BlackBerry Storm 9500

Upside

Prepare to be astounded by the crisp clarity of the 9500's screen. This is undoubtedly one feature that has our knees quivering with anticipation. The screen on the BlackBerry Bold was second-to-none in terms of vibrant colour reproduction, and from what we can tell so far, the Storm's screen is simply a bigger version of this display with a slightly higher image resolution.

But how do you intend to make the most of this marvellous screen? Watching videos, of course! In regards to video, we are pleased to see that the Storm supports many of the popular file formats including Windows Media Video (WMV), MPEG 4, H.264 MP4, plus standard 3GP mobile phone video files. The Storm also sports a 3.5mm audio output jack so you won't be burdened with crappy bundled stereo headphones and microSD memory expansion to supplement its 1GB of internal storage.

Perhaps the most fascinating element of the Storm is that the screen depresses when pressed, so it's like a giant soft-key. Research in Motion (RIM) has made its name for producing some of the best QWERTY keyboards on mobile handsets, and the shift to touchscreen is sure to be received with quizzical scepticism from its hard-core fans. The touchscreen adds a tactility that is sure to help bridge the gap between physical keypads and virtual ones, and in concept is a stroke of genius.

In terms of power, the Storm should go like grease-lightning (sorry, that is absolutely the last weather pun). The Storm will run the same combination of a 624MHz processor with 128MB RAM we saw in the Bold, and we certainly had no complaints about processing when we reviewed it. The 9500 will also feature smartphone standards like HSDPA network compatibility, A-GPS with BlackBerry maps and RIM's excellent messaging service via BlackBerry Internet and Enterprise Services.

Downside

The only stand-out omission is a lack of a Wi-Fi receiver. This harks back to BlackBerrys of old when RIM would almost always leave out one feature or another. The Pearl series is a great example; the 8120 had Wi-Fi but no GPS, the 8220 had GPS but no Wi-Fi. In truth, the infrequency of Wi-Fi hotspots in Australia means we are far more likely to use the mobile networks for data anyway, however expensive it may be.

We are pleased that RIM has chosen to include a big 1400mAh battery with the 9500 because it's going to need every last drop of juice to keep it running. With the high powered processor and the 3.2-inch display, RIM estimates 5.5 hours of talk time, which will probably translate into two days between charges depending on use.

Overall

RIM is a very careful company that has impressed us in the past with its balancing act of design and practicality. The Storm is obviously a reactionary release, but there's no reason to doubt it will be a high quality handset.

By Joseph Hanlon