Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm 2 will be available to Verizon Wireless customers Wednesday, according to the carrier.
BlackBerry Storm 2
(Credit: CBS Interactive)Like its predecessor, the BlackBerry Storm 2 will feature a touch screen. Unlike the BlackBerry Storm, though, the Storm 2's SurePress "clickable" display doesn't actually move (except for around corners). Instead, the display provides an electronic feedback that mimics the feeling of a click. It also features multi-touch support, allowing users to click two keys (like shift plus a letter) on the virtual keyboard at the same time.
Aside from a revamped touch screen, the Storm 2 offers built-in Wi-Fi and EV-DO Revision A. The Storm 2 provides global support, allowing users to make calls and get 3G data overseas, thanks to an included SIM card. The phone comes with 256MB of flash memory, and 2GB of "onboard" memory. It also ships with a 16GB MicroSD card.
The Storm 2 runs BlackBerry OS 5.0. According to Verizon, the new software will improve the device's typing and selection accuracy. It also features more use of animations.
The Storm 2 has a 3.2-megapixel camera and video recording. The phone comes with BlackBerry Maps, which allows users to access turn-by-turn directions and maps, and to find local businesses. RIM has also included Verizon's VZ Navigator service, which adds voice-guided directions, but costs an additional $9.99 per month.
Like some of the latest BlackBerry smartphones, the Storm 2 will provide access to the BlackBerry App World. It also supports Verizon's tethering service.
The phone features a removable battery that, according to Verizon Wireless, will offer up to 5.5 hours of talk time. It asserts that the battery will last for 11 days on standby.
When the Storm 2 hits store shelves for $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, both RIM and Verizon will be hoping that users have forgotten about the mistakes made in the original BlackBerry Storm. That phone's touch screen and software annoyances yielded some unhappy customers. It also failed to break three stars in a CNET review last year.
That said, Bonnie Cha at CNET Reviews had an opportunity to check out a near-final version of the Storm 2 recently. According to Cha, the Storm 2's SurePress touch screen is much improved over its predecessor. She was also happy to see Wi-Fi make its way to the follow-up smartphone. Still, she found that the software reset spontaneously at times and that, overall, the GPS performance was sub-par.
Check out CNET's full evaluation of the BlackBerry Storm 2 here.
Reports suggest the iPhone may be coming to Verizon Wireless next year and I think that's a good thing.
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Verizon announced plans to offer month-by-month services for its customers with phones that will be full-price. Say goodbye to cell phone revenue, Verizon!
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In the long and arduous battle between P2P file sharing services and ISPs, the former have done all they can to stay on top, while the latter have done all they can to eliminate them as quickly as possible. And just when I started losing hope, Verizon, for once, made me feel just a little bit better about ISPs. Will it last? I doubt it.
According to Verizon, it will do everything in its power to ensure that P2P downloading is brought into the new century and given the kind of treatment it has deserved for years. The company researched P2P file sharing and found that when an ISP cooperates with an P2P file sharer, they can speed downloads by a whopping 60 percent.
"This test signifies a turning point in the history of peer-to-peer technology and ISPs," said Robert Levitan, chief executive of file-sharing company Pando Networks Inc. "It will definitely show ISPs that the problem is not peer-to-peer technology, the problem is how you deploy it. It is possible to deploy P2P to their advantage."
But perhaps what's most important to this test is that Verizon is pledging availability of some of its infrastructure information to P2P file sharing services to increase the efficiency of both services.
... Read moreWhat? You didn't know that already? I thought I was telling you something you already knew.
In case you missed it, Ad Scheepbouwer, the CEO of a Dutch telecom known as KPN told the Financial Times yesterday that "[He] had [an iPhone] and thought it was a pretty useless phone, to be quite honest. The battery ran out in no time. I didn't like the touch screen."
Of course, the company's CEO still didn't want to leave Steve Jobs and company out in the cold just in case it decides to start selling the iPhone to the Netherlands. Scheepbouwer said that his company would "be more than happy to sell it." After all, he pointed out, his company has "half the market in the Netherlands and hopes it will will be the party of choice."
Even better, this clown has allegedly been wining and dining Steve Jobs at every chance he gets in an attempt to win the deal. Am I missing something? Didn't he say that the product is 'useless'? And didn't he say that the battery runs 'out in no time'? If he believes that, why would Apple want to strike a deal with his company and why would his company want to sell such a junker?
If nothing else, this just goes to show us all how crazy these carriers really are.
... Read more
Amazingly, almost every product Apple has released over the past decade has performed extremely well and there's no debating the fact that the iPhone is one of them.
But unlike the computer industry or the PMP business, the cell phone industry judges success by how well a device can perform over the long-term and keep a steady revenue stream flowing for both the carrier and the manufacturer.
And while the computing industry has become quite competitive over the past few years, driving prices down and forcing companies to make more compelling products, there's no debating the fact that the cell phone industry is the most competitive and strangely unprofitable of them all. After all, who would have thought that Motorola -- one of the proven leaders in the industry -- may be getting out of the handset business for good?
Knowing this, has Apple gotten in over its head trying to play the same game it always has with its other devices without realizing that the cell phone industry is an entirely different beast altogether? Sadly, I think it has.
... Read more
When will it ever end?
(Credit: Verizon Wireless)In a move that some have called "groundbreaking" and I have called "a disgusting attempt at trying to look cool", Verizon Wireless has announced that it will be opening its network to "any apps and any device...that meets a minimum technical standard."
What a waste of valuable editorial space. Why is this even news? Does anyone actually believe that Verizon Wireless has become the cell phone industry's latest (or is it first?) good guy? I certainly don't.
One of the more laughable parts of this story is Verizon's insistence on its new service becoming the haven "small device manufacturers and developers" have been waiting for. For some reason, I can't quite grasp why this is true.
In order to get your device or app on the Verizon service, you'll need to send it to the newly created $20 million test lab Verizon has set up and the company will need to approve it for use on its network. Also, it'll need to meet certain technical standards, which could mean it simply needs to light up and make noise, or it could mean it'll need to fly to Mars if it's not made by a well known firm.
To make matters worse, Verizon has yet to announce how it will accomplish this newly devised system and if you've been keeping score, this company that's trying so hard to be "open" has yet to join Google's Android Open Handset Alliance. That seems a bit odd, doesn't it?
But I digress. The real story here is not that Verizon Wireless has announced something without any real details, the real story is the fact that Verizon exemplifies everything that's wrong with the cell phone industry -- it's a place where common sense is thrown out the window and customer loyalty and respect have never existed.
... Read moreAfter coming across this quick snippet over at Techdirt, I felt compelled to write about it and inform all Verizon Wireless customers that you may be duped by a company that obviously doesn't care about making its customers happy.
According to reports, Verizon Wireless is sending out letters in envelopes to its customers that, if not responded to in thirty days, will create a contract between both parties. What does the contract create, you ask? A change in the Terms of Service that will allow Verizon Wireless to take your calling records (unbeknownst to you, of course) and hand them over to advertisers, who will use this information to make your life just a bit more annoying. Even worse, the envelopes will most certainly not tell you what the true intent of the correspondence is, and most will probably throw it out assuming it's junk mail.
Am I the only one who thinks this tactic is utterly disgusting and Verizon Wireless should be ashamed of itself? I'm sure the company would claim innocence and say that it will only release your records if the need should arise, but let's be honest with ourselves -- this is a business ploy and as soon as the company can hear Benjamin's marching towards it, your records will be thrown back.
As a Verizon Wireless customer, I find this to be one of the most underhanded moves by a company that I've seen in years. In fact, I'm going to go so far as to say that this is a good enough reason to end my relationship with Verizon Wireless and move on. Why should I pay a company that will do these things?
Shame on you, Verizon Wireless. Shame on you.
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