BlackBerry Storm2 review

Although BlackBerry Storm was a successful touchscreen smartphone launched earlier in the Indian market, some of its flaws were just as obvious.

While using the earlier version Storm, we encountered two biggest problems with this touchscreen phone. The big gap between the lusciously large screen and the rest of the casing was irritating and the the second problem we faced was while typing as the whole screen tilted like a see-saw every time we tried to punch in text.

But, the first generation of any handset is usually a bit of a learning curve for both the manufacturer and users alike. Thankfully, RIM has been doing its homework and worked hard since the first Storm was released and we now really liked the new offering - the Storm 2, or BlackBerry 9520 as it's also known.

Before moving further, let's have a quick look at key features that this device has to offer. The BlackBerry Storm2 sports a large 3.25 inch touchscreen display with Surepress technology, built-in GPS, Wi-Fi capabilities and a 3.2 megapixel camera with video recording and advanced features.

The next generation SurePress technology on the BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone provides better typing accuracy and a more tactile feel. You can type on a virtual, full QWERTY keyboard in portrait or landscape mode. In short, the Storm2 encompasses all that was good about the original Storm, but without any of the stuff that brought us to near violent acts.

With the vital statistics of 62.2x13.9x112.5mm (WDH) and weighing in at 160g, the Storm2 sits comfortably in the hand. It's a reassuringly solid device in a classy shell. Whether you're a business user or a consumer, it's the sort of phone you won't be embarrassed to be seen with. Although, like so many of its peers, it does suffer from greasy finger marks, so if you want to ensure the looks of admiration continue, just bear that in mind and be prepared to wipe.

A 3.25-inch 360x480 pixel screen sits centre stage. Blacks appear blacker than we’ve seen them in a while and other colours are served up with great clarity. The gap is also gone, as is the break between the hard key buttons that separated the screen from the controls. Instead, they're part of the touchscreen itself, which just makes the finished look much slicker than that of its predecessor.

SureType has been replaced by SurePress and we like. The type-and-the-whole-world-types-with-you like screen is gone. Instead, there's more subtlety to the movement. The reassuring click that the screen has received your command is still present, but it's a much more pleasant user experience thanks to four electrical actuators under the hood.

Even larger-than-average digits can comfortably use the keyboard without spitting out gobbledygook sentences. And the automatic spell checker with BlackBerry Storm2 generally gets things right most of the time, which is not something that can be said for that used by some handsets.

The other available basic features include video camera capabilities, SMS/MMS, Wireless Email, Organizer, Browser and Corporate Data Access. The device is equipped with 1400 mAhr removable/rechargeable cryptographic Lithium cell that offers 5 hrs of talk time.

Complementing the input enhancements, you'll find copy and paste on board, in addition to the ability to send various types of message from the same menu (such as email, SMS or MMS), which all go towards helping make the Storm2 easier to use to communicate than ever before. Indeed email is very easy to set up, with a number of presets available to choose from such as Google et al.

Running the latest version of the BlackBerry operating system, you'd expect the handset to run just as slickly as its outer shell. And you'd be right. Scrolling is a doddle and the ability to search quickly and easily from within key apps is also a handy time saver.

Speed and ease of use is also helped by 256MB of Flash memory, 2GB of internal storage and the ability to beef up the handset's arsenal by up to 32GB thanks to a microSD slot that lives underneath the back casing.

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