Blackberry, one of the leading brands in the line of wireless handheld phones and devices was developed by the Canadian Company-Research in Motion (RIM). In 2002, Blackberry smartphone was released along with other competitors and became more popular in the market. The features of the Blackberry smartphone include text messaging, electronic mail, QWERTY keypad (like the computer keyboard arrangement), mobile telephone, web browsing, and many more. The most common and widely used feature of the Blackberry handhelds is the electronic mail feature where blackberry handheld users can send or receive electronic messages whenever the device is able to access a wireless network on a specific area.

Consistent in continuing their innovation in producing original series of phone and handheld models thru the years, Blackberry have made it to the top ranks with their newest Blackberry Storm. The Blackberry storm is the first touch screen phone in the electronic world without the QWERTY keypad common to the previous Blackberry handhelds. The 9500 and 9530 is the most current models under the blackberry storm series. It is primarily intended to compete with the Apple iPhone, O2 and the HTC touch family in the market today.

The Blackberry Storm’s much-improved features according to user reviews and feedbacks are the fast web browsing and impressive clarity when making calls. But the new Blackberry Storm does not have the usual Wifi feature that can be found with the previous Blackberry Bold and Blackberry Curve handhels. The users will only be able to connect to the internet thru 3G and HSPA networks. The absence of the Wifi feature make users pay for internet access per kilobyte of data transfer. The Blackberry storm features and hard wares that are made for user’s convenience include the SurePress touchscreen that was trademarked by RIM which provides easy feedback when typing or clicking; There is also the 3.25 TFT-LCD flat capacitive touchscreen that is already scratch resistant and do not need the use of a stylus anymore; A 3.2 MP camera and video with Autofocus and flash; 1 GB onboard memory and an expandable memory slot support. The rest of the new Blackberry storm’s feature is consistent with the features of the other older versions of the blackberry line of handheld phones.

Despite the fame of the innovative ideas of RIM on their new Blackberry Storm, there are still some flaws associated with the new Storm. Some user reviews focus on the problems of usability on the new Blackberry including the hindrance of fast typing with the SurePress touchscreen, web browser not able to handle complex webpages sometimes, lockups, short battery life, refusal to switch orientation sometimes, sluggish performance and the absence of the Wifi feature. Some handheld users attest that the Apple Iphone features are still better than the new storm. The Blackberry storm’s major features are mostly attributed or important to business use such as MS office editing capabilities and enterprise Electronic mail integration making the handheld device more convenient for the business crowd. Currently, RIM conducts an ongoing firmware updates to address these problems.