After teasing us with videos and a vague web site, Research in Motion has finally decided to come out of the closet with full details on its touchscreen handset, the BlackBerry Storm.Everybody knows that "touchscreen" is code for "iPhone competitor." So we’ve compiled a chart comparing the two handsets’ specifications (below the jump). You’ll be entertained to see that in terms of hardware, the Storm is much more competitive with the iPhone than the underwhelming T-Mobile G1.Behold:
If you’re like us, you’re probably surprised to see the handset’s lack of Wi-Fi connectivity. That’s the major area where iPhone has an advantage, althoughBlackBerry smartphones are typically aimed at enterprise users, who primarily use their smartphones for e-mail — so they may not mind. Still, quite an odd omission from a handset that features a web browser and multimedia capabilities virtually identical to the iPhone.
As for the Storm’s advantages, you’ll notice that the camera sports a superior resolution at 3.2 megapixels and also includes a flash, auto focus and video-recording capability. We can only hope the Storm’s battery lasts long enough to handle those features without rendering them impractical.
Another interesting tidbit: The Storm’s screen is a wee bit smaller but sports a higher pixel resolution than the iPhone screen. Wired.com’s
Daniel Dumas had some hands-on time with the Storm, and he’s described the screen as "Beautiful."
Moving on to software — the Storm will ship with the popular BlackBerry OS, which, as I mentioned earlier, is optimized for enterprise purposes. Think wireless synchronization with Lotus Notes, Outlook and Novell GroupWise.
Overall, the Storm appears to attempt to strike a balance between "business" and "casual," allowing serious enterprise users to take a breather every once and a while and watch a video, for example. However, it remains questionable whether enterprise users will appreciate the lack of a physical QWERTY
keyboard.
RIM has not disclosed U.S. pricing or an official ship date yet. Verizon will serve as the U.S. carrier. We’ll provide updates as more details become available.
source: www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/10/showdown-blackb/
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