The real story behind the Verizon BlackBerry Storm OS?
I want to preface this by saying that the following statements are my opinions and hypotheses, and have not be confirmed nor denied by any of sources of mine or official contacts at either corporation. It should serve as a nice little “conspiracy theory,” though. Here’s the deal:
- When we met with Verizon and RIM about the Storm, we asked about the software version. They confirmed it to be 4.7.0.65. We had heard otherwise, just like most of you, and didn’t understand why that OS version was so low when versions up to .90 were being talked about, and some demo units in stores showing .75 or higher.
- We believed this to be a non-final OS and was partly why we thought the OS would get better before release.
- We reported of a Storm shortage last night because of a last minute glitch.
- We think that 4.7.0.82, the version of the Storm box I got from Verizon directly was the cause of the glitch, and instead of a new version being flashed on Storms, what they were in fact doing was downgrading the OS to 4.7.0.65.
Now, why would we say that Verizon has downgraded these units? Do we know this for a fact? Absolutely not, and we said that above. None of this has been confirmed to us at all, but here’s the kicker… check on your Verizon BlackBerry Storm box where the product label is. It should say Version: 4.7.0.65, right? Well, after looking at a box from a Verizon store just now, I noticed a couple layers of stickers. I decided to peel those off, and what did I find? A product label underneath with version 4.7.0.82! So, they realized that there was possibly a huge security vulnerability they couldn’t fix in time, started flashing the units with the .65 software in order to not miss the release date, thus the cause of the shortages, the limited stock, and the direct fulfillment units not shipping until December the 5th. Go ahead, you know you want to peel back those product labels with yellow stickers! Let us know in the comments, ok? The pictures are after the break!
I went into the store around 1:30PM PST in California and placed an order for the Storm. From all the stuff that is going around does anyone have a clue of when I should actually be expecting my phone?
So, why smash their customer service? Do you think those reps had anything to do with choosing what RIM and VZW’s big wigs did or didn’t do? How bout the decision to launch the storm now, instead of waiting for new software? Give me a break bro! Why don’t you try contacting people who can actually do something about it, rather than pummeling the messenger who can only offer to do an exchange or offer hope of a better software release date.
I just ordered my storm last night, but due to the shortage it will not be ship until 12/5 which I don’t mind at all after learning of the downgraded software version. It’s really sucks that Verizon were downgrading the unit to 4.7.0.65 because of the cause of glitches and in order not to miss the release date. I can only hope by the time I get my unit it will be the upgraded version 4.7.0.82.
Sorry, but I would have to disagree. Verizon Wireless should have waited. There is nothing wrong with pushing back a release date to make sure they present an effectively working device rather than a device with a lot of flaws. I went down to a Verizon Wireless store to play with a display and found myself getting very aggravated with the performance. Good quality is more valuable than quantity.
All I can say is no WiFi is insanity. For those who travel, and have a phone with WiFi they know how powerful it is. You walk into a airline club, you have wifi – it syncs all your email immediately. You are in China – you have WiFi – you can make a call home for 1 or 2 cents a minutes. You want to browse a web site real quick, you have wifi…
If your phone can automatically join wifi networks, its amazing how useful, and how much of the time your on wifi.
I posted earlier about this. It now seems they won’t be shipping the new units until at least December 5th. Some guy got his this morning – FedEx has Saturday delivery in certain market cities. I’m in St Louis, MO and we have it here, but no Storm today. I signed up last night around 6 pm. So I’m not expecting the phone today and certainly not next week. I’m really pissed off – 2 freaking weeks. And then some people say December 15th?!? I’m leaving the country for vacation! I’ll be really pissed if they charge me for the new plan before I activate the phone. I dislike AT&T (used to have Cingular, piece of crap) and I really love the iPhone, but I just can’t switch over to AT&T. Their network sucks.
So I got mine yesterday. I peeled back the sticker that says .65 OS, but no other sticker under there. Seems to work pretty well (coming from an ATT Curve), but definately some flaws like the last post said. screen rotation is slow at times and happens randomly. sometimes when i click on something it just doesn’t load, i gotta click it again and even again.
My question is when the new OS is available how will I get it on my Storm? any thoughts?
One thing I dont get: how, in the middle of the financial crisis in the US, there are people who go and buy the latest phones? And these are not executives or managers, because such dudes will never go and wait on a line…for me, these are normal people. So there is a conspiracy theory you can look in
Thank god I was smart and did not get it the day it come out. I learned my lesson with the Motorola Q, when i got that I went back like 3xto get a new one. I swore i would never get another phone at launch again! y’all might wanna consider my thoughts for the next phone!!
Well folks – Verizon has now pushed the shipment dates for the Storm back to mid-December. Sure glad I didn’t get one yet – sounds like trouble for those who did !!!
If Verizon is promising mid-December, I would be surprised if the “corrected” phone make it out before Christmas.
Verizon should be ashamed of itself. Since I’m out of contract, I’m actually considering the Iphone for the first time !!
I went to my local Verizon store on Thursday and the guy supposeldy put me on “list” to have mine ordered and shiiped to my house. He told me I’d have it on Saturday
They called me yesterday at work around 10:00 am Central time to confirm I still wanted it and what my address was. They then told me I would get it on Wednesday and when I went to the store after work they told me still Wednesday.
I’m curious as to whether I will get the phone on Wednesday or if I will ever get it. I’m not trying to act like a little kid about this but they seemed seriously disorganized there and I have no sort of confirmation email or order # to assure me that it is at least in the works?
Did anyone else have the Verizon store order the Storm for them and if so, did you get some sort of confirmation?
I peeled my label back and, guess what? V.82! I’m on my way to the VZ store to return the unit.
The fundamental problem is that RIM is not a great software company. They’re an enterprise company.
By late next year, RIMM will be so far behind Apple they won’t be able to catch-up.
I actually got the Storm, and love it. I have tried the Iphone and the Storm. Both phones are great in their own right, but I preferred the Storm because of its superior productivity suite. I actually do edit docs, and to have this ability out of the box is great. The email(faster) and battery life appear to be a little better than the Iphone. The keyboard is hands down the best virtual keyboard I have tried. I thought that I wouldn’t like the click-through, but surprisingly, I now prefer it. The OS is pretty responsive, but I make less mistakes than I did on the IPhone by accidentally clicking something I was not trying to. It will be a matter of taste however. The Storm is actually a very capable Media player. ITs speakers actually beat out the IPHONE, but the interface might not be as Intuitive. I too read the reviews, but went and tried it out anyways, and actually came away impressed. I have had it for a day now, and so far I love it. If you are thinking about, go give a try and see if you like it.
or spend millions of dollars on marketing a product that doesn’t work and is relatively unavailable for it’s customers…
I got mine at a Best Buy yesterday. It takes some getting used to but I was wondering if anyone is seeing the issues I am.
Dropping a lot of calls where I never used to on my 8703e.
Battery is draining like sieve and I’ve turned everything off.
Google Maps can’t find the satellites.
Anyone seeing the same issues?
NA
I got my phone early yesterday morning and I love it!! It takes some getting used to but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. Yes there are some issues with the software, at times it is slow and unresponsive, but for the most part it works just fine. The suretype keyboard is amazing. I actually prefer it to the landscape full qwerty at the moment. Also the edges of the screen require more pressure than in the middle but you get used to it. I’m still able to get out my messages pretty quickly and accurately and I only expect things to get better with future OS updates. The browser works just fine, though enabling javascript makes it a lot slower on some pages. I keep that feature off at the moment and I’m not having any issues with speed. So for those who have theirs and are upset and for others who are hearing bad things, just have some patience.
Im confused reading your comments. I left spring to get the iphone caus of the hype. Now i am huge into the tech thing but most importantly want my phone to work. I found the iphone to be cool for the first week then nothing but problems after. The sound is not very good neither the battery or texting on it. You cant send a pic or take more than 6 sec videos. I found you cant connect it to a bluetooth stereo either just to name a few. The biggest problem i had was making a simple call. The calls constantly drop and i dont know if its the phone or att’s sorry service but when i spoke with customer service they said i was stuck. So i switched to verizon 2 weeks ago and got the dare. This phone is all around great. The camera is the best i have seen its easy to use, the sound is very good, the battery is great and allot more. I have yet to drop a call which is most important. i guess everybody has different experiences and opinions but one thin i can say for sure is att cant touch verizons service and ive so happy i finaly have great service after so many years of dropping imortant calls and being embarresed explaining my service sucks. Anyway ive played with my friends storm and it is very slow but really that was the only complaint and im sure they will fix it. If they do i cant see the iphone being the top seller any more. Oh one last thing..the iphone is top on the list for returns as well so just something to keep in mind
i waited in line at 630 friday morning to get the storm, and i got mine. there was actually some kind of glitch on my account, the manager was very confused, but told me “i am not really sure what is up with your account, but it says your storm is free…. so i guess its free”. um. ok!!! haha. so i got a free storm, and ye s i love it. it is a little sluggish, kinda slow when going switching from upright to horizonal, but i am just happy to hear there an OS upgrade will likely take care of this soon. not a big deal at the moment.
and my storm box looks like has 2 stickers, the one on the bottom says .82. i’ve got the yellow dot too.
hi why bother peeling back the sticker just go into the phone and look at in its settings its tells you it is running the lower app but on the higher plateform, my works fine, battery life is getting better as i use it as so are the applications. i did have the iphone when they first came out in the uk, and was soon bored, the storm i hated the first day i got it and now it is really growing on me from its little sleep modes to it;s other application features , you have to really use it to get to like it. Yes they have copied things from the iphone but they have put alot of there own tweeks in and alot more features. I miss the wi fi so i have to keep a check on the bill. each to their own i suppose but i am happy
i’ve had my phone since 8 AM yesterday and havent had any problems with freeaing up or dropped calls. It does take some getting used to but no one is perfect at using anything the first time. i got lucky and there was no line at my store i was the second one there. i agee it needs to be updated but as is i still love it. As for all those feeling the need to compare it to the iphone remember at one time the iphone was brand new and it too had its own problems but after releasin a newer version and how many updates later people still have problems with it. Will there every be a perfect device probably not, it is just going to be a matter of personal preference.
@ bluehorseshipper:
Two hours for a download. I just updated two iPhones and one iPod touch in less that ten minutes each. They also had over 140 apps each on them!
Maybe the tech at the store was a “union guy” HAHA
I just spoke to a Verizon rep who stated that there have already been 5 software updates to the Storm. I placed my order yesterday before 2PM on the website, so per the rep, it will ship on the 25th, not before. And any orders placed after 2PM will ship on December 5. I am curious if any of these software updates fixed the glitches that we have seen? Anyone able to comment? I went into a store today to play with one, and it was slow as can be… Even to get to the screen to make a phone call, it took at least 10-15 seconds for the phone to register… I’m considering cancelling my order if more of the bad comments keep popping up.
No double sticker for me but I got .65 version. I’m loving it and happy to know its going to be even better soon with an upgrade. Good enough for me so far. Using it to type this comment.
For those concerned about no wi-fi, you obviously haven’t been following RIMs marketing strategy. They are notorious for leaving stuff out, just to add it in the next product.
If you want to talk conspiracy theories, thats one big one.
I’m surprised they didn’t leave GPS off this first one, so that they could release one with GPS 6 months later. Or maybe they’ll release a non-CPS with wi-fi in 6 months, and then a wi-fi/gps one in a year.
They market this stuff like potato chips… more shelf space=better marketing…. BLAH!