BlackBerry Storm rumor recap: Vodafone BES issues, software update, mass hysteria
We figured that instead of making you comb the internets trying to hunt down the latest information on the BlackBerry Storm, we’d compile a nice recap of sorts. Some of it is new exclusive information, and some of it is just other things that have been floating around. Let’s get into it…
- We’ve heard that Vodafone UK has absolutely no intention of selling the Storm to BES users until 2009. We’re not exactly clear on this (since the two Vodafone Storms we have were converted to a business BES account after purchase), but we believe it means that there will be no direct-to-business sales of the handset. Not that you couldn’t as an individual purchase one and simply add a BES plan and convert it to a business account. We’re told that the reason of the hold-up is that Vodafone is worried the device, with the on-going hardware and software issues, isn’t up to snuff for their corporate users.
- For more information on the issues with the Vodafone BlackBerry Storm, hit Vodafone’s forum. You’ll see an enormous amount of complaints about signal reception, buttons falling off, and software issues.
- BlackBerry Storm OS 4.7.0.75 seems to be floating around in some circles. There’s been a ton of misinformation out there, but the update appears to be real, and is currently NOT — let’s stress the word, “NOT” — available to the general public. As many times as you might try to check for updates in Desktop Manager or in the Upgrade portion of Options on your device, you won’t get anything at the moment. We’ll obviously keep you updated on this, but don’t get your hopes up just yet.
- Some BlackBerry Storm users have complained about the difficulty of pressing edges of the touch panel on their devices. It’s a mixed bag, and out of the five Storms we’ve had, two were perfect and three were terrible. We noted this in our review, and the remedy seems to be inserting business cards or paper (you believe this?) underneath the battery or on top of the battery under the battery door. Don’t bother. Just return them and get them swapped out. It’s not your problem, it’s their problem.
- In terms of unlocking the BlackBerry Storm, you’ll have a much easier time getting the unlock code from Verizon. It’s rather simple, really. As long as you have an account that is current with no past due charges and the device on your account, you can call Verizon’s Global Support number and request an unlock code for the handset. Nine times out of ten they’ll give you the code while you are still on the phone. Easy. As. Pie.
Read [BGR's BlackBerry Storm review]
Read [Vodafone's eForum]
It’s funny how no one can actually come up with anything good to say about their Storms, so the best they can do is to talk shit about iPhone, just to make Storm look a little better. You know how easy it is to see why iPhone is still the best, some try to call a Storm an iPhone “killer”, not the other was around, if all those companies need to build a “killer”, than they pretty much admit that the iPhone is the best on the market today. And shut the fuck up about copy/paste and mms, it has been like that for a year and a half and it’s not a minus, it gives you pussies something to bitch about but never really bother the majority of iPhone users, with all the things that iPhone does have, that no other pos phone in the WORLD does, you won’t even notice that you can’t copy and paste, you’ll never need it. I see how it’s becoming a war between some who say “Storm sucks” and the other who say “BlackBerry is the shit, shut up you fucking iPhone livers”. First, no one said BlackBerry sucks, they’re great but their Storm sucks, ok. Second, I don’t even have an iPhone, I don’t have to have one to think that Storm is a POShit phone. If you have a good phone you won’t have to talk shit about an iPhone to prove that yours is better, people will know if it is and why, or if it’s just NOT.
The storm with 7.75 is much faster on the accelerometer.
Download it if you havent already
Perspective, How many units did the original Iphone ship in its first quarter?
If Rim ships anywhere near 2 million units in the Storms first quarter it will make the original iphone numbers look like a bust.
[R!M], thats funny because plenty of people have good things to say about the Storm. It seems to be the same users names popping up continually claiming the storm is sh*t. You really have to start to wonder if some of you guys don’t have a slight case of OCD and should be on an RX like Prozac.
I mean, everyone already knows these user handles don’t like it so why continue to repeat it?
im having crackberry withdrawals and I havent even gotten it yet. Damn VZW for making my ship date DEC 5
The issue is not how many units are shipped, but rather how many stay in users hands are set up with new service on VZW. If you ship 2 mil and a million of those come back, then you really have a gigantic fcuk up on your hands. Who wants a device where they have to do 3-4 battery pulls a day, they have to delete programs that are supposed to enhance the device and put pieces of paper on top of the battery to improve the click? I think it might be time to check and see how many of the “storms” have actually been returned since launch day….The thing was never ready for release and the reviews and returns are enough for people to stay away. Does anyone know what the numbers were that RIM told VZW they had to move in order to keep it an exclusive?
@E.
You dont have to do 3-4 battery pulls a day. You don’t even have to do 1. There is no paper behind my screen. Deleting vz nav did absolutely nothing, as the only lag I ever had was with the accelerometer. Now that Ive download .75 It’s gotten loads better (accelerometer).
eeveryone look at the new video with the new updated software on http://crackberry.com/
I have had my storm since the first day it came out. I liked everything about it except the virtual keyboard. I distinctly remember not liking my BB 8703 but then I got used to typing on the keyboard so my 8830 was a natural switch. There is a leaning curve with the Storm keyboard but now I have no problems with it since I took the time to learn it. I barely have the lag that others are having and I don’t have to pull my battery either. I have been happy with mine and any friend or colleague that tests my Storm loves the phone. If the iPhone is better for you, so be it. Enjoy your phones and lets others enjoy theirs. I just think people make themselves look really silly when they argue on blogs about phones as if they have stock in the company.
On Nov 30, 2008 @ 11:26 am, steveo Said:
The storm with 7.75 is much faster on the accelerometer.
Download it if you havent already
___________________________________________
How were you able to get this upgrade and has anyone else here been able to obtain it?
@maliek
Lots of people have it
http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq270/st3v3_bb/Snapshot_20081130.jpg
There’s a pic. Go to crackberry or the blackberry storm section in howard forums and dl it. It’s not the official release, it was leakedthere’s a vid on the front page of crackberry with the new storm update looking much speedier.
Here’s the link to where youcan download the update. The accelerometer is MUCH quicker and the phone is overall quicker to respond to clicks. The download takes about 30 minutes. Don’t forget to backup your current OS in case you have a problem
http://forums.crackberry.com/f86/os-4-7-0-75-leak-105593/
@ BG
Did you update your storm? I would like to hear your comments after you do. You have been tough on the device, but most of your critisizm is warranted. Also, I bet many of the people visiting this site would like upgrade. Some may find it a little difficult. Why don’t you post instructions for the technically challenged? All I am saying, is give storm a chance…
The only way to press a button while the Storm is up to your face is if you’re pressing it hard against your cheek. The “click” function of the screen is to confirm your selection. That’s why RIM designed it the way they did – so you don’t have so many missed and wrong button presses. If you’re holding the phone with your shoulder, try a headset!
BTW, the update is much better and faster. Storm owners: give it a shot! CrackBerry has a great walkthrough and Google is your friend.
Glad to hear Voda UK are holding off. Should mean we won’t get the dud units here too.
@ Steve and Stormy
Thank you, I have updated my OS to .75 and I see that BGR already has a .76 update. lol.
To be quite honest, since I haven’t had the problems that some seem to have, I don’t see much of a difference. People have also complained about battery life. I had that problem in the beginning but I don’t know if it was due to the device or the fact that it is a new phone and I kept playing with the phone to learn it. Not to mention all of my colleagues and friends that wanted to play with it also. We will see if I notice a difference as the days go by. I do have that issue where I press a button and it doesn’t register very now and then. That can be annoying especially since I have increased my speed when typing over the week but the auto correct seems to compensate for it. Overall, I am very happy with my Storm.
Vodafone Ireland are shipping the Storm to enterprise customers.
@STORM USER:
Why are you yelling or is the caps a function, not a bug of the Storm? We get it, the bugs on the Storm are nothing days of use can’t make you forget!
I’ve had my Storm ten days now and LOVE it! Of course I look forward to improvements, but this phone is great. Beats the heck out of the initial problems I had with my Moto Q on release day.
Hi everyone, I have had my blackberry storm for 2 weeks now and I cant get it to work properly at all, You Tube wont play properly, try to type in all aspects are very annoying, videos come on when taken out of holster, buttons have come off (green and red), internet to slow I just give up trying to send a text its a joke now, sorry to be so down about this phone but I am so disappointed. PS I have signed up for 2 years can I get out ahhhhhhhhh.
Wow, can not believe all the negative comments. The Storm is awsome and if you used it for more than a few days you would know what I mean. Sorry for the people who returned them premature. If you read the comments most of the people who are saying bad things about this phone say they ” tried it and returned it” there is a learning curve so of course you are not going to be ripping through emails and the internet until you get past that curve. The new update came out today and I downloaded it and the phone rocks now. Smooth and fast and fixed problems with the phone. This is only the first update so it can only get better. Oh, and all the iphone people, who cares, in the end all these gadgets are just phones with computer applications built in, and all I can say is email, email, email, push, push, push, and mutiple email accounts.
I like the iphone to and if I wanted pure media and gaming capability I would be all over it but I am in business like most BB users and that is what this phone does best.
I got my Storm on dec 4th…Love it!
has anyone had problem with the screen shattering. blackberry storm
please reply if you have.
thanks
I agree Dave my Storm is awesome. I just got it a about a week ago and I haven’t had any problems with it. So the updates must of corrected all of the problems that people were having. I can’t wait for the next update, like Dave said it’s only going to get better. I admit there was a little problem getting used to the Storm since it doesn’t have any buttons. But once I used it for a week, it is smooth sailing.
On the way home from work tonight I was checking my email on my phone and it was perfectly fine. I got home and made dinner and received a phone call and immediately noticed my screen was shattered when I pulled the phone from my pocket!
The phone has been in my shorts pocket, I have not dropped it, banged it, sat on it, or anything. I have absolutely no idea what happened!
I am insured, so I am not worried about getting a replacement, but I 100% believe that something freakish happened. I don’t think I should have to pay $50 to assurion for a lack of quality in the product.
There has to be some sort of defect in the screen. Has this happened to anyone else?
I have had 4 Storms and still i am having powering up adn down issues as well as teh famed lag from app to app.
After battling with VZW, i finall got thru to someone who got a gent from RIM on the phone as we went over other issues i had like rejecting perfectly fine passwords and accoutns after accepting them and various phatom starts of applications like the camera or what have you.
RIM and VZW have acknowledged that the phones software is still flawed to this date and there is a supposed update coming out to solve power on/off issues as well as some of the other app and touch screen issues but like both gents said dont hold your breath.
I am on my 4th storm from VZW and all have had similar and also problems others have not had.
I agree that VZW and RIM should have gone with voda and it truely damaged credibility of the products they put out.
after all 4 phones since Jan is crazy
I have just received my BS and I also have an iphone 3g. Let me say being a business user I need a phone which can send and receive emails flawlessly, the iphone could not do this and still cant, also the iphone cannot cope with a long archive of emails – any iphone users know this and secondly the push feature is NOT in realtime. I thought i could convert from blackberry to iphone but I was wrong. The BS is a BUSINESS phone for those who do BUSINESS on the move…..lets remember what blackberry are all about: PUSH-EMAIL and the BS does this flawlessly, why cant you people understand the BS is for BUSINESS use. The Iphone is great for its entertainment factor which is why i kept mine but thats all.