Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 24 November 2008 17:40
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
After all, Apple didn’t invent the idea of multitouch for expanding images – it was just the first to put it into a smartphone. Microsoft has it on its “Surface” computer, and it’s coming to multi-touch enabled Windows 7 computers.
Asus even has it today on some of its Eee PCs – I know because I’ve used it! Nowhere near as smooth as on the iPhone, but it works! I’ve even seen it and used it on that Chinese “HiPhone” clone some of you may have come across.
So, enough of the trips down memory lane. Let’s hope RIM gets firmware updates happening fast – Apple has shown it wastes no time in getting updates out the door.
Reports have also explained that there is but one single button underneath the screen of the Storm, and this makes it harder to press the button at the edges of the screen – perhaps future Storm II’s will have two or three “buttons” – which are all the “same” button of course – to distribute the clickability and make screen clicking easier.
I’m waiting for Vodafone locally to send me a Storm review unit to try out so I can see it for myself, because I’ve read conflicting reports about how “nice” it is to click the screen when typing.
One report said you get used to it quickly, others didn’t like it, much preferring the “no click” experience of the iPhone, and saying the need to press each time on the screen just became tiring.
I’ve got to say, I can really type fast on the iPhone’s screen – it really is a different (and for me better) experience than needing to physically click on each button as you would on a regular QWERTY keyboarded device.
Apple’s auto-correction is also a dream, and reports say that BlackBerry really needs to catch up in this regard. If I had to give a preference on what I prefer typing on – besides a real computer keyboard of course – the iPhone’s glass screen beats any phone keypad or keyboard I’ve ever used.
That said BlackBerry’s unique distinction between navigation and confirmation is very cool, and will be enormously helpful to anyone that found the iPhone’s screen too sensitive or not to their liking.
Perhaps a future BlackBerry will offer the best of both worlds, letting users choose themselves whether they prefer touch screen only, or touch screen and click. I presume this could easily be done in software, although easy and software aren’t always two words that easily go together.
And perhaps once I actually get my hands and fingers onto a Storm in the near future I’ll have a different opinion.
There's also the issue of there being no Wi-Fi. This is a sad omission, one that apparently came at the behest of Verizon/Vodafone, and not RIM. Wi-Fi is essential in today's modern world, leaving it out, especially if it was a carrier request, is just dumb headed thinking. RIM - time to stand up to carriers like Apple does - please make sure any follow up Storm has Wi-Fi, and never leave it out again!
More RIM raving over on page 3... please click on.
