The Blackberry Storm 9520 is currently BlackBerry’s only true touch screen handset (the Torch 9780 having a slide out QWERTY keyboard). Although a good handset, the Storm was not popular with BlackBerry aficionados who mostly prefer to stick with the QWERTY handsets, however, with this handset RIM were trying to reach a broader audience, beyond their traditional customer base, and to that end the Storm 9520 remains one of the most unique Blackberry’s to date.
Whilst the combination of BlackBerry build quality and its touch screen feature’s do make the Blackberry Storm 9520 somewhat unique it has never been a particularly good seller, less popular with traditonal BlackBerry customers who want a keyboard and facing stiff competition from Android handsets in the touch screen market, however, there are some great deals available on this phone. At time of editing you can get the Storm 9520 for a total cost of £10 per month (including discounts), which is a good price for a touch screen handst of this quality. You can see the cheapest current deals in the table below, after which we continue our review:
Being a touch screen handset, there are not many buttons to be found on the Storm 9520. The call and hang up buttons are “virtualised” on to the touch screen, as is the keyboard, numbers, navigation options, as you would expect.
Features of the Blackberry Storm 9520
- Digital QWERTY Keyboard. The (virtualised) keyboard on the Blackberry Storm 9520 is completely digital. It can be used in portrait or landscape mode. The digital QUERTY keyboard gives better accuracy when typing and a more natural feel.
- SureTouch. The touch screen on the Blackberry Storm 9520 is made up of SureTouch technology, the SureTouch technology gives a response at the lightest touch and remembers the pressure of your finger so you can be sure that it will respond to you.
- Long Lasting Battery. The battery in the Blackberry Storm 9250 is strong and long lasting which means the Blackberry Storm 9520 only needs to be charged every week or so if you use it normally.
- High Resolution Screen. The screen on the Blackberry Storm 9520 has a high screen resolution of 840×360 and displays over 65,000 colours. All the pictures and images viewed on the Blackberry Storm 9520 are crystal clear and sharp.
- Call Switching. This feature isn’t exclusive to the Blackberry Storm 9520 but it does work really well with the SureTouch technology. Call switching enables you to add participants to a call, or to mute the call so you can deal with other business at the touch of a button.
Good Points of the Blackberry Storm 9520
- SureTouch. An innovative new technology which eliminates the need for buttons, it works at the slightest touch and tunes itself to the pressure of your fingertips for quick and easy use of the Blackberry Storm 9520
- Fast Connectivity. The Blackberry Storm 9520 has Wi-Fi connectivity and has the fastest connectivity from a Blackberry yet.
- Easy Navigation. The Blackberry Storm 9250 doesn’t have a track pad or track ball which means the navigation is much smoother as the user doesn’t have to rely on a pad or ball which can often get stuck or broken.
- Locking. The Blackberry Storm 9520 is touch screen which you may think makes it difficult to lock the screen so you don’t call people accidentally. The Storm has a specialist locking key situated on the side of the Blackberry so you can safely lock your phone at the touch of a button.
Bad Points of the Blackberry Storm 9520
- SureTouch Reliability. Ironically this feature is listed as both a strength and a weakness. Although it is a great feature, some users have reported problems when they tried to calibrate the touch screen, though, we believe this issue was reported some time ago and corrected on later production runs.