Blackberry Storm Review -Design-

In the previous chapter we saw how the Blackberry Storm is positioned in the market, in this chapter we are going to discuss the design of the Blackberry Storm. The design of a device is very important, it compiles the physical part of the device, such as ergonomics and the aesthetics.

To start the Blackberry Storm is a full touch screen device with an interesting feature where the screen actually clicks like a big physical button. The user puts its finger over a a selection, and then to confirm the user has to press the screen, the Storm will produce a physical feedback that can be felt just as pressing a button. Blackberry calls the Storm the ”First clickable touchscreen” ever on a phone. This is the most important part of the Storm’s hardware. Some people have problems with this clickable screen because the Storm does not give feedback on the corners, fortunately the device we got to test has a perfect screen and every part, from corner to corner produces a nice click when pressed. When people see that I have a Storm they immediately ask how does the ”clickable screen” work, then I give it to them and when they try it they like it. I personally like the clickable screen on the Storm because it lets me be sure to really press what I mean, this technology is really useful and the integration with the Storm is impeccable, the click works 100% and most important people actually like the way the screen works.

Now, although the screen works pretty well and its accepted among users it has a problem, the screen moves around the frame where it is installed. If I put my finger and move it around without taking it off, the screen moves around the frame. Is definitively not a good sensation, but at the same time is not a big issue. The screen is well attached and it will not come off for sure.

The Storm has another great feature that is not usually mentioned in specification sheets, its built quality is excellent. The Storm is a solid device, the back part is made out of metal then the sides and border of the back sides are rubberized. The front part is made out of a black shiny plastic and of course the screeen. The screen is very well designed. Designers at RIM knowed that such a big screen can get easily scratched so they made the screen really hard, it does not easily scratch with keys or coins. After almost one week of continuous use I don”t have even a hairline on my Storm’s housing.

Another aspect that the designers at RIM had in mind is that the device has to be comfortable in both landscape and portrait modes. The ergonomics are extraordinary, in portrait mode the device feels comfortable, it is easy to reach any part of the screen without too much effort and is also really comfortable to get the 4 lower buttons. The landscape mode has a special design, the borders are curved towards the screen so both upper and lower parts of the Storm fit on the users hand when typing and browsing in landscape mode.

The Storm has 4 keys under the screen, the green one manages calling/log/phonebook, the red ends calls, the back button takes the user one step back and the BB button opens a menu on every screen. The buttons are easy to press and give good feedback. Then the Storm has two customizable keys, one at each side and a camera key. The customizable keys are are useful for shortcuts etc… The Storm has also a dedicated camera button. This button has two ways to press, soft for focusing and hard to take the shot. My only complain is that the button is centered when it had to be on the lower part where most camera buttons on phones and cameras are. We also have on the right side a VolumeUp and VolumeDown button. On the top we have two buttons that are not easy to see, the left one locks the device and the right one toggles profiles. This two buttons are easy to usee and press, the lock button is very well located.

In conclusion the Blackberry Storm has a nice design, very high qulity materials and a solid build quality. The buttons are all comfortable and the clickable screen works excellent. What I most like about the Storm’s design is that it does not scratch easily.

Este artigo foi adicionado em Thursday, December 18th, 2008 at 10:39 pm e colocado em Reviews. Pode subscrever aos cmentários desta entrada via RSS 2.0 feed. Pode deixar uma resposta, ou um trackback a partir do seu site.