Comments on: Verizon officially rolls out BlackBerry Storm firmware update

Hours after rumors of a firmware update release, Verizon Wireless officially publishes the software update schedule for the RIM BlackBerry Storm.

[mudbug99]

Too late, took mine back. The experience with this thing was awful, hassle after hassle. I'm waiting several updates before I try again, if ever.

[Cosmo8U]

Good for you! Since when should the consumer have to pay to be a beta tester...

[blacktoothberry]

Do us all a favor and don't by another one .I'm tired of the ******** .NOT one of the new smartphones is or was bug free when they came out .Iphone , instinct , G1 ,Storm .If you don't know that these and future phones will have software bugs then take your head out of the sand and Don't buy them..

Cosmo your a ****** almost every new electronic piece of equipment that comes out you will pay to be a beta tester.The only way you wont is to be a the end of the line and behind the times .Enjoy your razr flip phone .

[blacktoothberry]

.83 update out for the Storm

[ktklein]

The update was leaked by several sources over the past week on several internet sites and addresses many of the issues w/the phone (but not all). I believe the update is the .75 version and there is already rumor yet another fix is already in the works. Just today I read in two forums about the business card trick under the battery door for the improved click functionality. The phone is far from perfect but no doubt w/a little time and patience it will greatly improve. Even the original iPhone had many issues when it was firtst released and look at it now... (Not trying to start an iPhone vs Storm comparison war...)

[willypd]

could someone please explain in more detail how to insert the business card in the BB Storm to improve the click panel? thanks

[Infinite_loop]

Please list the "many" issues the iphone had at introduction? I'll bet you can't name one. It may not have had all the features people were looking for, but it certainly worked just fine out of the box. And just think, it didn't even need a business card to run properly. Does the Storm come with a paperclip as well? Boy, where will Rimm's innovation take us next?

The iphone was introduced to "rave" reviews, unlike the bashing the Storm has received.

Oh, and the fact that Rimm is copying the iPhone just shows how important the iPhone is to the industry. How about an original thought Rimm?

[Namaste0721]

infinite_loop, how short thy memory is. I very clearly remember the IPhone locking up upon start up, it's difficulty starting up with AT&T, the blinking white screen of death that you can see all over youtube, it's continued difficulties actually functioning at 3G speed....need I go on?

I love Apple, but I find it endlessly amusing how they, and the sheep like you, act as if there had never been a touchscreen device anywhere ever, much less on a phone, prior to the iphone. There are many innovative hardware and software features, but the actual function of a touchscreen remained the same. You say multitouch screen, I say surepress, and I'll take the ability to type accurately on a touchscreen over a cheap zoom in/zoom out gimmick.

And snarky comments like the ones that you had to offer indicate a lack of knowledge on the issue outside of rhetoric.

[pairof9s--2008]

Yes, but does it still click??? Because it's got to click or it's not a Storm. The click is incredible. Check your email, it clicks. Open a web page, it clicks. Type a text message, it clicks. I don't even want to begin to think about what had to go into making that happen.

To have a phone that clicks...I mean, what mad genius came up with that idea?!!

Phones will never be the same again. Everyone, and I mean everyone, will demand that their phone click. It's not just a phone anymore...it's a phone that clicks! Unbelievable what modern technology provides us to further enrich our lives!!! (ah, hummmmmmmmm)

/

[pjhenry1216]

I think you missed the point of the click. Its not so much the noise, but the action. With the iPhone, if you touch it, its the same as a click. You can't slide your thumb around like a mouse. Thats what the Storm does. I don't have much experience with it (as my friend has it, not me, but i do have an iphone 3g). It is most definitely an interesting feature. i hate when i mis-click with the iphone, but the storm solves that problem. the downside is its a bit slower, but then again, if you have fewer errors, it may not be so much of a difference in total time.

[Infinite_loop]

Too funny.

I tried to type on the thing and my finger just about cramped up. I guess I needed a business card with me. I hope Rimm includes one in the box, or will toilet paper work?

[Namaste0721]

The extent to which the muscles in your fingers must have atrophied to experience cramping on a little device like the Storm must be quite extensive and serious. I hope you're having that looked at.

[WasteOFlife]

HAHA. I never knew the distress of one could reach such great heights by a phone being released. DOES IT CLICK? Oh lord it is a tragedy. By the way you should definitely get the storm, I HEARD THERE IS A NEW APPLICATION FOR A DIGITAL TAMPON.

[blacktoothberry]

You are a retard .Take your iphone and shove it up your *** sideways

[ktklein]

Yeah, the folded business card trick as it read it on a few forums actually improves the click. My Storm is on order, so other than playing w/it in the Verizon store, I don't have anything to mod or upgrade. The card goes in a small cavity by the battery under the battery door and supposedly it makes the tactile click experieince better/more accurate, not to mention some people were reporting the phone's corners were not producing the click when in QWERTY landscape mode, This mod seems to have addressed the problem. Call it a poor design, or a flaw that should never have made it to market, but at least all the techno geeks and gearheads are out there to help us get the most out of our cool-looking-but-flawed techno-toys.

[stevebor1]

already installed the leaked .75. Accelerometer is faster, but still many many bugs and screen redraw lags. hope the official update is a different version.

[mikemcw]

I just updated my phone and the most obvious improvement was in the accelerometer performance. I've played around with the keyboard, browser, and camera, and everything seems to be working well. The update process was a breeze, no issues noted. So far, so good...

[funkball]

I've read today that both .76 and .78 are out there...

.76 is supposed to be a significant improvement. Don't know anything about .78 yet.

[blacktoothberry]

.76 will probably never be released it will be called something else and .78 is for Vodaphone wireless

[rarmer]

.76 and .78 are essentially the same software. .76 is for the bell model and .78 is for vodaphone

[sbogoyevac]

I am on the fence! However, I still have .65 and I am unable to wirelessly download anything else. Can anyone advise or help in this matter. I hear its much better with the software updates but I can't seem to get them.

[ktklein]

The .76 update was reported on the Boy Genius Report website earlier this week, but only he claims to have it. His claim states more bugs get fixed, but the camera s/w degrades as a result. Other than BGR, I haven't seen any mention of anyone at all having .76. As far as .78, that surfaced a day or two ago as well in the forums, but I believe it is for a different carrier, not Verizon. I've heard people were able to get it to work on their Verizon 9530 though. So far no comparison to the Verizon .75 release however.

[blacktoothberry]

Why repeat BGR .

[ktklein]

Regarding my earlier mention of the "Business Card Trick" to fix screen click performance, just late yesterday a thread started over at crackberry.com about a minor adjustment to two screws that provides an equal if not better adjustment. Look here:

http://forums.crackberry.com/f86/screen-click-problem-fixed-using-different-method-109036/

[Infinite_loop]

Does the update come with a business card?

Too funny.

[LateBloomer]

Returned my Storm for the Samsung Omnia and I am extremely pleased. I've had all 3 devices (iPhone, Storm and Omnia) and without a doubt I can say the Omnia is the best phone/PDA I have ever owned. In fact, most of the staff at my local Big Red store have switched or are planning on switching to the Omnia. What does that tell you!?!?!?!?!?!

[blacktoothberry]

good for you .When all the bugs are worked out you'll wish you didnt switch.No patience

[stigmattaman]

The update makes it so so much better. With that said, it's still weak that they shovelled it out before the thanksgiving holiday when the software was desperately not ready.

[madmex81]

I just got my blackberry storm 9530 and was wondering how do you download games or aps? Can you download things like the Iphone can?

[blacktoothberry]

Official Blackberry App store launches March 2009

[therwick]

To all of you who keep saying this is a pathetic attempt at RIM trying to make an iPhone, get your head out of Apple's Arss for two seconds, and understand that they are joining the fray of "TOUCH SCREEN" Devices. Not IPHONES. The Storm was never intended to be an iPhone.

[blacktoothberry]

Boy you hit the nail on the head .The Storm can do 13 things the iphone can't do right now .When the bugs are all worked out and the app store is launched in March this will be the iphone killer .My bet is the 2G Storm will be WiFi

[blacktoothberry]

HaHa all you impatient DILLWEEDS todays .83 os update kicks butt .Like I said gets better and better with every update .So amazing how good this update is.Can't wait for the next .

[wdunham]

The Storm was my Christmas present . I have had the LG VX 8600 for a few years, and another LG before that. Have two Moto KRZR K1 phones in the house and another LG with TV capabilities.

The LG VX 8600 was a great phone in my estimation, and I bought the Storm AFTER seeing all the hype (good and bad) about it. I am happy with it. It took me a few days to get comfortable with the keyboards, but I am....and I knew some apps would be a little slow (they are) but still a very nice device. The probs are not as bad as it seems from all the reading. I have been in the IT field for almost 20 years. I am used to testing things. This phone is better than I expected.

[Scottmm]

I try to write only good reviews but my bad experience with the Blackberry Storm has pushed me to write a ?thumbs down? review on the Blackberry Storm.

I have had my Storm for over five months and tried to take it back to my Verizon store to return it after only a few days and get a Curve, only to have the Verizon sales lady tell me to just give it a copy more weeks. Well, I have given it a several more months and have talked to several other ?former? Storm owners who told me they hated their Storm and either went back to the Curve or completely switched to an iPhone.
One of my friends said he had to pay hundreds of dollars to break his contract with Verizon and switched to the iPhone. He told me it was one of the best investments he has made, he hated the Storm and now loves his iPhone.

Well, hate to be negative but in this case, I thought I owed it to others, to warn them not to make the same mistake I made, along with many others.

The Blackberry Storm, "Many thumbs down".

Best Regards,

Scott M.