIFI!

I would've bought the Storm...but I think I'll wait for the Omnia.

[ice82]

Omnia with WInMo 6.1 is going to be slow as with all other WinMo smartphones. Sure it has WiFi, but that's about it.

I use my Pearl to replace my mp3 player (not ipod) and also use it to watch occasional TV shows on it.

[gjbloom]

The biggest lack of the Storm's audio capability for me is their unbelievably lame player software. I use my audio player for listening to audiobooks. The player software on the Storm only allows you to play from the start of a track, which are usually 1-2 hours long for audiobooks. This means that if your mind wanders or you miss something because of a passing bus or ambulance, your only option is to start the current track over at the beginning. This makes it unusable for students who review lectures, too.

The other big disappointment for me has been the inability to handle DiVX encoded .avi files. At least it tells you as you're attempting to drag the video file onto the Storm that it can't play it, instead of waiting until you've completed copying the file and telling you when you try to play it. Still, with 1GB of main memory, couldn't they add a media player that can handle just about every format of audio or video known to man?

[homsie]

"The biggest lack of the Storm's audio capability for me is their unbelievably lame player software. I use my audio player for listening to audiobooks. The player software on the Storm only allows you to play from the start of a track, which are usually 1-2 hours long for audiobooks. This means that if your mind wanders or you miss something because of a passing bus or ambulance, your only option is to start the current track over at the beginning. This makes it unusable for students who review lectures, too."

Hmm....have you tried single tapping the screen during your audio track? It brings up more audio controls that allow repeat, random play and fast fwd/reverse.

[Precy3]

I'm still waiting for my storm to come in the mail but my co-worker got one and the screen does not click properly near the edges and it makes it hard to register keys along the edges like the letter 'a' in ladscape mode and the 'zoom out' icon in the browser. He tried this fix described below where you put a business card folded in half between the battery and back cover and it actually works. He's getting verizon to send him a new one though.

http://forums.crackberry.com/f86/th...em-look-101670/

I hope mine doesn't have this problem otherwise I'll get a replacement. I guess not all devices are tested in mass production thoroughly, only some in a batch.

Sounds like a recall to me.

[rkarlberg]

Not a good review - the Storm is excellent at playing music and video. It supports almost everything, and you can buy music as well as listen in the background. The touch screen is also excellent - the clickable behavior is exactly the way it should work, just like clicking a mouse.

[ryta1203]

I use my new Storm as a music player just fine, works great! I really have no idea what the writer is talking about. The only problem I have with using this as my music player is that I have some iTunes songs that aren't available yet in ITunes Plus (DRM-free) so they won't play on this, but that's not a knock on the Storm, RIM or the blackberry so much as it is with Apple (which I can't stand anymore btw and I think is the biggest control-freak company I have ever had the displeasure of using).

The only reason to use Apple is if you are totally computer handicapped, otherwise, you should use better applications/devices that give users more ability and control.

The touch screen is great, I actually appreciate the fact that you have to hit a "button", not just the screen, I think that's nice, it mixes the great appearance of a full touch screen with some actually notification that I've hit a button.

I've only had the Storm for a few days, but I have no complaints. The only thing I wish it had was WiFi for using it on my home network, but other than that it's great.