Apple late entrance to the mobile business has caught traditional phone makers by sorprise, the iphone innovative touchscreen technology has rivals scratching heads, some has opted for ripping the iphone unique design and navigation interface to stop bleeding users off their platforms.

Motorola, LG, Samsung, HTC, Meizu and many others are working long hours to come up with the ideal iPhone Killer, a task that has proved to be very difficult, but that day by day it’s getting closer to the iphone look and feel.

The latest attempt is from RIM, the owner of the Enterprise Mobile Business sector has seen how the iPhone is transforming the mobile segment and doesn’t want to cede it to Apple. RIM launched this month the Blackberry Storm, a full packed mobile phone with enough features to rival the iPhone, but that has received mixed reviews from bloggers around the net.

We all expected the Storm to be a perfect rival to the iPhone, but reviews has shown the opposite, instead of being an iPhone killer, the Storm is an evolution over previous Blackberry phones, something that could help RIM stops losing market to Apple.

Here some Reviews from the net:
RIM’s BlackBerry Storm: Awkward and Disappointing (PCWorld)
“The decision by Research in Motion to differentiate the Storm by giving its capacitive touch screen a mechanical component (the entire screen functions as a button for confirming selections or initiating actions) turns out to be more confusing than helpful. Ultimately, the Storm’s touch interface feels like a failed experiment. It’s too bad, because the Storm has some nice features and makes a great first impression. Encased in shiny black with silvery accents on the front and a removable matte metal cover in the back, the Storm is shorter, slightly narrower, and somewhat thicker than the iPhone–not surprising since it packs support for Verizon Wireless’s fastest network (EvDO Rev. A), for quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, and for 2100-MHz UMTS/HSPA networks, enabling overseas roaming on the fastest networks available. The Storm also has a GPS receiver and Bluetooth, but no Wi-Fi.”

Why BlackBerry users will love the Storm (and iPhone users won’t), Dvice.com
“The Storm isn’t just some wanna-be, rip-off iPhone. At its core, it’s just like every other BlackBerry. This will be important for business clients — many companies’ IT systems will only work with RIM’s Enterprise Server for e-mail on the go. It’s also important for BlackBerry lovers. If you’ve used a BlackBerry before, you’ll get the Storm’s menus, symbols and buttons immediately. Instead of comparing the Storm to the iPhone and whining grumpilly about the Storm’s lack of multi-touch, consumers will compare it to other BlackBerries. And when they do, they may find that they like what they see: A big, fun to use touchscreen, a 3.2MP camera that takes video and has a bright flash, a respectable Web browser and a typing system that really works.”

BLACKBERRY STORM REVIEW

BlackBerry Storm Review (Verdict: Not Quite a Perfect Storm), Gizmodo.com
“The keyboard layouts themselves are roomy and perfect, with the QWERTY subtly divided into two halves. Which actually makes for a good guideline—keep your thumbs on their respective sides of the divide and you’ll be a much happier camper when it comes to typing, since you have to consciously let the screen pop back up between every letter press. Having a true alternating rhythm between your thumbs makes it much easier to use, so you’re not trying to press a key with your other thumb while the screen’s already pushed in. RIM makes a big deal out of the fact they’ve separated navigation from confirmation with their SurePress thing. That, hypothetically, is a means to an end, the end being more accurate typing than a standard, feedbackless touch keyboard. In that respect, it fails. Even after two days, with the keyboard’s great layout and perfect size, I was leaning just as hard on the autocorrect on the Storm as I ever did on the iPhone. Here’s why: Confirming I’ve pushed a key doesn’t actually tell me whether I’ve pushed the right one. Which makes the feedback, as far as typing on a keyboard goes, basically useless. It’s made worse by the fact that RIM’s glowing blue highlights also are far less effective than pop up letters at indicating what key you’re pushing.”

Hands On With The BlackBerry Storm, Wired.com
“4-inch ClickThrough Touchscreen: This is the Storm’s prime-time killer feature and the reason why it gives the iPhone a run for its money. The Storm’s screen — like the iPhone’s — is sensitive to the bioelectric pulses in your fingertips. It’s responsive, bright, and requires only a very delicate touch. But when you want to select something, be it anything from music application to a text message, you have to press down on that screen until it clicks. It’s not much — essentially it’s the same sensation you get when clicking with your mouse — but it makes a world of difference. There’s no ambiguity to button presses. You know exactly what key you have pushed and what application you have selected. Text messaging is a breeze — I was able to compose a lengthy detailed SMS without a single typo. That’s a feat I have yet to accomplish with the iPhone.
Cut and Paste: Yes, Virginia there is text editing. Be prepared to access Word and PowerPoint files on the fly.”

Hands on with the BlackBerry Storm, Guardian.co.uk
“When it comes to integrating all the different ways that a user can communicate, however, it does lack a certain panache. Other devices - especially the iPhone, with visual voicemail, and the 5800, with its clever use of its contact books to store all your communications with individual people - do so-called integrated communications better than the Storm.
Oh and if you get completely lost it has those two friendly green and red buttons on the bottom. It is, after all, a phone…”

Blackberry Storm: all the features. (But it’s all about the clickable touchscreen), TimeOnline
“So the Blackberry Storm has been launched. Before I got a chance to see it yesterday, I really didn’t think I could be impressed by a new touchscreen device. To my surprise, I was.
Why? The “clickable” touchscreen is really quite smart.
The problem for all these new smartphones, from the T-Mobile G1 to the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is how do you do something better than the iPhone? Blackberry’s clickable screen is the best example of a technological feature that really adds to the smartphone experience.
Boiled down to the basics, it’s all about making typing faster on a touchscreen. My short experience with the Storm suggests that knocking out emails will be easier on the Storm than on the iPhone. Success.”

RIM BlackBerry Storm 9530 - What About the Other Features?, PCMag.com
“With a big, beautiful screen, the Storm promises a great media experience. It delivers on the device side, but I had trouble with the 4.7 version of RIM’s desktop software. There are four ways to sync music and video between the Storm and a PC: Rhapsody; an iTunes conduit for unprotected music playlists; and dragging and dropping in Windows Explorer all worked fine on my tests. But the last option—RIM’s flagship Roxio application, which also reformats music and video for the Storm’s screen—was extremely sluggish. On the other hand, syncing contacts and calendars with Microsoft Outlook 2007 worked well. The device has plenty of room for music: 879MB of on-board storage and an 8GB microSD card included (the phone accepts cards up to 16GB). The card slot is located under the back cover, but not under the battery.”

BlackBerry Storm, Slayer Of iPhones, Blows Into Town With Gusto, InformationWeek
“Appealing to the consumer in all of us, RIM stabs at the heart of Apple’s iPhone and comes out on top in many respects. It packs a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash, zoom, and autofocus. It also records videos in two different resolutions — one optimized for MMS and one high-quality version. The Storm can send and receive MMS, also known as picture or video messages. It has a media player that can be used to play music, video content, and slide shows. It has 1 GB of memory on board and will support microSD cards up to 8 GB, which is a decent amount of storage for media. The Storm’s 3.5-millimeter headset jack means you can use your regular stereo headphones with the Storm. If wired ‘phones aren’t your thing, feel free to rock out with the Storm’s stereo Bluetooth capabilities.”

Verizon officially debuts RIM BlackBerry Storm, CNet.com
“Don’t be fooled; the RIM BlackBerry Storm is more than just a pretty face. As far as phone features, the Storm, like the RIM BlackBerry 8830 World Edition, offers dual-mode functionality. This means the phone switches automatically between CDMA and GSM networks to offer seamless international roaming–all while keeping the same phone number. (Note that the phone does not support domestic GSM bands, and a SIM card is included in the box.) It also works on Verizon’s EV-DO Rev. A network as well as Europe’s 2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA band. There’s a full HTML Web browser (no Flash), and the Storm will also support Verizon’s V Cast Music and Mobile TV services, though not immediately at launch.
Other wireless options include Bluetooth 2.0 with support for stereo Bluetooth headsets and dial-up networking and GPS but no Wi-Fi. BlackBerry Maps is onboard if you want text-based turn-by-turn directions, but for more advanced navigation features, such as voice prompts, you’ll be forced to use Verizon’s VZ Navigator service.”

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