Blackberry Storm 9530 Review

Like any product these days, there are a host of accessories and accouterments both physical and installable that accompany the Storm.  The various belt clips, holsters, hard cases, soft cases, screen protectors, and other whirly-gigs are everywhere and in every variety.  Personally, I’m using a standard-issue Verizon side-holster that incorporates the wonderful magnetic auto-off feature.  If you’re looking for a special case, there’s one out there for you I’m sure of it.

For software, RIM was kind enough to launch the Blackberry App Store in April.  So far, it’s been a success, but I wouldn’t call it resounding.  Pricing applications at a minimum of $2.99 (not including “free”) is not what I consider a smart idea – I think in an economy of scale, and in particular a potential economy of this scale as proved by Apple et al, the fair minimum should be $0.99: just enough to add up to real money for Apple and the developer, but minimal enough for the consumer to click happily through the EULAs.  People do seem to be buying into the BB app store, though, so it will in the end take off in similar fashion – I imagine RIM will review it’s pricing policies at some point, but overall the genie is out of the bottle.

I have so far been impressed with the quality of applications I have encountered on the Storm.  With a Windows Mobile device, you never quite knew what you were getting into when you installed a new application.  Thankfully, developers seem to be designing elegant and (in most cases) lightweight and functional applications for the Storm, and I have had few encounters with applications that performed poorly and fewer still that looked hastily cobbled together.  There are many communities dedicated to tracking the rise of Blackberry applications; try www.crackberry.com and www.berryreview.com.  For others, you can find comprehensive sources via your favorite Google search.