[Macworld]

Post your comments for RIM launches touch-screen iPhone rival here

[Hurley42]

No mentioning that it has a REMOVABLE battery?! The lack of Wi-Fi is unforgivable, but if that feature is added in V2, I will consider dumping my iPhone to have a phone with a removable battery. I don't care so much that my phone is made by Apple. I just need it to do what I want it to do.

[snapjack2]

Yeah that removable battery, wow. Can't wait for that...but no wifi is no biggie because in a year when V2 comes out they'll have it. To each his own.

[AbsintheOfMalice]

How the heck can the Storm be a iPhone rival, killer or what-have-you without an iPod-like integration? Without built-in Exchange support?

[AbsintheOfMalice]

Without wi-fi?

[alansky]

To RIM, Nokia and any other device maker who wants to compete with Apple's iPhone:
Bring it on! If you've got something new to bring to the party—Welcome! Everybody benefits when companies innovate. But it's just embarrassing when they announce "iPhone killers" that turn out to be last year's model dressed up to look like the iPhone they will never be.
What has made Apple so special among high-tech companies is its relentless innovation. This is what other companies should be copying if they want to copy Apple.

[bigh]

I wonder whether the screen really depresses when touched as mentioned. If so, I wonder whether it's some sort of plastic. And again, if so I wonder about durability. A scratchable screen would be a huge negative for such a device.
The interface already shows a lack of discipline.
We'll just have to see when we get to eat this pudding.

[freakinshutty]

Ya - that removable battery will be dope! If only they made some sort of corded device that could actually . . . whats the word I'm looking for . . . rejuvenate . . . regenerate . . . rechargerate . . . re . . . can't think of it but something that would allow me to reuse the battery again and again and again. Getting expensive throwing away my iPhone every time the battery goes dead . . .
Oh wait, thats right. They do. I don't get all this battery nonsense. Charge your phone at night and you wont have this problem. If you do, use your freakin laptop (which has a removable battery) to charge your phone. Whiners! Maybe you should look for a job in congress . . .

[jdb8167]

freakinshutty said:

... I don't get all this battery nonsense. Charge your phone at night and you wont have this problem. If you do, use your freakin laptop (which has a removable battery) to charge your phone.

To be fair, under some circumstances the iPhone can use up its full charge in less than 8 hours. I've stopped using Exchange Sync push because it kills my battery in less than 8 hours. I can understand someone whose primary email during the day is a phone wanting a very quick and lightweight way to recharge the phone. I imagine the blackberry storm has the same issues as the iPhone when it comes to battery life.

It does turn out that having a user replaceable battery isn't the only way to get a quick charge though. The iPhone charger is remarkably tiny though carrying around the USB cable is less than convenient. But you can also buy external battery packs that charge the iPhone pretty quickly and can be a direct replacement for a user replaceable battery.

All in all, I agree with you that the hand wringing over not being able to replace the battery on the iPhone is overdone.

[macphoto]

From what I understand is that the physical push is needed to activate what is highlighted. So it is much more difficult to type on quickly. Think about how the iphone operates. Sure there is no tactile feel, which is a little different to start with, but once you get the hang of typing with it your can move really quickly from letter to letter. This device on the other had require not only your finger over the letter, but also a physical push to activate... this is a lot slower and much more awkward than the iphone. I hope that this could be disabled as I see this as a major negative of the device.
Plus since there is no physical key what good is the tactile feed back? Does it vibrate as it highlight each letter or after you physically press the screen in?

This design with prevent the device from being very popular. I have used similar devices and they are not nearly as easy to use as the iphone's touch.

thedude

[Grapho]

I think that with out actually someone using the device, how well or how bad it can type, is all speculative. RIM is going to say it is better, they have to say it's better, even if it is not. But we can speculate about how this technology should work all day, and before someone actually uses it and wright up a review, we won't know. But I get a feeling that is going to be one of those subjective things, where the winner will be declared by both sides, kind of like last nights debate :-)

[gaefstan]

"and solves the longstanding problem associated with typing on traditional touch-screens"
Have type-abled touch screens been around long enough to be considered traditional and how long is longstanding?

[heisetax]

Just because people want a easily replaceable battery doesn't make them a whiner.

I have an old rechargeable shaver, (40 years old), that has long ago had a dead battery. Like Apple's products, this shaver came as a sealed unit. It was long ago taken apart & the batteries were replaced with an external power connection Works great, just doesn't look like the manufacturer meant for it to look. Some people keep products long enough to need to replace the battery. All they want to do is to keep their nice looking Apple product nice looking. Not be an apparent whiner like you are.

[macphoto]

Touch screens have been around for quite a while in industry and Point of sales systems. I have a 15yr old DOS pos system that uses touch screens. They are old Microtouch CRT's. Some depending on the age are easier to use than others, but all are designed for fingers and do not actually have a physical push to make them work. I have used PLC controllers that have a physical push to them. So I think it is fair to say that I although have not touch the device my self. I do have a pretty good idea of what to expect. No to mention if you look on youtube you can find a couple of reviews of the device, that actually demo how the touch works. Just do a google search for blackberry storm or thunder and they should come up.

thedude