The BlackBerry (BB) Storm2 9550 (9530 / 9820) is another attempt by BlackBerry. There is a world of touch screen cell phones and to compete with them, BB learnt some lessons from its serious mistakes, BlackBerry Storm, and pushed Storm 2 in the race. And when it is up against Apple’s iPhone, it really needs some courage and something special. Apple, the touch inventor, is moving running with a great pace in this race, making the run difficult for its rivals! Yes, you will know when we get them neck to neck for comparison. So let the battle begin.
1) Design: We talk about the BB first. The thickness of the phone is a bit on the higher side (we consider this point because we see much thinner and sleeker touch screen phones than this). Coming to iphone 4, it is very sleek with a thickness of just 9.3mm. The front and back glass cover gives it a glossy look and is resistant to finger prints. Also, iPhone 4 is also lighter than BB Storm2 in terms of weight. So we definitely give a point to iPhone here!
2) Camera: BB Storm2 comes with 3.15 MP camera, LED flash and is certainly an improved one over the previous Black Berry Storm. iPhone too has upgraded over its previous generations bringing a 5MP camera with a LED. The tap to focus feature in iPhone4 is an icing on the cake! We feel that since the resolution of iPhone4 is way better than Storm2, you can have quality pics on iPhone4 rather than BB Storm 2.
3) Music: The iPhone comes with a 3.5mm audio jack and an iPod in it which is a great combo. On BB Storm2, you have a 3.5mm audio jack and the BB Media Sync allows you to sync your personal music via iTunes and Windows Media Player. So its a 50-50 here.
4) Screen: On BB Strom 2, we have a 3.25 inch capacitive touchscreen. The touch response is guided by the Sure Press technique, which did not receive a good response from the users. Whereas the iPhone4 comes with a 3.5 inch retina display (capacitive) having a stunning 326 pixel per inch resolution. Apple claims it to be the best of screen resolutions ever to be deployed. So the iPhone wins again.
5) Features: BlackBerry Storm2 features Wi-Fi which went missing on the original Storm. The messaging and emailing is the best as always. The BB OS 5.0 is a good improvement over BlackBerry OS 4.7 which is being shipped in Storm. The touch response when compared (we don’t want to compare but…) to iPhone is not really great. The iPhone boasts the iOS 4.0 which imparts the iDevice with more than 100 features. Finally, multitasking is added to the iPhone. Gyro Axis in the iPhone takes the gaming performance to an all new level, an area where RIM’s Black Berry lags behind.
6) Memory: The iPhone 4 comes with a 16GB and a 32GB internal storage option while Blackberry has a 2GB internal memory and has a memory card slot to support expansion up to 16GB.
7) Pricing: iPhone 4 comes with two options- 16GB for $199 and 32GB for $299 along with AT&T’s contract and the unlocked version might cost you anywhere  between $599 to $750. Whereas the BlackBerry Storm2 9520 comes for approx $700, unlocked!
iPhone 4 vs BlackBerry Storm2 9550 (Specs):
| Feature | iPhone 4 | BlackBerry Storm2 9520
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| Network | 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 19003G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 | 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 19003G Network HSDPA 2100- for Vodafone | ||
| OS | iOS 4.0 | BlackBerry OS 5.0 | ||
| Display | 3.5? Retina Display (Capacitive)960×640/ 326 ppi Multi touch | TFT capacitive touchscreen,65k colors 360 x 480 pixels /184 ppi, 3.25 inches | ||
| Camera | 5MP camera,LED FlashHDÂ video recording 720p (@30fps) FaceTime video calling over WiFi | 3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixel,AF, LED flash Video Recording | ||
| EDGE | HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps | HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps | ||
| Internet Browser | Mobile Safari (more via App Store) | HTML Support | ||
| Messaging | SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email,Push Email | SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM | ||
| FM | No | No | ||
| Processor | Apple A4, 1GHz | unknown | ||
| GPS | AGPS, Google Maps | A-GPS, BlackBerry Maps | ||
| Battery | unknown | Li-Ion 1400 mAh | ||
| Colours | Black / White | Black | ||
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 2.1 AD2PWiFi b/g/n | Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DPWi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n | ||
| Memory | 16GB / 32GB internal | 256 MB ROM2GB internal storage, expandable upto 16GB | ||
| Weight | 137g |
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| Others |
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iPhone / iPod touch downloads
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
You got to be kidding me? First off you are comparing the new technology of the iPhone 4 (which isn’t even out yet) to a phone that is almost a year old! Secondly, it is VERY bias, especially with regards to the SurePress screen; it is a fantastic typing technology – much better than “tapping” on a hard piece of glass! And the pixels of a camera mean little, compared to actual picture quality (of which the Storm2 excels) – lens, flash, and other things all work together to produce a good photo. After all, we are talking about smaller pictures for the phone or even a 5×7, not a poster size shot (which is were pixels really matter).
Hey Mr Cory, I think the writer has got it right here.. BB Storm isn’t the phone you’ll look forward to buy.. The only thing good abt Blackberry is its bbm messenger..rest all is worse than a nokia..
Jim you are right. the blackberry is not a phone that you would want to buy. I jump ship a year ago from blackberry. I kept waiting on them to bring me new technology. they failed to do so… blackberry is just behind the times. i wonder how 1980 will the blackberry pad be
I quite agree with Cory, the BB Storm is a great the touch surface is a great improvement. The only issues I have with the classification and comparison is the fact that they two phones are not in the same category, for me iphone 4 is a fancy phone and the BB is a great business phone. So when you have 3.5 M.P against iphone’s 5M.P then it’s a great improvement over the older BBs that have 2.0. Here I say that the two phones are great and can adequately perform the functions they are designed to perform.
For me, I have experienced the BB Storm 9530 and now using the 9550. The difference is just crystal clear. The Strom 2 is a great tool for business if you are a business minded person. For fancy, you can opt for the i phone 4.
I’m totally agree with Cory and Gbensilver. The articile, since the start of it has been kinda bias towards iphone. I’ve never use a blackberry before until i bought my 9550. It’s great. I’m not saying that it has no limitations, same applies to iphone (my gf has one).
Also, if you are talking about photographic point of view, resolution does not necessarily reflect quality of the photo. The most important part is the sensor and how it captures the image.
For the touch screen, I personally the “button” feel of BB rather than iphone touch (again that’s personal choice).
To me, iphone is an entertainment unit while BB is a business unit. Both have their + and – sides.
But comparing iphone 4 and BB 9550? you’ve got to be kidding. Why don’t you try to dig BB Storm I to compare instead.
This guys an idiot! Why are you comparing these 2 phones? What is the point of comparing something that JUST came out .vs. something that has been out for over a year ?…. plus iphone is like what on their 4th or more version, when the Storm line is on it’s second..can’t stand some of you blogger folk that just write any dumb thing you want on the net.
I’m willing to bet you have never even used a S2 for more than an hour. SMH compare the I4 to phones like Android X or the HTC Evo…that makes way more sense don’t you think? BB’s are business tools hence all the amazing messaging features and email capabilities.
Mind you iphones are amazing devices if you need that type of thing but I think the Storm line was RIMS attempt to give it’s customers that had that itch for a touch screen something to go after…and in my opinion RIM did it better, what’s the big deal about tapping on a glass to register movement? Now offering SUREPRESS…….That take’s smarts! Who out there is doing that right now? That’s right NOBODY!!!
Frog ‘s comment:
Comparing can be helpful in order to know if for a BB storm2 owner it is worth to mowing from his storm2 to iphone4…
Battery issue is not argued here… It is a pity
great review, i love my new 9550. screen is bigger and better and more practical. easier to use, and the touch screen isn’t so hard to push. i love my new unlocked world phones. me and my partner love ours for the gps and navigating around town. Also the email helps us keep in touch with our clients. much better than our old unlocked verizon phones. also got our blackberry unlock codes and sprint unlock codes for free!! my wife loves her 9550 for the games and the camera and video recorder help her keep in touch with the kids. Also the facebook and web browsing keep us busy on our long trips, can’t complain! faster processor, camera is cleaner, phone is a little ligher. i like it, got our last couple unlocked 3g phones at unlockthatphone.com 2 thumbs way up
I’m a girl and I personally think the I phone 4 is tottally better then the blackberry storm 2 because if you really look at the blackberry storm 2 it’s bassicly a normal blackberry but with the icons at the bottom.
yo solo puedo decirles una cosa a todos, yo tengo una bb storm 2 y estoi muy contento con mi equipo pero por que no esperamos a que bb saque storm 4 y la comparamos con iphone 4?