The BlackBerry Storm 2 is going to be a great platform to develop for. The device ships with OS 5.0 meaning new APIs and features are available to the developer, including the ability to:
Link 3rd party applications to the Address Book.
Use push data more efficiently.
More easily make UI customizations.
Implement multi-touch for zooming in and out of images.
The BlackBerry Storm 2 may be one of the most important devices for Verizon in terms of sales and revenue, and they are treating the launch with a total lack of organization. Rather than continue to post images, take them down when they’re found, show the device to students and pass the launch scoop to another carrier, perhaps they should just announce it already.
With the BlackBerry Storm2 on the way, we’ve been getting a lot of tips about content available for the device. It’s highly possible that the launch of themes in App World will coincide with the Storm2 launch, and users will be able to download a wide variety of themes, games and apps for the new device.
The reason for opening themes to App World is probably due to the fact that RIM is banking on the Storm2 being the ultimate consumer device and themes are the hottest item in the BlackBerry consumer market right now. You can’t launch the Storm2 without great consumer content so it just makes sense. In order to get that content out to Storm2 users, RIM would currently have to rely on third party vendors such as Mobihand, Bplay and Handango. Opening themes to App World therefore eats their lunch and helps App World sales.
Something that will inevitably disappoint about Storm2 content will be the lack of multi-touch games available on the device. Also, we have heard rumors that the Storm2 features support for OpenGL, but it’s not clear whether developers are taking advantage of the APIs. So while the Storm2 will, assuming we’re correct, feature themes and games, that content will simply be ported, with no specific attention given to the new hardware features of the device.
So if you’re a developer, get your hands on a Storm2 and start making some great Storm2 specific content. Storm users buy a disproportionate amount of software and they’re a great market for your applications.
As you may remember from Walt’s conversation with Mike Lazaridis, he was not a fan of the first BlackBerry Storm. One of his questions to Lazaridis was “why wasn’t the Storm a better device?” Sort of a harsh dig considering it had one of the lowest return rates at Verizon. Yes, the device lacked WiFi, and the typing experience wasn’t stellar, but a touchscreen BlackBerry was much needed in the product line.
We have heard all manner of launch dates for the Storm 2 9520 and the Storm 2 9550 (or should I call it the Storm2?).
For Verizon, we are seeing the BlackBerry Storm 9550 rumored to launch October 21st. This rumor comes from an internal Verizon email that was leaked showing a launch date for the Storm 2 to be October 21st.
There is also some evidence pointing towards a Storm2 launch for October 28th. This is loosely based on some Verizon BOGO material that was leaked. At the very least, we know that when the device launches, the carrier is pushing a very intense sales campaign with it. On a side note, does anyone else think writing Storm2 vs Storm 2 looks a little silly? It could easily be mistaken for a typo.
The Vodafone Storm 2 9520 seems to be launching about the same time as Verizon. While we haven’t seen many internal leaks on the subject, we are seeing a lot of promo materials going up in preparation.
Overall, these things tend to get delayed for any number of reasons and I would be really surprised if the carrier, being a giant cumbersome organization where the left hand doesn’t talk to the right hand, could actually peg a date and stick to it.
The 21st is a reasonable date, but could easily be pushed back closer to the end of the month.
The new BlackBerry Storm 2 9550 by Verizon is shaping up to be the BlackBerry touchscreen device we’ve all been waiting for. I remember back when Mike Lazaridis was taking criticism for the original Storm and his response was “sorry it was the number 3 selling smartphone in North America. I wish it could have been number 1.” Well this is the second time out the gate and they definitely have it right this time.
Will sales of the Storm 2 beat the original Storm? If the hardware is the deciding factor I would say yes. But what about all those who have bought the original Storm? How many will upgrade? How many new touchscreen BlackBerry users will this device convert? These are all questions that will have to wait to be answered until after the device launches, which we expect to happen in early November. Some are suggesting late October and this could also be true. We’re seeing a lot of leaks happening which means we are approaching launch date. Until then, lets take a look at the pre-release version of the Verizon BlackBerry Storm 2 aka 9550.
Samano, a Howardforums.com contributor has noted that the BlackBerry Storm is no longer available on the Telus website. There is a lot of speculation as to when the Storm 2 will be released on Telus and Verizon. When old devices get quietly discontinued, a big launch is soon to follow.
Has anybody heard anything from their Telus or Verison rep? When do you think the Storm 2 is coming?
Wired.com discusses the reasons behind Verizon’s lack of what they consider to be high-end smartphones. The higher-end BlackBerrys they have right now are the BlackBerry Storm, and the WiFi-free BlackBerry Tour.
“They lack the star products that their competitors have,” says Avi Greengart, research director, consumer devices for Current Analysis. “They recognize they don’t have compelling devices right now but feel they can make up for it with network quality.”
A new video by Salomondrin shows the BlackBerry Storm 2 with the ability to toggle the clicking sound for SurePress. This is a great feature considering many users want complete silence from their device.
Here is a theory, and this could be going way out on a limb, but I’m going to call Verizon PR on this one. All other BlackBerry Storm 2 videos have been pulled. This means Salomondrin is either saying all the right things to allow his videos to avoid the RIM legal machine, or he has some inside privilege.
Also, this isn’t the first time Verizon has controlled their leaks. Remember last year with the original BlackBerry Storm? Well perhaps they’re doing it all over again. Here are some examples from last year:
Just search ‘Verizon leak’ on BlackBerry Cool and you can see the plethora of “leaks” that came out before the Storm launch.
Although, an easy way to prove me wrong would be to find a few videos of the Storm 2 from other YouTube users that have negative criticism and haven’t been pulled.
In any case, the device looks great and it doesn’t really matter if it’s Verizon or not. The fact is that we get to see the device early.
It turns out we’ll be seeing the BlackBerry 8530 come to Verizon Wireless in black and lavendar. The news/rumor comes from a screenshot sent in to BerryScoop with two BlackBerry 8530 SKUs. While the SKUs aren’t for the actual devices, but for dummy phones rather, it’s still a good indication that we’ll be seeing these colors soon.
What colors would you like to see your BlackBerry in?
