Kamis, 15 Oktober 2009

BlackBerry Storm2 is official, at last

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Enough with the spy shots. RIM's Web site has finally listed official photos and specs for its follow-up to the original touchscreen Storm, and the Wall Street Journal even has a brief review posted. Still no word on when Verizon will launch the Storm2, though, nor do we have a price tag yet.

You can find RIM's Web page for the new, 5.64-ounce Storm2 (a bit heavier than the first Storm) right here, and as you can see, it looks very similar to its predecessor, save for some sleeker curves and edges. The touchscreen is also the same size—about 3.25 inches diagonally—and the BlackBerry interface looks more or less the same.

But looks can be deceiving, and as the rumors predicted, RIM has changed its touchscreen strategy for the 3G-enabled Storm2. Gone is the "ClickThrough" screen that you could actually, physically click; in its place is "next-gen SurePress technology," which WSJ reviewer Walt Mossberg describes as electronic "tactile feedback"—or, in other words, the phone vibrates to simulate the feeling of a keypress. Mossberg says the new system makes for "faster, smoother typing," which would make for a nice change from the sticky feeling of the first Storm's clickable screen.


Other major changes include Wi-Fi (the lack of which was a major criticism of Storm No. 1), along with a full, virtual QWERTY keypad when you're holding the phone in portrait position, as opposed to the touchscreen "SureType" keyboard (with multiple letters on the same key, à la the BlackBerry Pearl).

But while some things have changed, others have stayed the same. The BlackBerry OS is essentially the same as on the existing Storm (or on other current BlackBerrys, for that matter), and you get the same Web browser (which is "still inferior to Apple's, Google's, and Palm's," Mossberg writes) and a 3.2MP camera, the same resolution as before.

There's still no official word from Verizon on when the Storm2 will arrive in the U.S. (it's already available for pre-order from European carrier Vodafone), or for how much; that said, Mossberg is guessing November for about $200, with contract (which sounds about right). It's also not clear how much memory the Storm2 will ship with; Mossberg says it'll come with 2GB of onboard storage and a 16GB microSD card, but that hasn't been confirmed yet.

Anyway, I expect Verizon Wireless to fill in the blanks any minute now, so stay tuned.

So, what do you think? Happy? Disappointed? Gonna get it?

Update: CNET has a detailed preview of the Storm2 right here.

Sumber: Yahoo Tech

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