The sleek black BlackBerry Storm with its very impressive display and colors has been quite adequately expected. It was touted as one of the most happening BlackBerry devices to come out in recent times, and it has fulfilled its promise in some parts. Let us see where the BlackBerry Storm rises above the ordinary and where it falls short.

Connectivity

This is certainly one of its strongest features. The phone generally uses a CDMA dual band of 800/1900 MHz, but switches over to the GSM Quad Band of 850/900/1800/1900 MHz when it is on global roaming. There are typical geographical networks too, such as the UMTS European and the Asian 3G, both of an awesome 2100 MHz. With its versatile connectivity, it is certain that the phone does not become useless anywhere.

Size and Dimensions

With its dimensions of 4.4 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches, the BlackBerry Storm falls into the class of the mid sized smartphones from BlackBerry. Since its thickness is just about half an inch, it is quite conveniently portable. However, the phone is decidedly heavy. At 5.5 oz, it is currently among the heaviest BlackBerry phones. You must see if you are happy with its weight, though the size itself should be no problem.

Camera

One of the reasons for the anticipation of the BlackBerry Storm was the promise of a good camera. However, the phone under-delivers here; the camera is of an adequate 3.2 MP resolution which is not bad, but there have been better resolutions before. It has good video features though (one point where it scores over the iPhone) and has features like flash and autofocus.

Display

The screen resolution is 360 x 480 pixels and at 3.2 diagonal inches, it is one of the best cameras for its visibility and workspace. The screen is really smart; it is a TFT screen with 65,536 colors and a light sensor which allows good visibility even in sunlight. It is also a touchscreen which adds greatly to its convenience of usage.

Memory

Memory is ample, but it depends on what kind of requirements you will have. It has a 1 GB intrinsic memory, which is quite adequate for storing contacts and several data files and folders, but if you are looking for a larger memory, you do have a memory slot where you can attach an additional device. This memory slot is microSD or microSDHC; you can choose from among them.

Other Specifications

BlackBerry Storm runs on the awesome BlackBerry OS 4.7. It has a phone memory of 128 MB RAM and 192 MB ROM, making it a very efficient phone. It runs various sorts of multimedia applications, so converters will not be extremely necessary if you are transferring files from your PC to the smartphone. It uses an HTML browser and has stereo Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity with the provision of a microUSB port.

There are several useful features too. There is a phone book with several features, and there are various other important applications such as a calendar, a to-do reminder, a notes application, a calculator and a calendar.

Verdict

The BlackBerry Storm is a purchase you won't regret, despite its weight being on the heavier side. On all other counts, the phone is a superlative smartphone, for personal as well as for business use.