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NYT review tears the BlackBerry Storm a new one. Ouch. Image: RIM.While Steve Ragan, our resident reviewer, found plenty to be pleased about during his glowing appraisal of Research In Motion's new Storm handset, it would appear that The Tech Herald is one of only a few publications carrying a torch for the latest BlackBerry. Moreover, while general feedback seems somewhat underwhelming given the usually lofty high standards attributed to the market-leading BlackBerry smartphone line, respected technology writer David Pogue of the New York Times has this week torn the Storm to shreds, labelling its performance as “dark, sodden and unpredictable.” While noting that Ontario-based Research In Motion has enjoyed notable success with its BlackBerry for a number of years thanks to producing “gorgeous, functional, supremely reliable smartphones,” Pogue cheekily suggests the new BlackBerry Storm should have been renamed as the BlackBerry Dud. And, beyond resorting to derisory name calling, the body of Pogue's review supports his clearly negative opinion by openly criticising the Storm's core point of attraction, its iPhone-esque touch-screen display, which sees the Storm emerge as the first BlackBerry handset without a physical keyboard. “Hello? Isn’t the thumb keyboard the defining feature of a BlackBerry?” asks Pogue. “A BlackBerry without a keyboard is like an iPod without a scroll wheel. A [Toyota] Prius with terrible mileage. Cracker Jack without a prize inside.”
NYT review tears the BlackBerry Storm a new one. Ouch. Image: RIM.
While Steve Ragan, our resident reviewer, found plenty to be pleased about during his glowing appraisal of Research In Motion's new Storm handset, it would appear that The Tech Herald is one of only a few publications carrying a torch for the latest BlackBerry.
Moreover, while general feedback seems somewhat underwhelming given the usually lofty high standards attributed to the market-leading BlackBerry smartphone line, respected technology writer David Pogue of the New York Times has this week torn the Storm to shreds, labelling its performance as “dark, sodden and unpredictable.”
While noting that Ontario-based Research In Motion has enjoyed notable success with its BlackBerry for a number of years thanks to producing “gorgeous, functional, supremely reliable smartphones,” Pogue cheekily suggests the new BlackBerry Storm should have been renamed as the BlackBerry Dud.
And, beyond resorting to derisory name calling, the body of Pogue's review supports his clearly negative opinion by openly criticising the Storm's core point of attraction, its iPhone-esque touch-screen display, which sees the Storm emerge as the first BlackBerry handset without a physical keyboard.
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Conceding the core appeal of the screen's finger touch and clickable press interface, Pogue then slams the execution as “inconsistent and confusing,” claiming the touch-screen technology to be a wasted opportunity due to a lack of reliable response that makes 'pressing' out an e-mail a chore similar to typing on a manual typewriter.
The interface also receives something of a kicking, with the review complaining about “head-bangingly frustrating” patchy finger swipe gesturing and cramped menu icons that often cause the activation of adjacent icons, no matter how carefully the user presses for the feature they wish to access.
Other points of detraction are aimed at lethargic scrolling and a lack of speed control, along with sizeable delays connected to screen switching when turning the handset 90 degrees, activating programs and even waiting for single button presses to register.
Factoring in that the Storm doesn't even come with Wi-Fi connectivity and that both of the review units covered by Pogue “had more bugs than a summer picnic,” it's safe to say the NYT writer is not a big fan of the latest BlackBerry.
Is Pogue on the money? Is our Steve Ragan way off the mark? Or is it completely the other way around? How do you think the Storm fits in with the BlackBerry portfolio?
Read the entire New York Times review by clicking here.
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