Smarter, but still a bit off

The Storm2 plans to zap out bad memories of its predecessor in a sleeker avatar. We used it for three weeks before announcing our verdict

What: Blackberry Storm2
For how much: Rs 31,990 (excluding VAT)
Worth it? Maybe

Glitches marred Research In Motion's (RIM) first edition. So this time, RIM went back to the drawing table and came up withu00a0 a smarter Blackberry Storm. The result? A much-improved Storm2.

Sure Press
The whole screen is a better button now, but if you are like us, you'll still feel cheated of a touchscreen experience when you have to push down all the time. It's not a see saw anymore, thanks to four piezo-electric buttons underneath. But the whole experience still feels clunky. It took us a good three weeks to get used to the feeling of a chasm between the surface and the body every time we pressed down, and we still don't like it.
The fact that the call button stopped responding to a normal push didn't endear itself to us either. Obviously, they still haven't ironed the consistency of the pressure as you move from the centre of the phone to the edges. Sure Press has cleaved people into fans and foes ever since its launch, and it doesn't look like the debate will settle any time soon.

Speed and display
Sure winner here. The Storm2 would pack your lunches and iron your socks in a jiffy. Applications load quickly and the keyboard flips from landscape to portrait in a snap. The display is glossy and stylish, and colours, whether on the menu or in pictures clicked, are vivid. Big plus point is the contrast, even in bright sunlight, which is something most phones overlook.

Messaging and Email
Traditionally a Blackberry strength. You can hook up as many as 10 e-mail accounts. If you're an Instant Messaging (IM) fan, apart from the pre-loaded (and very addictive) BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), you can also download Yahoo, MSN, ICQ and Google Talk. Unlike the iPhone, you know when your messages are delivered by way of a simple tick mark, a 'd' (for delivered) and 'r' (for read) next to them. Neat.

Camera
The 3.2-megapixel camera has what the iPhone didn't -- an LED flash. A welcome addition, but in practice, we still didn't get great night shots -- they had too much digital noise anytime the light was low. The camera is slow to load too. What's cool is that you can zoom in and out while clicking a picture, and that the LED flashlight can also be turned on to be a video light.
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Weight
Complete with the magnetic pouch, the Storm2 weighed us down. At approximately 160 grams, it's about 5 grams heavier than the original. This may not seem like much on paper, but try telling your back pocket that. After one week of carrying it around, we resorted to holding it in my hand or popping it into a bag instead of risking pocket tears and postural misalignment on account of sitting down with the phone in pocket.

Web browser
Tabbed browsing and multi-touch zoom are sorely missed.u00a0 Opening multiple pages and double tapping to zoom instead of being able to pinch and pull like on the intuitive iPhone 3GS, really takes it out of you. Big miss, RIM. Especially when you consider that a Blackberry is meant to enable connectivity, anytime, anywhere.

So, should you get it?
It's a definite improvement over the Storm. But it lacks the intuitive feel of a phone designed to function as a smooth touchscreen interface from the beginning. If you can deal with that, go for it.

What's cool is that you can zoom in and out while clicking a picture, and that the LED flash light can also be turned on to be used as au00a0 video light.u00a0
Very effective.