Seven Reasons Pogue Hates The BlackBerry Storm (RIMM)

Ed: RIM has the largest installed base of smartphone users. They stumble. Millions of lines of software wasted. Back to square one. That's good news for the Apple iPhone.  

Seven Reasons Pogue Hates The BlackBerry Storm (RIMM)

Nicholas Carlson 

Bad news for RIM's Q4 (RIMM): Unlike the Journal's Walt Mossberg, influential New York Times gadget-reviewer David Pogue hates the BlackBerry Storm.

He writes, "How did this thing ever reach the market? Didn’t anyone at RIM actually try it? Or was everyone involved just too terrified to pull the emergency brake on this train?"

Pogue's complaints in bulletpoints:

• The touchscreen. "Isn’t the thumb keyboard the defining feature of a BlackBerry? A BlackBerry without a keyboard is like an iPodwithout a scroll wheel."
• Email. The touchscreen can feel two types of touches, light and not-so-light, but Pogue says that sensitivity is wasted in the email app. "A light touch highlights the key but doesn’t type anything. Only by clicking fully do you produce a typed letter. It’s way, way too much work, like using a manual typewriter."
• The vertical keyboard. The Storm switches between a horizontal and vertical keyboard depending on how its held. Hold its long side vertically, and you get the "SureType" keyboard, which Pogue hates because inaccurately tries to guess what you're typing. "For example, to type “get,” you press the GH, ER, and TY keys. Unfortunately, that’s also “hey.” You can see the problem. And trying to enter Web addresses is utterly hopeless."
• Navigation. Pogue calls it "head-bangingly frustrating" because the buttons are too close together and the phone takes too long to interpret how the user touched the screen.
• It's Slow. Pogue says the Storm takes seconds upon seconds to perform simple takes. "Remember: To convert seconds into BlackBerry time, multiply by seven."
• No Wi-Fi.
• Bugs: "Freezes, abrupt reboots, nonresponsive controls, cosmetic glitches. Way too much 'unexpected behavior.”

See Also:
BlackBerry Storm Ship Date Moved Up A Week (RIMM)
RIM's BlackBerry Storm Is No iPhone, But Should Sell Well (RIMM)