RIM‘s first touchscreen fruit, the BlackBerry Storm, has had a mixed reception since going on sale on Friday, so it’s understandable if you’re torn whether to splash out on one. We’re going to try and help you make your mind up once for all, so sit down with a pen and paper and draw up the pros and cons. We’ve listed the Storm’s hidden talents, now here are the things that all the firmware updates in the world just won’t fix.
You can’t watch iPlayer
You can stream the BBC’s free service straight onto an iPhone if you’re in a hotspot, or download your favourite programs to watch on a Nokia N96, but unless the BBC and RIM get together after release to add compatibility, it’s never going to happen: there’s no WiFi in the Storm.
You can’t play piano
There’s a downside to the Storm’s clickable screen: multitouch won’t work when the LCD panel pushes down, and you’ll just end up confuddling the phone’s OS. Apple has yet to be bettered in this respect, and iPhone app Band takes advantage of full finger response, letting you play up to five digit chords. If you fancied tinkling on the ivories on the Storm (What? You might have), you’ll be sorely disappointed.
You can’t make your own apps
The T-Mobile G1‘s Google Android operating system is a homebrewer’s delight: while not everything will make it onto the Android martketplace, there’s plenty of other websites to download from, and none of the risk of bricking your phone in the process (Yes, we’re talking to you Apple). Despite Android’s succes, RIM’s not taking the hint, and unless Google buys out the company on a whim (Not going to happen), it’s going to remain a closed shop for its lifetime.
You can’t take top shots
Yes, the Storm’s touchscreen autofocusing option is useful, but it doesn’t count for much if you’ve only got a 3.2MP camera sensor in there, and there’s no changing that. The Samsung M8800 Pixon more than doubles that and still manages to be smaller, so if you’re looking to send images via the Storm’s powerful email client, you might want to carry a compact around with you too.
You can’t use it as a compass
GPS, yes, satnav, yes, but the Storm isn’t quite as powerful at navigation as the T-Mobile G1 still. The latter squeezes a compass in so it knows which way you’re facing and flags up landmarks you’re looking at through the camera viewfinder view. No such luck for Storm owners, but if it’s any consolation, at least you won’t get mugged wondering around a strange town with your phone out.
