Verizon BlackBerry Storm Los Angeles Launch Party
4:09PM: You know the drill — we’re all up in this mothersucker! Not much to update y’all on yet, we’re currently standing in a surprisingly long line even though the event doesn’t kick off until 7:30PM PST. Anyone that’s at the event, er, waiting in line, hit us up! We’ll continue to update this post though out the evening.
4:28PM: Alright, we’re still standing in line, and much to our surprise, we haven’t seen one single BlackBerry user. Quite a few iPhones, some Blackjacks, couple Verizon LG phones, but absolutely no BlackBerrys. In fact, most of the people in line are just waiting to see a free Foo Fighters show. Suckaz.
4:41PM: After further examination, we’re now seeing a bunch of BlackBerry Curves. What’s hilarious is that the iPhone users are cradling the devices in their hands, to almost conceal them from the generation public. Sort of like they’re violating the code of ethics of attending a BlackBerry launch party. There’s also 4 people in line checking out BGR from their phones… Nice!
5:09PM: Now Verizon reps are coming down the line to make sure everyone has the proper text alerts for entry. Names will be checked on the list later, and if you’re on it, the lucky guys and gals will receive badges.
5:33PM: Got our badge! The Verizon chick didn’t want us to take a picture of it out of fear that “people would print them out and try and get into the event.” Riiiight. Let’s put it like this… anyone that can take that 440px wide photo above, print it out, and actually scam their way into the event deserves to make it in.
6:14PM: A lovely Verizon representative said, “Once you see the Storm’s screen and video playback, you will shit your pants.” She said we could quote her.
6:44PM: We were just told that only roughly 500 badges have been given out so far. Any BGR readers out there that are thinking of coming down and have the official information to enter can still come through and most likely get in!
6:57PM: The line is now down to Hollywood Blvd and wrapping around as we can see. We just sent a runner down to go check it out.
7:19PM: Our runner is back (now do you see how long the line is?) and the line wraps all the way around the block as far as the eye can see. There’s also absolutely no parking anywhere close by. Have fun.
7:31PM: We’ve got a hands on! First impressions are that the touch screen isn’t that great. The technology is cool, and the localized haptic feedback is impressive, but… it kind of seems like a pain to use?
7:34PM: The screen is absolutely gorgeous. We’d even say possibly better than the Bold! Now, the device is not running a final software build, but there’s a lot of missed touch inputs and the touch sensitivity is really terrible. There’s also a ton of lag when touching the screen. We’re going to try and mess with the touch settings in Options.
7:37PM: Sooooo many people waiting to get a hands on. There’s only 4 demo devices total here.
7:40PM: The place is packed! Pretty good execution with the event so far. Good job, VZW!
7:45PM: Our main man right here checking out the Storm just echoed our first early impressions: the screen is beautiful but he’s really not feeling the whole “Touch-Click” thing. He’s complaining about the touch screen missing events and being laggy.
7:50PM: Here’s a live shot of the device with the Verizon-branded home screen. And yes, we’re totally hoggin’ the crap out of the device and our VZW peeps are super cool with it! The reps have stated the phone is “coming before the Holidays.”
7:52PM: These are honestly the coolest reps we’ve ever had the pleasure of dealing with. Though, when we asked the resolution of the Storm (you know, as a test) they replied, “the resolution and stuff is like what a BlackBerry does.” Someone get Jeff Foxworthy on the phone! Sorry, but you’re not smarter than a Fifth grader!
7:54PM: And, our last update before we start getting our drank on!
7:55PM: Here’s a shot of the crowd getting ready for the performances to start. Everyone in line to play with the Storm has promptly headed towards the stage.
7:59PM: For all you sick freaks that want to see a BlackBerry Storm with its pants down…
8:01PM: Me with one of the Verizon honeys. Chick-a-chick-a-ficka-yeeeeah!
8:03PM: We’ve got a side shot here of the BlackBerry Storm, and we do have to say, it feels good when you hold it. Though, it does feel a tad bit cheap, we’re sure we could get over that if the darn touch screen wasn’t so laggy. BG just told me this is what he experienced when he used the device a while ago, so we’re really hoping the final software build will rectify this problem.
8:08PM: Backside of the Storm. The metal back cover is a really nice touch — feels great. If only Verizon had about 100 Purell bottles handy we wouldn’t feel so skeeved out about this thing.
8:12PM: Show is finally about to start! The crowd went wild when the announcer started talking about BlackBerry. Queens of the stone age is up first!
8:14PM: Last ambiance shot before the show starts and all hell breaks loose.
8:19PM: Queens of the stone age is rockin’ the house big time!
8:31PM: Another shot of QOTSA performing.
8:36PM: Foo Fighters coming on a half-hour! Ugh! Hittin’ up the bar for more BlackBerry-themed drinkz.
8:40PM: Nope! Foo Fighters delayed until 10PM now. Oh well.
8:55PM: Foo Fighters finally on stage! They are rockin’ pretty hard and the crows is loving them.
9:10PM: One more shot of Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters performing.
9:21PM: And that’s all she wrote, folks! Foo Fighters just finished their set and this shindig is officially over. Thanks so much for tuning into our coverage!
First Marc says that you declined to be in one of the pictures above… now you say that you didnt even go there? WTF? Come on now guys, lets just be honest for a change.
@JayDee
Uh… yeah. That was a joke. You know, since I’m not in ANY pictures. You obviously fucking missed that one champ.
Sure it was a joke.
I got cut off above..
Sure it is a joke, more than half of the sh*t you say on your site is a joke.
I’m glad a lot of people agree with me. BG and his goons are all Apple lovers and RIM haters. The iphone blows in lots of ways and that guy was right they can’t see it cause they’re deepthroating Steve Jobs. Marc Flores we saw the post you said typing is cool excelorometer was cool and screen was awesome. Then you change your mind? What are you stupid? This site is biased. U get the info job well done but we don’t need your shitty writing or stupid opinions. BG go back to school you guys really really suck. Good thing you didn’t show your face in any pics. Cause then I’d have some real laughs.
I am with a lot of you in that….How does a company (corporate sponsored or not) put on a rock concert dubbing it as an official launch party for the BB Storm and hand out duds! You all bash Marc and BG…. You weren’t there, so judge for yourself when it gets released. Otherwise, if you are not interested in what they have to say, check out Nickjr.com or something. You are acting like kids.
On to more important things though. BG or Marc, it has been asked before but I too would like to know whether we are looking at a device that can be rendered operational before release with a software fix or is this a device that will require a firmware fix later on? I have the Treo 700wx and past my upgrade date by 7 months, waiting for this device to be released. But with some of the other devices coming out (HTC Touch Pro) on verizon, I’d like to have a good idea of what you think will be needed to get this right the first time and not have serious delays like the Bold.
@Bowser It’s not that I’m stupid, it’s that you never made it past the 2nd grade. This is what I said:
“So far guys, the screen is f*ing amazing and the resolution is great! The touch is cool and the whole screen actually presses down. It is a nice glass screen from the feel of things.”
Screen and resolution. When did I ever say that the typing is cool and the “excelorometer” was good? I said the accelerometer was terrible and lagged. RIM put out some serious buggy duds last night. Fail. You all act like I contradicted myself but both in the blog and in my comments, I said (and the rep said) that the screen and video will make anyone shit their pants. It’s true. But that’s about the ONLY good thing I experienced last night.
If there is only ONE thing to be said about last night’s Blackberry Storm event, it’s the the Foo Fighters rocked! The Storm was more of a sideshow. 4 phones. 500 people. Fail.
That, the hummer you got from her and the 10 shots before you made the shitty comment.
Marc your a fool that’s all there is. How many time did you give BG and quick hj at that show? The fact of the matter is the fanboyism here is unbelievable. Then you guys try to hide it? Like fags. You call yourself a tech blog but your all just babies. Maybe they put out crappy versions of the phone cause they thought ppl would steal or break them. Or maybe they knew you guys were coming and decided to see how you would say its crap then when the awesome perfect one launches you would all look like fucking idiots. Iphone is an ok device for little girls and surger dudes. I love my ipod touch but for a phone it sucks ass heavily. Just face it BGR sucks steves dingleberries.
Hey Marc. I see you guys are still getting the criticism about your reviews on the phone. I’m the guy that was talking to you guys last night at the show saying I frequent Crackberry.
I don’t get it. The reviewers gave their OPINION on a phone and people come on here and bitch about it. Did they shatter your dream of what you though would be a flawless device (doesn’t exist) you little babies…. GET OVER IT!! And if you don’t like their “unprofessional coverage”, why the fuck do you bother coming here? Glad for the coverage guys, keep it up.
Marc = Ipod lover + how it looks he didnt even get to go up on the media level. he was left on the ground with the average joes
I was downstairs, upstairs, and all over the Storm table. Good to know people in the VIPs… free booze. A lot of friends who had connections walked right in for free and hooked us up.
Thanks BGR for the pics and the report. I am curious how many background apps/process were running on those demos since soo many people handled them and if that could contribute to the observed lag. I can’t wait to take one for a test drive. Can you comment on the feel of the device in your hand as compared to a BOLD/CURVE/IPHONE?
I was at the event last night and must agree about the buggy phones they were demoing. Marc was right to criticize the accelerometer’s performance. It just didnt work well, but it was not a finalized product. Also remember that RIM isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel with the Storm. They are creating and marketing a product for the general consumer with the same features that Blackberry is known for in the business community. The event was clearly geared towards consumers, not industry professionals. regardless it was a good time. especially when KG from Tenacious D is down in the pit with everyone.
HERE’S THE TRUTH ABOUT THIS WHOLE THING;
AS SOMEONE WHO WAS THERE; MARC IS RIGHT. THE DEVICES WERE NOT IN PERFECT CONDITION, HOWEVER, IT WAS MADE CLEAR THAT THE FINAL VERSION OF THE DEVICE IS NOT YET READY, BUT THEY WANTED UNITS THERE TO GIVE PEOPLE AN IDEA OF WHAT TO EXPECT AND DEMONSTRATE HOW BLACKBERRY DOES TOUCH SCREEN.
I FOUND THE DEVICE VERY NICE (DESPITE THE GLITCHES) IN TERMS OF FUNCTIONALITY. IN COMPARISON TO THE FIRST TIME I TRIED TYPING ON AN IPHONE IT WAS MUCH BETTER; HANDS DOWN!
BUT AGAIN, THERE WERE SOME SLOW ASPECTS TO THE DEVICE THAT THEY WILL NEED TO IRON OUT BEFORE LAUNCH, WHICH I SEE NO REASON WHY THEY WOULD NOT.
@MARC – I APPRECIATE YOU COVERING THE EVENT, BUT I MUST ADMIT YOU DID SEEM TO HAVE SPLIT PERSONALITIES WHEN REPORTING…FOR WHATEVER REASON…
I am staying out of the fight and waiting on the release version, THEN I will form my own opinion. Marc, what can you expect when you make comments such as “I would sell it on ebay tomorrow”, and to razz everyone up by posting your live blog event with a “taken with my iphone” signature. I enjoy this site as much as the next guy, but I have to admit I don’t take you seriously and I am certain that is not what The Boy Genius had in mind when gaining trust from readers. Trust is what makes us check the site daily. Marc your points are probably valid, but you chose this profession and you should take it serious enough to not to use statements and tactics (iphone signature) we would expect out of a kid who was fortunate enough to attend a “cool” launch party.
I say again I enjoy the site and will continue to visit. Boy Genius loves this in-fighting LOL … Look how many hits he can show his advertisers!…
Now guys back to your war! lol
@thetruthgenius How did I have a split personality? Wait, is it because I was lukewarm about the device, had some great things to say about the screen, then finished it up by saying overall I was very unimpressed with it save for the screen resolution? Ever see that episode of Family Guy where Stewie gives Brian a “compliment sandwich”? Well, this was kinda the same but reversed. I said some things about it I didn’t like, said something I did like (a lot) and then finished it up with my overall impression… which was not good. We also made it clear in our comments and in the blog that it was a beta version. Everyone knows this. It was buggy, hence my remark about selling it if I got one for free. Why would I want a phone full of bugs and glitches?
@ilikephonesthatwork First of all, I’m not some kid who was fortunate enough to attend the party. Those were the dudes in line who came to see the bands and ONLY the bands and happened to win their spot by chance. These sorts of gigs happen in my area all the time. Second, I stand by my statements and I’m not trying to razz anyone up. Yeah, I posted comments via BGR mobile on my iPhone but that was the easiest way for me to respond to posts instead of opening up a browser and waiting for everything to load before I could comment. Otherwise, I’d never get the pictures or the info up in time. Don’t go saying I don’t take this job seriously because if I didn’t, only half those pictures would be up because an irresponsible person would’ve ended up getting drunk and partying with all the celebs all night. All night long it was non-stop picture taking, emailing, and playing with the device. I even sat out most of the Queens of the Stone Age show to spend more time with the Storm. As far as trust goes, I’ve posted enough information and other sources that back me when I say the demo devices were full of bugs and were glitchy as all hell. Even other BB sites and forums said the same thing when those in attendance chimed in.
okay i didn’t think i would have to spell it out for you but here is specifically what i was talking about;
You write;
7:45PM: Our main man right here checking out the Storm just echoed our first early impressions: the screen is beautiful but he’s really not feeling the whole “Touch-Click” thing. He’s complaining about the touch screen missing events and being laggy.
Then he continues on to say;
So far guys, the screen is f*ing amazing and the resolution is great! The touch is cool and the whole screen actually presses down. It is a nice glass screen from the feel of things. Will post more impressions later! Can’t comment when the band is rocking, really! But so far, impressions are GOOD.
PLEASE NOTE THE FINAL 3 WORDS
Then he immediately proceeds to write;
Sorry guys but what really excited me for every ten seconds I could touch it was the video and screen. That’s where it ends. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression but that’s what the reps were trying to push. See the video! Look at the pics! Send a message or try to navigate more than 15 seconds… F*ING LAAAGGGGG.
And then later you try making some excuse up about the time and what not,,,, just saying it seemed like you had your wrist slapped or something and changed tunes from good to bad…that was my impression from observing your posts lastnight
I suppose your just poor at communicating what your actually feeling, doesn’t bode well for someone in your line of work…
and please. dont say that snapping a few pics and not getting drunk makes you a rock star at your job
i was there doing the same thing and reading your posts….and trust me i am no blogger…
@ thetruthgenius…that was my first impression as well…like it seems as though he was coerced into changing his mind.
@ Marc couple of questions…if you were in the VIP at certain times that means there were lots of storms (seperate from the 4 or 5 on the ground floor) to play with as other bloggers who were there reported correct?
Someone said the floor models were removed during the concert…so how did u have access to those or did u make ur way to VIP during the concert to use theirs?
Another person said he spoke to “you guys” while he was there…BG claims he wasn’t there…so I’m assuming you were there with other ppl from the BGR crew so who else went?
^^^Well he said he wasn’t there, not claims so which is it?
You guys are hilarious…
Taylor Hawkins is the drummer for the Foo Fighters, FoozTards.
Everything Marc said about the horrible touch screen for typing is correct. In landscape, you can only see the addressee, the title and 2 lines of the email since the screen is all keyboard. Then you try to type ‘I <3 Boy Genius’ and you get ‘Paris Hilton is a Ho’. Suretype in portrait mode is going to be horrible since you REALLY don’t know what letter you are typing.
The BB Storm phones were available for everyone to play with for 2 hours before the show started at 9pm. QOTSA were subpar and went on at 9pm and the Fooz went on at 10pm. The night was over by 11:15pm.
Phones were gone by the time the Fooz went on…since no one cared about cell phones when the Fooz are rockin 50 feet from your skull and you payed ugots to get in. Only 10-15 people were trying phones and 600 people were drinking and rockin inside the main hall.
You don’t rent the Fooz in Hollywood for a night and then change the Launch Party Date because your software build is crap.
RIM can’t fix the mechanics of the full click screen and can’t make the keys bigger by Thanksgiving. Try a new MacBook Pro full click track pad. Hideous.
Anyone knows you get a BB to type messages and emails not to watch vids, which makes this a useless brick if you have man-hands (Seinfeld Reference). Also hate the wireframe icons in OS 4.5+. Lets make the interface less colorful like Asteroids circa 1981.
Marc’s touch screen comments had nothing to do with lag or SW builds. Notice that Marc’s articulate Live Reports were typed on an iPhone.
BTW Steve Job’s has enough juice to B low himself thank you.
BTW The fake leather BB Bold plastic back and plastic case is cheesy. The keyboard is like the 8800 with all the keys bunched together instead of the Curve with spaces between the keys. I could kill someone with my Pearl it is so solid and made of metal, and have tried.
Finally, everyone in the venue either had a Blackberry or iPhone. So many folks were photographing and video taping the show you could tell what model cell phone they had.
Kudoes to Marc and BG soon to be on Entourage for giving everyone the 411 and the 911 on this incredible FoozTacular event.
Adios MF’s