Product Listing

BlackBerry Storm2 - For a Rainy Day

By Seow Tein Hee - 25 Jan 2010

Performance

Striving to be the Perfect Storm

Earlier on, we've mentioned the improvements of the SurePress feature, and what you can expect out of it. To put things into perspective, we did some field testing of the Storm2's messaging capabilities. We replied most of our emails being pulled via the BlackBerry Internet Service, and most of the time, we'd opt for the numeric keypad for its larger and more accessible keys. Using the QWERTY virtual keyboard, our typing speed was slower than usual, with a dip in accuracy levels. With the QWERTY and SureType keypads having its keys clustered together, we'd have to recommend the numeric keypad for a better typing experience.

Having a larger and higher resolution screen does help in placing the Storm2 as a decent multimedia device. Sans the lack of dedicated multimedia keys, the Storm2 has the chops as it handled videos with aplomb. Video quality was good, with minimal frame losses for high FPS scenes. Audio quality however isn't as splendid as we had hoped. Bass levels sounded flat and lacked the soul and reproduction of a strong bass track.

Its imaging capability won't be seeing any notable changes, since it sports the same 3.2-megapixel sensor. Likewise, there's not much change in its photo quality. In the case of the Storm2, it's for the better as colors turned out great from the color charts.

Its white balancing performance is however a mixed bag under harsh incandescent lighting. An inconsistency with some cool and overly warm hues got us confused. Nonetheless, under normal lighting conditions, the camera worked out pretty reasonably. Detail levels are a different matter though. While we didn't note high noise levels, there was a lack of sharpness throughout the captured image.

Getting a good battery mileage is still an important factor for almost any mobile device. This is especially so with BlackBerry devices, with constant data being streamed to it via the BlackBerry Internet Service. With either the cellular or Wi-Fi network up, it goes without saying that there's a need for better power efficiency on the Storm2. As usual, our battery test parameters include the following conditions:

  • Playing a 240 x 320 resolution video on an endless loop.
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth active
  • Screen brightness at 100%
  • 3.5mm headset plugged in with volume at 100%

From our test outcome, we also compared it against devices of similar class or specifications, and the results are as below:

Mobile Devices Comparison Table
Specifications/Device BlackBerry Storm2 Nokia N900 HTC Hero
Connectivity
  • Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + A2DP
  • HSDPA
  • GPS with A-GPS
  • Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + A2DP
  • HSDPA
  • GPS with A-GPS
  • Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
  • Bluetooth 2.0 + A2DP
  • HSDPA
  • GPS with A-GPS
Dimensions
  • 112.5 x 62.2 x 14 mm
  • 110.9 x 59.8 x 18 mm
  • 112 x 56.2 x 14.4 mm
Weight
  • 160g
  • 181g
  • 135.5g
Screen size
  • 3.25-inch, 320 x 480 pixels
  • 3.7-inch, 800 x 480 pixels
  • 3.2-inch, 320 x 480 pixels
Battery
  • Li-Ion 1400 mAh
  • Li-Ion 1320 mAh
  • Li-Ion 1350 mAh

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