I'm still gonna buy it, but I'm a little disappointed that RIM didn't really try to blow the iphone out of the water.
No wifi, no camera flash, no flash support, no tabbed browsing. Seems like if they included these details there wouldn't be anything for people(cough...bgr...cough) to complain about. None of them are a deal breaker for me, but they would be nice. Still can't wait for it to come out and check out the app store too. Hopefully we'll be able to harass customer service into orders the end of October.

No WiFi or camera flash make this a deal breaker in my opinion.

Ok really.... the one thing (for me at least) that I truly love about iPhone is having multiple instantiations of the browser at once...! Come on BB, let's make the grade (or do they think that people always want to surf one page at a time?? Grrrrrr....

i thought crucial hinted at flash support

Here is my comparison of the Blackberry vs the iPhone.

iPhone has a bigger screen, but only by a quarter inch.
Blackerry's screen has slightly better resolution - 480x360 vs 480x320
Blackberry's camera is a hell of a lot better - 3.2mp vs 2.0mp
Neither has flash (for the camera)
Processor speed - no idea
Apple's browser has tabs, Blackberry doesn't.
Apple has wi-fi, Blackberry does not.
Blackberry has a removable battery and the iPhone does not.
Unknowns - supported media formats
- typing interface

Not very happy there is no wi-fi, but I probaby will use the camera much more. Also, carrying around a Blackberry is much more professional looking than an iPhone.

On a tangent. Deciding between the Storm and Javelin/Bold comes down to how you are going to use the phone. If you do a lot of emailing then the Javelin/Bold is the way to go but if you want the media features then it's the Storm. I would also say if you review a lot of word documents or spreadsheets, then the extra screen size on the Storm is appealing

No Wifi, No Flash , No Tab ...... Is that a nokia 3200 from 90's???

i am so disapointed

Wifi is very usefull when you are travelling all around the worl like me ... even when i m in the US don t wanna pay 200 euros bills

BB is for business people so what are they doing ... every smartphone have wifi

Hope my provider will ask for Wifi in it

I love that its only a little bigger than the curve! BUT Does any one know how heavy this is going to be?

Hey guys ... hopefully our are better than yours

but still no Wifi

7.2 mbps HSDPA/UMTS (2100/1900/850 MHz)
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
1GB of memory, 192MB RAM
1400 mAhr battery. Standby time: 528 hours
MicroUSB port
MicroSD and MicroSDHC expandable up to 8GB
3.2 megapixel camera, flash, 2.5x digital zoom, auto focus, and image stabilization
Video capture. Normal mode (480×320) and MMS mode (176×144)
Assisted GPS - Enhanced version of GPS that performs at a faster speed

I was about to hop the fence on this one. I was actually warming up to it. I will miss the wifi when I'm @ home or at a hotel or at an airport. Trust me you need alternatives. I flew into DFW last year for a wedding. Got off the plane and Verizon was down in North Texas. I was without a device for 3 days. If it would have had wifi I could have hopped on the airport wifi send a few emails, maybe a little voip. Who knows, but both my devices were Verizon so I was dead in the water. Actually had to use a pay phone (eww). So leaving off wifi is a big deal. But only when you really really need it. That being said, maybe having a flash is good, but then again, when do you need flash and is it going to be more than just a flashlight than an actual flash. The only time I need flash is probably in a dark night club, or outside @ night. To be honest I think most professional photographers prefer when they don't have to use flash. They like the natural light.

Other than that it's a nice looking device. I think they will still come out with better version and this first gen version will not kill anything or wound anything, but it might leave a bit of a whelp. Kind of like getting bit by a wiener dog, doesn't really break the skin but still annoying as hell.

I now have to wait for android and the touch diamond to meet.

Wow... No WiFi.. No Tabs... Those are the complaints that keep coming up. I had the iPhone for awhile, and those are definitely some great features. But.... The iPhone had no MMS, no turn-by-turn navigation, no full bluetooth support, no replaceable battery, the camera was shoddy, no copy and paste (making receiving picture messages in code very annoying to view on the phone), and some other features I'm probably forgetting. Sure, I loved the iPhone and I'm a little upset I had to get rid of it. But no phone is perfect...not yet anyway

Well RIM really screwed up with this one! Everyone knows every touchscreen phone is compared to the iphone so why bother making one with the BlackBerry name if it's not going to be amazing?! I guess I'll just stick with my Curve...Oh and I hate this damn captcha thing!

In the USA home of the chickens and land of the greed.

RIM had a chance to compete with the Iphone. but the fact is that VERIZON just does not care about the product they provided but only the money they can suck out of you.
Like all the VERIZON phones

WIFI
GPS

will be taken down and the customer will have to pay extra for every single extra item. Sad very sad.
I will continue to use my CURVE because I do not see a product that is better yet, yes it has a big screen but that is it for me.

Thanks and Goo DAy!

If this is indeed the final spec sheet for the device then I am for sure going to take a pass. I expected more from the "storm" if it was truly going to compete with the iPhone. The lack of some specific features along with Verizon being notorious for locking things down is really going to set this device back. It is going to sell don't get me wrong, but there will be those who hold out for the Javelin being released later in the year. The thing that sucks is that T-Mobile and Google just really blew the roof off the Android presentation and the device is pretty slick....Granted that device is more geared towards the consumer side, but it still pretty cool regardless

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2008/09/23/verizon-tells-us-all-about-the-...

This seems to answer many of the questions about the Storm, except the price and release date.

what does the no flash support as it relate to the browser mean?

Guys, if you look at the other blog http://crackberry.com/leaked-verizon-blackberry-storm-powerpoint-deck...... on page seven you will see the phone has auto focus AND auto flash....

Engadget Mobile has power point slides that contradict some of the info from Kevin. The biggest in the camera area. Verizon sides claim there is automatic focus and auto flash. No mention of a vanity mirror and the photos (showing all angles) dont show a mirror.

Kevin may be wrong this time.

ni wi-fi! no flash! (well at least thats what was initially thought)

ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS!? WHO CARES ABOUT EITHER ONE OF THOSE? REALLY!

I have had at least 5 PDA's now and to tell you the truth I RARELY use a camera on it and 3 of the 5 had wi-fi and I NEVER used it. With EVDO who needs wi-fi? its more trouble than its worth.

I'll buy one of these straight away. I've had full experience with them ALL, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and I've depoyed several iPhones now for clients (who now regret getting them because ATT's service is BEYOND bad.) I have to say the Blackberry's beat them all. Windows is cool but too fat and slow...right now using an HTC Touch (verizon xv6800). Like it but I want the BB back.

BBerry 9000 still sounds better. Touchscreen tech is still a toy, not ready for mission critical application and from the way it sounds I doubt this will be. No wifi = stupidity. I wonder what else Verizon will disable, in their tradition of turning off native features to sell y1ou their service version of the same thing. 192m RAM? Get real! No flash support, you just locked out 80% of web content. Just 40 pixels more than the 9000 for a screen size increase of over 100% ?? All sounds like more flash than substance. If you buy this I think you are mentally challenged.. or a pitiful over-compensator. Seek help.

I want to know how much this freaking thing is going to cost. If it's more than $199 I can't see buying this over the iPhone unless you just love Verizon that much.

My verizon phone that I have now is much faster than the Iphone on a wifi connection when I am looking up things. My girlfriend has the Iphone 3g and she always asks me to look up stuff on my Lg Env cuz my web surfing on Verizon's (True 3g lol) is so much faster!!! I think a wifi connection would only slow it the Storm down...... Im sold like a fat girl in a cake store!!!!!!!!! I cant wait to weather the Storm!!!!!!!!!!!!

I read through the posts and no Wi-Fi is a deal killer for me.I'm a long time Verizon customer and have been struggling with any upgrade but didn't want to change carriers. I was really excited about the Storm but not if it doesn't have Wi-Fi. I plant my device on the bose portable speakers and it charges and plays my music on Pandora or Slacker. So battery life isn't a problem but Wi-Fi is a must have..... Guess I'll change over to AT&T after all as t he Bold DOES have Wi-Fi.

Please tell me why one would need wifi when this is a smart phone and one can get internet access where ever you are? I am really confused as I do not know too much about this but I thought you can only get internet with wifi when you are in range of a router. With this phone instead you can get internet access anywhere you are right? So please tell me what the problem is? I'm just asking of course so let me know. Thanks all.

First Of all The VZ Navigator is 9.99 a month and it does give you exact location i have it and what navigation system do any of you know that gives you the gas prices of each gas station, as well as traffic congestion weather you got to be kidding me thats why its 9.99 idiots

Dont wait till storm come .... play with bold buy from here
www.pdaking.com

Flash is a technology that is owned by Adobe. It is not free or open source. That means Adobe has to develop the Flash software for mobile phones and not RIM. Adobe has done this, and they call their mobile software Flash Lite.

The problem is that Flash uses vector graphics, which is why Flash scales well and can be delivered easily. The downside is that it takes a lot of processing power to playback a flash file (or any vector graphics file).

In order to get Flash Lite to work on a mobile phone, Adobe had to remove a lot of flash features. It doesn't work as it would on your desktop/laptop. Think of it more like "half-flash". It kinda works for the most basic flash programming. But complicated flash websites still won't work properly.

But the biggest issue is the processing power I mentioned earlier to playback flash. The processor in the phone might be able to handle it, but would it be worth the speed in which your battery will drain? What's the point if looking at a flash website will kill your battery in 20 minutes...

I don't work for RIM. I'm just someone who enjoys their products and buys them for my company. I admit, they screwed up a lot in the past (like not having a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack) but this is one case where I have to defend them. RIM has *always* listened to their users.. In fact, that's how the blackberry was conceived - by asking CEO's what they wanted in a phone.

Please don't blame RIM for not listening - flash support is a difficult problem to solve and it's out of their hands for the most part.

As for Wi-Fi support... I'm a little mystified by that myself. At first I assumed it was a price point issue, but that doesn't make sense. Devoted BB users will shell out for it and by the time new users come to it, the price should drop. I would have included it.

It's pretty interesting to see everyone always comparing new phones to the iPhone. Need you all be reminded that Apple markets to "younger" generations... Those that are graphic gurus and iPod fanatics. RIM is a company that markets to business professionals. Once again, to business professionals! This phone is marketed to a younger audience, as seen by their marketing strategies in other forums and posts. However, their primary concerns are still younger business oriented audiences. If you are using your phone for business, why do you need all this additional crap? Yes, so it doesn't support flash on the web, and yes it does not offer wifi, but where's the practicality in those things? If you are doing research on the go for your job, why would you need to access a flash based, graphic rich web page from your phone? Shouldn't you have a laptop if that is your concern? And even still, I don't even have a 3G capable phone, yet my internet browsing is pretty friggen fast with Verizon. the iPhone... That thing boggles my mind. It is such a teenager based phone. OH LOOK MOMMY COOL GRAPHICS AND I CAN LOOK AT YOUTUBE! C'mon! Who needs YouTube on the go!? I'm 23, and a gradaute student, so I'm not some 40 something old biased old guy. If you want a practical, functional, and fast phone, that does give you some pretty cool graphics and features as well, this phone will be it. Now if you want a phone that offers wifi, intense Flash based internet browsing and crazy multimedia functions, get a COMPUTER! Everyone quit whining!

I just reviewed the european version and there is indeed WiFi available. Does anybody think there might be the possibility to unlock the BB storm very soon in order to add wifi capability? That would definitely make the storm a strong rival to the Iphone then!

Ok I think I'm getting confused. If it has a browser but no wifi, what exactly does it browse? Does that mean it can only connect to certain websites already built in (social networking, news sites, etc.)? But if it doesn't have wifi, how can it connect to anything? And if it did have wifi, wouldn't you still need to be in a place that has free/public hot spots? Most airports do NOT have free hotspots. Most businesses have security-enabled wifi. Can anyone spell this stuff out for me?? Thanks

Maybe I missed something.. But according to BlackBerry, the phone has both camera flash and wifi. What are you people talking about? Are you people in some other country than USA?

Anyone know if it has a SIM card slot. Can it be unlocked to work with other networks?

we can get the Storm over Vodafone and i just right now called the headquaters of Vodafone and the person i was talking on the phone was telling me ,that the strom will definitaly will have W-Lan on board!
i told them that i also talk with a person at RIM and at RIM they couldnt tell me but on VOdafone they said that it will have W-Lan 100%

So i think we have to wait some days and see

but for me it is a must have!

When I first saw the commercial, I was upset because I didn't think it would be Verizon. My dad said if I do well in school for at least a semester, then I can get a cell phone, but it has to be verizon because of the family plan. But then, I saw the famous red check and typed in verizonwireless.com on my laptop faster than its own Wi-fi. seriously. i was that desperate and excited.

But the Voyager, originally my dream phone, was $199, or is, at least. The iPhone started at, what, $599 or $699?? I highly doubt that it's that cheap, with the touch screen and all of those features and stuff, but I still hope it's not too pricey.

I am IN LUV!!!!

The positives most definitely out weigh the negatives regarding the new Black Berry Storm, w/ release date for 11/21/08.
This phone DOES have camera Flash. if you dont believe me plz visit www. verizonwireless.com the tutorials explain all. also, WIFI is not a MUST MUST MUST. This "3G" network that verizon claims is the EVDO network which has similar if not better internet surfing speeds. The flash app ideal im not sure of so if anyone has info on that topic plz explain. Lastly this phones touch screen capabilities are beyond any in the market as of now. The only draw back is that you have to buy a $30/ month data plan which is a MUST and wifi would have been a cheaper alternative.

No way. Everyone knows how Verizon rolls. They are much like the government in that they are a VERY efficient parasite. Every time I upgrade my phone they try RELENTLESSLY to get me on board with some sort of ridiculously priced "data plan". To hell with them. WIFI is a MUST. I'll keep using my ipod touch in conjunction with my shitty Motorola w755.

I don't see the storm coming out without Wi-fi. That seems a little odd considering every smart phone out there is equipped with it. I think its just a little too soon to be dropping completely accurate specs on this phone. I'm already sold on it even though it MAY not come with Wi-fi. I may just wait for a second gen version and stick with my beloved curve until then. :).

just got the srorm. oh no no wi-fi? who gives a shit? verizons internet is fast as hell and if u can barter than u can work up a deal like i got. full data/ protection/ navigator/ music for 45$ a month.... so um i-phone...would u be able to suck me off? thanks.. and it does have flash photo and an 8gb memory....thats right iphone..dont forget to cup the balls.

I love being American. I *need* everything. WTF is TTY? Oh well, gimme! When I'm not stuffing my face, I need something to amuse me. Go America! Why would you need wifi? Sure, you could make voip calls. But aside from that, 3G has you covered.. And flash? Its a god-damn phone! If you really want to view that web page, get a fcking COMPUTER. Stop your bitching and moaning and get Vonage or something. I live off of my BB Pearl. Its not perfect. But IT WORKS. Be glad it doesn't come out of the box sparking. ;)

The BB Bold has Wi-Fi, as do other phones on AT&T's network. Verizon doesn't allow Wi-Fi phones. No phone they offer has it, and the Storm is no different. RIM can only add features the provider will allow. Verizon is notorious for nickel-and-diming the crap out of its customers. If you need Wi-Fi, Verizon can't help you. If you need a touchscreen BB, pray the exclusivity contract is breached or that RIM develops a similar product for another provider. You can't argue with good coverage, however, and Verizon is top-notch. With a pending Alltel merger and also the Unicel aquisition, Verizon will have the largest customer base and a larger coverage area. Consolidation is inevitable. Might as well accept it and move on.

My Storm arrives Friday. Hopefully it will be followed with over-the-air software updates to correct the lag and early jitters I experienced on the in-store demo phone. Overall, solid phone. The best Verizon offers.

so in order to compete with the iphone's smarts,touch,interface w/ accelerometer; they dumbed it down and made it a POS u cna touch. If i were a phone company i would beat verizons little kid ass untill they allowed wifi or any other normal feature. #1 data network but the only data u cna have is words and pictures *sorry for your inconvience but if we give u wi-fi or anything els cool or good we might loose $10 here or there

how do i get my blackberry storm to alert me about email only with the LED light. i do not want it to vibrate or ring or anything like that when i get an email