BlackBerry Storm 9500 review: Berry-go-round

13 March 2009
It's not everyday that you see a BlackBerry review on our homepage but it's not like RIM routinely churn out devices like the Storm either. Messaging is still the legendary name but touchscreen is the game...

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  • S
  • Stefano
  • 3X9
  • 16 Mar 2009

It seems that a lot of you have already tried this BB...in the end of the day, would you recommend it or not? I mean, I am interested on it but now I have a lot of doubt: is this touch reliable, what about dust, material quality and assembly?
In Italy it is "offered" at 400 euro...not exactly low price. I am really interested to have push mail. What is a vali1

    • G
    • Garry
    • 2A4
    • 16 Mar 2009

    Blackberry Guys...NO WI Fi...bad...or i should say worse..This a high end phone and not a pigeon sending messages here and there...i don understand..first of all u made this phone thicker than a sumo wrestler and then no room for wi fi.. . I guess your Research and development budget has gone bonkers..i din expect this from a blackberry..

      • M
      • Milance
      • S75
      • 16 Mar 2009

      This phone does not have WI-FI, it is waist of time !!!

        • a
        • aidey6
        • M%j
        • 16 Mar 2009

        I got this on a VF contract last nov, it has been a disappointment, due to the lagging, which as the reviewer said is a big sin in touchscreen land, also having to do a battery pull on an almost daily basis is a pain in the rear as the phone has random lockups. It also has a low application memory which is one of the reasons that a battery pull is reqd. I know that if you go on the crackberry forums you can get unofficial updates, but Verizon and Vodafone need to sort this out PDQ. I have got that annoyed with it, I bought a Nokia N85 sim-free and handed the Storm back to VF last sat, I am unfortunately stuck with it for another 8 and bit months until due an upgrade or leave the network....

          • T
          • The Lord
          • M3g
          • 16 Mar 2009

          Nice phone for the first try from RIM. Still, the iPhone remains the one and only dominant phone on the touch screen mobile market.

            • v
            • veedubjai
            • iIR
            • 15 Mar 2009

            Get the Blackberry Bold 9000. Much Better with 3G & WiFi with tactile keypad & better built quality.

            RIM have just entered into the market recently for touchscreens hence BlackBerry Storm 9500 may not have the expertise/knowledge on touchscreens. Give a few more years before they established themselves on touchscreen technology. You just have to be patient guys. All this about "I want now, I want it right now" are abounds to have issues with software & design. No mobile phone manufacturer is gonna waait for 1/2 years of full quality control & testing before general release on handsets as they will lose market share. Think technology would have moved on by then & the market is very competitive as it is. So don't cry to mummy that phone is sh*t & won't work & blame the airtime mobile phone networks fault. Have anyone heard of reviews?

              • T
              • Taco
              • mGF
              • 14 Mar 2009

              The BlackBerry Maps only shows on a BB 8900 Curve if you have a BlackBerry account connected to it, so that's probably the problem with the Storm as well.

              I would also like to see a review of the 8900, since that's definitely the best BlackBerry ever..

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • SeK
                • 14 Mar 2009

                I have had mine for 4 days and generally it is much improved on the earliest released versions.
                I have residual build quality concerns due to the gap around the screen referred to.
                The camera is also poor, just think of it as a snap and if you want better quality then get a stand alone camera. To pack too camera features onto a phone (again as per Omnia) means to get a decent result it takes too long to configure. So Storm may not have the best unit, but it will get the image.
                This is a complicated devise for the new user.
                The battery life is simply rubbish less than a day - so get a spare.
                Vodafone invite you to use their Find & Go sat nav - seems pointless if BB Maps is there for free usage as F & G costs £5 per month.
                Sound and screen are excellent - you need to see it to realise how good it is. It auto adjust to the ambient light ocnditions.
                You can get office for BB's now, see BBmarketplace, which with no PDF viewer, which I hadn't realised, seems essential.
                Email was as simple as type in your address and 20 minutes later it auto configured in up pops your first mail.
                There seems to me to be too many message options on the handset. Size is not a problem and the width of the screen helps viewing and is much better than the long narrow variety as per Omnia et al. There is a MAJOR firmware update due by the end of the month, so any deficiencies may be sorted then.
                The suretype thing takes a day or so to get used to, but learns as you use it and now is fine for me, better than a pinpoint stylus again as per Omnia.
                I object to the leather pouch, there is no need whatsoever to used slaughtered animal when synthetic product would be better. Pouch is functional as it turns off the screen!
                Standard ringtones, leave too much of a lag between rings, so you may need to download your preferred tone.
                Call quality thus far is best I have had save Samsung D900, let's face it this is a key criteria, never mind if you can't blast the cosmos with some daft games for the intellectually wanting.
                Menus I agree are drab, and perhaps the firmware will address this.You can change the size and fonts used which helps - but minimally.
                The lack of wifi matters not ONLY if you have a dataplan, if not then it is surely something you would wish for.

                Overall I am getting to like it, but the tepid review here is disappointing,and to this novice BB user it seems a bit harsh.

                  • a
                  • albader
                  • nqd
                  • 14 Mar 2009

                  I like the Storm 9500 blackberry and it is the best for me

                    • C
                    • Commentator
                    • wr9
                    • 14 Mar 2009

                    BB Storm Touchscreen is suck...., is not accurate when u want to type...

                      • Z
                      • Zobi
                      • k@U
                      • 14 Mar 2009

                      Also should review Curve 8900. I hear is very good.

                        • Z
                        • Zobi
                        • k@U
                        • 14 Mar 2009

                        Yeah why not review more blakberry's? Is not GSM?

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • PcR
                          • 14 Mar 2009

                          I was starting to think u guys at gsm hated blackberry hahahaha why don't u review blackberry phones?

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • q{E
                            • 14 Mar 2009

                            this is the first blackberry touch. give them credit
                            apple lacks video, mms, copy and paste and much more - 2 generations later.

                            the first iphone was amazing.

                            the second gen is problematic. light leaks, dust under the lcd (every single unit has dust), loose buttons (thank god only 4), and cracks appearing by headphone jack and vibrator button).

                            apple may have sold 10+ million, but each apple store is always packed with customers and problems.

                            hopefully apple learns for the third gen and so does rim.

                              • M
                              • Matt
                              • nxT
                              • 13 Mar 2009

                              The UK version on Vodafone comes with 6 months free of their Find & Go sat nav software, also has a YouTube application pre-loaded on the device, and all the Storm price plans come with unlimited push email and 500mb of data! So not all bad beans?!

                                • e
                                • em
                                • S1m
                                • 13 Mar 2009

                                I do like the Storm but it's short comings can't be forgiven. It isn't really a 'new' or 'revolutionary' device neither. It doesn't offer anything new compared to what the competitors already have apart from the clicking feedback from the touchscreen.

                                Still, a very nice device indeed. Maybe the Storm v2 will raise the bar as it should

                                  • W
                                  • Wade
                                  • Re2
                                  • 13 Mar 2009

                                  The first ever blackberry review by this site, yeeeeeeeeeeahhhhhh

                                    • h
                                    • h-mac
                                    • qJg
                                    • 13 Mar 2009

                                    that is messed up...lol

                                      • C
                                      • Cole
                                      • 0k@
                                      • 13 Mar 2009

                                      Amazing review grom GSMARENA!!
                                      Nice one from BlackBerry!

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • 0@c
                                        • 13 Mar 2009

                                        Nice review gsm arena you on roll these days :)