Potental New Blackberry Storm User!

[mixtape]

***Sorry for a long post! Bear with me!***

Hey guys, I've had my Verizon VX9900 since December 2006. It has been such a fantastic phone that I've been hesitant to replace it for almost 3 years. I am very big fan of sending/receiving lengthy text messaging, AOL Instant Messaging, mobile web, turn by turn gps, and video/pic messaging. I use one or more of these features every ten minutes. Oh, and I guess I talk on it too sometimes .

I picked up an iPod Touch over the Winter. I must say that I'm stunned with the quality of Apple's browser! I actually felt for the first time that my enV was finally out dating itself. The way that Apple renders websites is beyond amazing. Even the Sidekick LX that I had for a short time could not match the quality of that device.

I am currently on a family plan so switching carriers is not an option. Plus the iPhone lacks MMS, video recording, and background apps (such as AOL IM) so the switch to AT&T is not happening. Thus, I am now considering the Storm since it's a direct competitor of the iPhone, but I have heard countless (and I mean countless) complaints about not only the sluggish and buggy OS, but also that hardware was failing too. One guy wrote about how his Storm needed to be replaced 4 times! I am coming from a VX9900 which is rock solid as far as reliability goes.

So, being a noob (sorry ), I have a few short questions that searching didn't clear up for me. Please pardon if I ask something that has already been answered somewhere on this site, but I have read at least a book's worth of information online today.

1) What is the current official version of the Storm's operating system? I try to stay away from leaked or beta versions that RIM hasn't 100% approved of yet. Also, has the hardware changed? Are there different hardware versions as well as firmware?

2) I know the Storm was very buggy and slow when it first came out, but I figure that now all the quarks should be gone. However recently I've heard friends complain about their Storms unreliable still. My friend constantly has to reset/restart his phone due to it freezing or taking 10+ second delays even when minimal apps are running. How long ago was the current firmware released? What problems did it solve and which ones are still present in the device?

3) My enV required me to bring the phone to a Verizon store to be "flashed" to a new firmware version, yet my Sidekick LX updated over the air from right at home (only had to click "update" when a dialog box popped up). What method is used to update the Storm? Does it update on its own OTA? Is there a confirmation or notice to the user that it's happening like the Sidekick?

4) I heard Verizon locked aGPS to VZ Nav, but not GPS. Is that true? Does this impact the performance of Google Maps, Nav4all, or Garmin Mobile?

Sorry for my miniature book of a post here. I would love to join you guys in the BB world but I'm scared to make the jump in. Someone tell me if the water's fine!

[Gamer03]

Originally Posted by mixtape

***Sorry for a long post! Bear with me!***

Hey guys, I've had my Verizon VX9900 since December 2006. It has been such a fantastic phone that I've been hesitant to replace it for almost 3 years. I am very big fan of sending/receiving lengthy text messaging, AOL Instant Messaging, mobile web, turn by turn gps, and video/pic messaging. I use one or more of these features every ten minutes. Oh, and I guess I talk on it too sometimes .

I picked up an iPod Touch over the Winter. I must say that I'm stunned with the quality of Apple's browser! I actually felt for the first time that my enV was finally out dating itself. The way that Apple renders websites is beyond amazing. Even the Sidekick LX that I had for a short time could not match the quality of that device.

I am currently on a family plan so switching carriers is not an option. Plus the iPhone lacks MMS, video recording, and background apps (such as AOL IM) so the switch to AT&T is not happening. Thus, I am now considering the Storm since it's a direct competitor of the iPhone, but I have heard countless (and I mean countless) complaints about not only the sluggish and buggy OS, but also that hardware was failing too. One guy wrote about how his Storm needed to be replaced 4 times! I am coming from a VX9900 which is rock solid as far as reliability goes.

So, being a noob (sorry ), I have a few short questions that searching didn't clear up for me. Please pardon if I ask something that has already been answered somewhere on this site, but I have read at least a book's worth of information online today.

1) What is the current official version of the Storm's operating system? I try to stay away from leaked or beta versions that RIM hasn't 100% approved of yet. Also, has the hardware changed? Are there different hardware versions as well as firmware?

2) I know the Storm was very buggy and slow when it first came out, but I figure that now all the quarks should be gone. However recently I've heard friends complain about their Storms unreliable still. My friend constantly has to reset/restart his phone due to it freezing or taking 10+ second delays even when minimal apps are running. How long ago was the current firmware released? What problems did it solve and which ones are still present in the device?

3) My enV required me to bring the phone to a Verizon store to be "flashed" to a new firmware version, yet my Sidekick LX updated over the air from right at home (only had to click "update" when a dialog box popped up). What method is used to update the Storm? Does it update on its own OTA? Is there a confirmation or notice to the user that it's happening like the Sidekick?

4) I heard Verizon locked aGPS to VZ Nav, but not GPS. Is that true? Does this impact the performance of Google Maps, Nav4all, or Garmin Mobile?

Sorry for my miniature book of a post here. I would love to join you guys in the BB world but I'm scared to make the jump in. Someone tell me if the water's fine!

Welcome to WA mixtape. I will try to answer your questions as much as I can since I am a new Storm user. My answers are below in bold.


1) What is the current official version of the Storm's operating system? I try to stay away from leaked or beta versions that RIM hasn't 100% approved of yet. Also, has the hardware changed? Are there different hardware versions as well as firmware?

The current official Storm software from Verizon is 4.7.0.75. I am not aware of the hardware being changed. I have heard that this has fixed issues. Your friends might have an older version on their Storms. Crackberry is another forum that is dedicated to BlackBerry users that know pretty much anything that has to do with BB's including beta software. I suggest registering with them since it's free and the forum is dedicated to BB users.


2) I know the Storm was very buggy and slow when it first came out, but I figure that now all the quarks should be gone. However recently I've heard friends complain about their Storms unreliable still. My friend constantly has to reset/restart his phone due to it freezing or taking 10+ second delays even when minimal apps are running. How long ago was the current firmware released? What problems did it solve and which ones are still present in the device?

Again, your friends might have an older version of the software on their Storms. I have not noticed too many delays on my Storm, although there are some minor ones. My friends that have iPhones told me that they have some minor delays on their phones too. Verizon will be supposedly releasing a new update within the next month or so that will fix most of the remaining minor issues with the Storm. Check out the Crackberry forums for more information. I believe the current firmware was released last December.

The following issues have been addressed in 4.7.0.75 (according to Crackberry):

• Device may reset intermittently while sitting idle or when using multimedia applications
• User may experience one-way audio (incoming audio is muted) when using voice activated dialing
• When listening to music on low volume while wearing wired headphones, the volume of the music will increase to the highest level when the user receives an incoming call
• Improvements in display performance in terms of switching between landscape and portrait modes and keys displaying correctly
• Improvements in performance for multimedia capabilities such as video, music and MMS
• Improvements in bluetooth audio performance in certain scenarios

3) My enV required me to bring the phone to a Verizon store to be "flashed" to a new firmware version, yet my Sidekick LX updated over the air from right at home (only had to click "update" when a dialog box popped up). What method is used to update the Storm? Does it update on its own OTA? Is there a confirmation or notice to the user that it's happening like the Sidekick?

The Storm has OTA firmware updates. They are delivered through the wireless network directly to the phone. The customers receive a message on their wireless phone saying that a new handset update is available and are given an option to accept the update. The update is then "pushed" to the phone and you are asked to "reset" or reboot your phone to process the update.

Check out this link for pictures of the process:

http://supportforums.blackberry.com/...thread.id=3984


4) I heard Verizon locked aGPS to VZ Nav, but not GPS. Is that true? Does this impact the performance of Google Maps, Nav4all, or Garmin Mobile?

I am not sure about this. I use the BB Maps on my Storm and have not noticed any issues. It usually takes about 2 to 3 minutes to acquire a satellite fix on my location but that is when I am indoors. I have yet to test it outside since I just got my Storm around two weeks ago.


I hope I have helped you with some of your questions. Feel free to post any more questions that you may have.

[mixtape]

wow, very very helpful! Thank you so much for the info

[Gamer03]

Originally Posted by mixtape

wow, very very helpful! Thank you so much for the info

Your welcome. Glad I could help.

[zamboni77]

I went from a regular phone, to a kyocera smartphone, to a treo 650, then a moto q9m, q9c and finally the curve on verizon.
Wouldn't go back because the 9c gave me so much trouble.
BB is stable and I didn't want to wait for the tour to debut in July.
Father has the storm, his first BB and battery is horrible.

love my curve 8330!

[JTowles]

The most important thing I can tell you about the Storm is make sure a keyboard doesn't make more sense for you. Many people end up returning the Blackberry Storm because they simply can't handle the touch screen or the device responds at a speed that makes people unhappy. For my money the Blackberry Curve 8330 is still the best device until the Blackberry Tour unveils around July 18th.