Video review of the BlackBerry Storm 9530 for Verizon

BlackBerry Storm 9530

BlackBerry Storm 9530

BlackBerry Storm 9530

BlackBerry Storm 9530

The BlackBerry Storm 9530 smartphone for Verizon Wireless is probably RIM's most hotly anticipated device of the year - even more so than its flagship QWERTY keyboard equipped phone, the Bold 9000. The Storm is RIM's first touchscreen device and is also the first device on the market to feature a truly clickable touchscreen. The 3.25" capacitive touchscreen^(INFO) display floats on a series of pivots that provide the clicking action that not only gives users the the tactile response they crave, but also adds a new dimension to the user interface - as you will see in the 4 videos we've done for this review.

Design and Basic Functions

Physically the Storm is a large device. It weighs a rather hefty 158.8g (5.6oz) and measures up at 113mm x 63mm x 14.5mm (4.4" x 2.5" x .6") in size. It is still slightly smaller than the Bold, but is noticeably heavier. The Storm's battery is rated for 6 hours of talk time or 15 days of standby time when operating on Verizon's EV-DO Rev A^(INFO) network. In real world situations, though, the Storm is very likely going to be a device that requires daily recharging.

One of the key features of the device is its ability to roam onto GSM/EDGE and 2100MHz UMTS^(INFO) 3G networks, which means that not only can the device work in most parts of the world, but it does so at 3G speeds. Verizon has a history of business oriented devices that can roam in Europe, but this is the first we can think of that even has support for the 850 and 1900MHz GSM frequency bands used in the USA.

Call audio quality on the BlackBerry 9530 Storm was good, though it tended to distort at its loudest volume levels. The speakerphone sounded clear in both directions, and the speaker independent voice dialing application worked flawlessly. The antenna's reception on the Storm is not as good as we had hoped for, but is still reasonable. Contacts are easy to search through using the various on-screen virtual keyboards, and the ringtone profiles are easily accessed from the standby screen or the main menu. I'm particularly pleased to see that RIM has added a simplified configuration layer to the profiles system that still allows power users to customize all of the nitty gritty details.

While we are disappointed that the Storm 9530 lacks WiFi support, the 3G data worked very well for us in the U.S. during our tests. Messaging support was typical BlackBerry, which is to say very good. There are a lot of options, countless shortcuts and the entire system has a much more modern look now. The touchscreen adds a few new tricks to the messaging system in terms of swipe gestures and long taps that you can see in the video footage. A number of instant messaging clients are available for free on the Storm, including AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, and Gtalk. Bluetooth seemed to work quite well with both normal headsets as well as wireless stereo headphones. Of course you can also use the supplied pair of wired headphones or any other 3.5mm jack compatible set of headphones.

Mandi @ 9:36:55PM EST on Thursday January 21, 2010

Love ur video, i love my blackberry storm 9530. I just have a question if u can help me. I accidently deleted an application i downloaded and its saved to my downloads folder. It is still there but its archived (has an arrow on the application). I dont know why the application quit working but i guess something stopped it. an update possibly. Do u know where the archive programs are stored on the blackberry or can i access the archive folder through the device manager program(which i have already tried.)

Richie @ 9:08:15AM EST on Monday December 5, 2011

I realy like ur camera, but of recent the camera doesnt open claiming some applications must be closed first before it opens. I cant really see which application(s) are open in all the efforts i have injected. please help what should i do?