My Tech Talk

Will the Blackberry Bold get swept away by the Storm?

That’s the question I asked myself recently and decided to do a little Internet surfing to see what answers I could uncover. I looked at detailed reviews, YouTube videos, Blackberry’s own web site and even Research in Motion financial documents for clues.

Since some of you may want a quick answer in order to get on with your day, I’ll provide one here and say thank you for visiting today:

In my opinion, the answer is NO. The Bold will not get swept away.

If you want more details, please read on.

Blackberry Bold Reviews

To restate the facts, the Bold has a QWERTY keyboard whereas the Storm is a true touch screen model similar to the iPhone. In the United States, the Bold is sold by AT&T while the Storm is on the Verizon network. I’ve left the comprehensive reviews, or heavy lifting if you will, to Gizmodo and CNET.

Read Gizmodo’s review of the Blackberry Bold.

Read CNet’s review of the Blackberry Bold.

If you’re a visual person, watch a YouTube review of the Blackberry Bold.

Here’s what I gleaned from these reviews:

Strengths:

• Speed (faster processor = faster performance)
• Crisp screen for multimedia
• WiFi and GPS built in
• Impressive Battery Life

Weaknesses:

• Web browsing is better than previous models, like the Curve or Pearl, but still not as user-friendly as some other smart phones.
• In the above video, the reviewer cites video playback on the Bold as problematic.

Blackberry Storm Reviews

The Storm’s touch screen uses “SurePress” technology that realistically simulates the click of a keyboard button by requiring the user to actually push down on the screen.  For this device, I read through the reviews on Gizmodo and CNET.

Read CNet’s review of the Blackberry Storm

Read Gizmodo’s review of the Blackberry Storm

For a visual review, watch a YouTube video of the Blackberry Storm.

Strengths:

• Touch Screen
• Video recording capabilities
• 8 GB microSD card included
• Dual mode for easy switching between CDMA and GSM phone networks

Weaknesses:

• “Sluggish” (Cnet) and “lags” (Gizmodo) are not the words you want to hear about performance
• No WiFi
• No trackball or scroll wheel (apparently still the ideal way to navigate the Blackberry menus)
• 2 hands are required to operate many features (a departure from previous models)

Side by Side Feature Comparison

If you’d like to forgo the wordy reviews, take a look at this table from the Blackberry web site that compares the features of the Bold and Storm.

You can also read Technewsworld’s article, Blackberry Battle Royale: Storm vs Bold

Final Thoughts

If you’re using your Blackberry for business, stick with the Bold.  The speed of the device and the familiarity of the QWERTY keyboard are both important to getting work done quickly and efficiently.  If you’d like a Blackberry for fun or casual use, the Storm is worth considering.

The introduction of both devices in the 3rd quarter of 2008 resulted in an incredible increase in # of devices sold. If you’d like the numbers, RIM reports a 117% increase in # of devices sold from the 3rd quarter of 2007 (p. 13 of the 3rd Quarter Fiscal Financial Info Document found on the RIM web site).

The Bold should please business customers while the Storm attracts the general consumer to the Blackberry brand.  Appealing to two different types of customers (with marginal overlap?) should boost RIM’s revenues.

Tags: Blackberry, Bold, Storm