I’ve always thought that that vocal sub-population of Mac fans make up the world’s most watchful, most hostile grass-roots lobbying arm.
But now I see that I was wrong. There’s an even nastier one: the BlackBerry nuts.
So this is how they want to play it, eh? The iPhone starts beating the BlackBerry in sales (and Windows Mobile in market share!), so they put out the Storm to rain on the touchscreen parade, AND go after the title of craziest cult fanbase?
Think the cult of Apple will really let them get away with that?
iPhone OS 2.2 features and fails, including Google Maps and Podcast downloads, BlackBerry Storm watch, the Case-Mast Naked Case, and live chat question and answer. Listen in!
The Storm still lacks Javascript chops (attn: RIM, see SquirelFish, Tracemonkey, V8, etc.!) so turns it off by default. The iPhone OS 2.1 browser is a tad crash prone. Fair fight? Well, let’s not forget the Berry’s is likely still itching to brawl over the most recent sales, satisfaction, and reliability figures, b’okay? But it’s the fastest fight Kevin had time for… for now.
The results?
iPhone did better when the Storm had Javascript on, but took a beating and crashed and burned twice when the Storm defaulted to Javascript off (and the iPhone still had it on).
How much of a role was played by the difference in network speed between Verizon’s EVDO rev A and AT&T’s HSDPA we don’t know, and since the Storm completely lacks WiFi, a pure browser test may forever elude us. (Early bird Walt Mossberg claims he got different results in different locations where each network had stronger or weaker signals, of course, but that the iPhone on WiFi was consistently the fastest — we’d add to that WiFi enables all sorts of additional networking features as well, like file exchange and remote control).
In either case, judging by how fast the blogerati have jumped on the Storm wagon, and how often the iPhone is coming up in the coverage, that this rivalry has only just begun!
Today on the forums be sure to help burgman make a decision, 8GB iPhone or 16GB iPhone? My take on that is the more the merrier. With my first iPhone I made the mistake of going with the 8GB only to find out that I wanted more! Chime in on that thread and help a fellow member out!
Next up is ExBBuser, and he wants to know is the iPhone your only mobile device? Lately I’ve been trying numerous devices to go along with the iPhone. You name it - Treo Pro [Sorry Dieter!], Blackberry Bold [Sorry Kevin! Does not hold a candle to Apple's gem!], etc… Each and every time I seem to find my home back at my iPhone 3G. What are your thoughts?
Johnny Football Hero started a thread asking if the Blackberry Storm is an iPhone Killer? If you are like me you are probably sick of hearing about all of these so called “iPhone Killers”. My quick answer? No chance… Wanna discuss it further head over to the thread and we will chat.
Crackberry.com has posted up a video showing the new Blackberry Storm vs. the iPhone 3G. Needless to say, we fully expect a torrent of this stuff to come our way soon, as Kevin shows off RIM’s new hawtness (and competes with Android Central for our killer-du-jour attention, no doubt…)
How does it look? As elegant as the iPhone? Does Jonathan Ive have anything to worry about?
If you head on over to Crackberry.com you will notice a “few” articles relating to the BlackBerry Storm on Verizon. Honestly, it is no surprise since this is supposed to be RIM’s answer to the iPhone.
A few months back Casey reported on a AT&T store handing out anti-iPhone propaganda to it’s customers… Now AT&T themselves are taking shots at the BlackBerry Storm. And is it really a surprise seeing how Verizon is pushing this device as it’s iPhone killer?
The Boy Genius Report has two independent sources supplying a email floating around AT&T that is laying the smack down on the latest effort of RIM, the BlackBerry Storm. Some of the key points being the lack of WiFi, multi-touch screen, App Store, and tri-band HSDPA.
…Meanwhile, BlackBerry News [via CrackBerry.com, naturally) has their own internal documents from last summer detailing why the BlackBerry is better than the iPhone 3G. Naturally, RIM is touting their history, keyboard, and most of all Enterprise chops.
Personally I want this Storm to come out already so we can put it up against the iPhone 3G and find out once and for all which device will come out on top!
The. Whole. Screen. Is. A. Flipping. Tic. Tac. Tile. Button.
Seriously. We kid you not (though RIM could be kidding us all?). Sister-site Crackberry.com has all the deets, but…
Seriously? Who’s the usability wizard who came up with this one? Who came up with the single-click point of failure concept? The one mechanism to break it all?
We get that haptics are hard, but the iPhone pretty much showed the industry how to do Touch, and rather than just add the Blackberry messaging powerhouse to that buttery goodness, RIM went and grafted on an mechanic straight out of every 1980s playschool game?
Bravo for challenging Apple (they certainly need it). And kudos for being brave enough to push the metaphor, to take the next step, to propel technology forward. But — seriously? — we hope the feel is light-years beyond the look on this one, and not just for Crackberry Kevin’s sake… Otherwise most annoying gadget innovation of the decade awards beckon…
We guess a certain internet dead-pan funny man was right on the “button” when he said:
THERE’S a reason that R.I.M. is averse to the iPhone’s glass pad. “I couldn’t type on it and I still can’t type on it, and a lot of my friends can’t type on it,” says Mike Lazaridis, R.I.M.’s co-chief executive and technological visionary. “It’s hard to type on a piece of glass.”
Presuming he was really talking about the ThunderStorm…
The iPhone Blog merged with the Phone different site in May of 2008. Both sites were founded on a premise that comes one from one of Apple's old slogans: Think different. The iPhone Blog: for people who dare to phone different.
