BlackBerry Storm earns my attention

BlackBerry Storm earns my attention

Several touchscreen phones have hit the market to compete with the iPhone, and I've disregarded them all. So the fact I'm spilling any ink on RIM's BlackBerry Storm (http://www.blackberry.com/blackberrystorm/) already indicates I think this device has something special to offer.

Spec-wise, it matches up well with the iPhone, but what really interests me is the "clickable" touchscreen. Simply touching the screen won't choose selections. You have to press down as if it were a button, and the screen flexes and springs back in response. In addition, it does recognize swipes for navigation.

The ClickThrough touchscreen is an impressive achievement for RIM. I expect it will be very appealing to those who need a "real" keyboard while also granting them the freedoms of touchscreen navigation. At the very least, it closes a big door on BlackBerry defectors.

That said, while I applaud the value of ClickThrough on technical and market levels, I must admit it holds little personal appeal to me. I'd love to get my hands on one and give it a chance to dazzle me, but as I've stated before, I have a light touch (http://sumocat.blogspot.com/2007/05/it-takes-light-touch.html). Whereas some need the satisfaction of a key press, due to my Tablet PC experience, I prefer the opposite.

Another deal-breaker for me, and I'm sure many others, is the lack of wifi. This omission really surprises me since there is a focus on multimedia and web surfing. not to mention assisted GPS works really well at known hotspots. For me, it's not just about speed, but a need for strong data connectivity in my basement. This is almost a hard limit for me.

But again, I think the ClickThrough touchscreen is a big breakthrough. I'm really looking forward to reading more reactions to it (favorable so far), and if I could confirm for myself how I'd handle pressing on the screen, all the better.
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