DEL.ICIO.USBlackBerry Storm has touch screen you can feel
Phone is built with springs, so when pressed, it gives under the finger
Associated Press
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
NEW YORK — Research in Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry, is taking on Apple Inc. with a touch-screen phone that puts a new twist on the technology.
RIM is known for its e-mail-oriented phones with large keypads. With the new model being announced Wednesday, the Storm, RIM is for the first time giving up the physical keypad in favor of a large screen, just like the one on Apple’s iPhone.
Research in Motion Ltd.
Like a few other Verizon Wireless handsets before it, the Storm will be equipped with radios to handle both networks, making international roaming a possibility.
But RIM has listened to users who find the iPhone’s glass screen awkward to type on because its virtual buttons provide no tactile feedback. The Storm’s whole screen is backed by springs, and when pressed, it gives under the finger.
The long-rumored Storm will be available from Verizon Wireless in the U.S. and from Vodafone Group PLC overseas before the holidays, the companies said. No price has been disclosed yet.
In an unusual twist, the phone will work both on Verizon Wireless’ network and on Vodafone’s, even though they use incompatible technologies. Like a few other Verizon Wireless handsets before it, the Storm will be equipped with radios to handle both networks, making international roaming a possibility. The iPhone, carried by AT&T Inc. in the U.S., can already roam internationally.
The addition of a touch-screen phone to the BlackBerry lineup, the mainstay of e-mail-addicted executives and managers, is a testament to the effect of the iPhone. RIM’s share of the U.S. smart-phone market has stayed above 50 percent, but the iPhone has clearly helped expand that market.
Over the last year, technology buyers at large corporations have found their employees demanding a touch-screen phone, said Mike Lanman, chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless.
“Everybody eventually leaves work … and becomes a person,” Lanman said.
The iPhone’s facility with Web browsing and movie playing are big reasons for its appeal. The Storm will initially lack an equivalent of Apple’s iTunes movie store, though shorter clips will be available through Verizon Wireless’ VCast service.
As a Web browser, the Storm more closely emulates the desktop experience than the iPhone does. That’s because the screen can distinguish between light touches and firm presses. A light touch can move around a cursor, while a firm press activates a link, much like moving a mouse cursor has a different effect from clicking a mouse button, said Mike Lazaridis, RIM’s co-chief executive.
Verizon Wireless is the last of the four national U.S. brands to unveil a flagship touch-screen model. AT&T has the iPhone, Sprint Nextel Corp. sells the Samsung Instinct, and T-Mobile USA just announced the G1, the first phone to run Google Inc.’s software. Verizon Wireless does have other touch-screen phones in its lineup, but none that it has promoted with as much vigor as other carriers have.
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Comments
By Newz Junkie
Oct 10, 2008 2:23 PM | Link to this
I just checked my Blackberry, and as it turns out, Mike Vick is still is prison where he belongs and Michelle Obama is still anti-American.
Thank You, Blackberry.
By Condorcet
Oct 9, 2008 3:41 PM | Link to this
The whole tactile feedback argument falls flat with me. First of all, the iPhone autocorrect feature is quite nice and catches most of my mistakes. Second, putting springs behind the screen does nothing to make sure you actually hit the correct letter/number.
By diddy
Oct 9, 2008 2:15 PM | Link to this
I sick of wall these iphone look a likes. Just get the real thing. I love my iphone 3G.
They could have least used a different color
By roscoe
Oct 9, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this
Blackberry's quality has went so much in the last few years....because they are rushing to market inferior phones to try and compete. Get it right...not a rush. I have had 4 Blackberry...7100t (great phone) and older model 8700 (great phone) and Blackberry 8800 (had to replace 3 times under warranty and it just messed again0not in warranty) and Blackberry Curve (last a few months, had to replace with the 8800. Wouldnt buy another Blackberry until they make better phones with real features that are useful, unlike the media player on the 8800 and curve that is horrible and useless.
By John S
Oct 9, 2008 8:07 AM | Link to this
I get the Storm from a business standpoint - RIM needs to compete with Apple for those who think the touch screen is a must. But I don't get it from a user standpoint: either you want a real keyboard, so you get a Blackberry, or you can deal with typing on a touch screen, so you get an iPhone. There's no advantage to getting a Storm if you don't like the touch screen typing, you'll just choose the Curve or a Treo.
By Tracy
Oct 9, 2008 7:02 AM | Link to this
I'm waiting for the Bold as well, will be my first Blackberry.
A Verizon technician told me that in a meeting that both models would be out before the end of this month, the Bold first.
He told me this was said in a meeting, a first regarding the roll out of these models.
By Nonia
Oct 9, 2008 12:02 AM | Link to this
I had the Iphone 3g for all of 5 days before returning it to the Apple Store.
The Iphone 3g I had a laundry list of problems such as answering calls on it's own, constantly dropping calls, menus getting stuck, touch screen unresponsive and/or delayed response.....etc. I got ticked off when I had to schedule an appointment just to talk to an Apple specialist. My co-workers and friends who have Iphones are experiencing some of the same issues even after receiving all of latest Apple software updates and they still stand behind this mediocre product. Apple users argued that the reception problem wasn't the Iphone 3g but At&t's network, yet they couldn't answer why Apple felt the need to address the reception problem by installing their latest software patch!
I will be purchasing the new Storm based on the quality and customer service that Blackberry delivers on all of their products, right out of the gate. In addition to Blackberry's product superiority in product quality, the new Storm can be used to port as a modem to a laptop or desktop, expandable memory and upgradeable memory storage just by simply swapping out the memory card and a flash for the digital camera-I say better late than never in this case and the best has been saved for last!
By Southern Born
Oct 8, 2008 4:09 PM | Link to this
You can talk about buzz, features and cool factor all you want.
In the end it's still just a leash.
By FinanceBuzz
Oct 8, 2008 3:27 PM | Link to this
There are many phones out there that can go down the list and tick off the features (and in some cases more features) than the iPhone. What many of these folks that keep talking about iPhone killer don't seem to get is that it is not the "feature list" but rather the overall user experience. This incorporates features, UI look and feel, and that hard to define "slickness" factor. Look at the popular Buzz the iPhone has generated. Can anyone tell me a phone that has even come close to generating the same level of Buzz? Does anyone really think this BB or other touchscreen phones are really superior to the iPhone and poised to knock it off? Or do these phones scream "me too" right out of the box as is so often the case with products that come after a true game-changing product such as iPhone? I can really only think of two products that has captured the popular imagination and caused people to wait in line for extended periods - video game consoles. I seriously doubt there will be any campouts for the new BB.
By Gerald
Oct 8, 2008 2:50 PM | Link to this
What's next - you just think about someone and the phone calls them? My Motorola Global Q works just fine for calls, texting and e-mail. I play music on a real stereo with 5 speakers through my laptop connected to Rhapsody. I take pictures with my Hasselblad. I access the net from anywhere on a beautiful 17" screen laptop! Everybody wants to "touch" the phone! Pleeeease!
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