Verizon’s Blackberry Storm is one of the leading contenders in the international gladiatorial competition for the top spot in the Smartphone market niche. Apple iPhone definitely needs to watch out as the sleek warrior from Verizon literally stirs up a storm in terms of space and performance. You don’t have to go far to get this Blackberry as purchase can be made directly from the Verizon website.
How Much is the Blackberry Storm?
The pricing for the Blackberry Storm is at a stable $249 and you have to sign a contract with Verizon to activate the services. In any case, you will be given a $50 voucher, which reduces the price effectively making it $200. As for the other mobile phones in the Verizon lineup, these are offered with one year contracts (priced at $349) or on a more manageable monthly basis ($399)
For those wishing to use the Blackberry Storm without any data plan, that’s not possible since the Blackberry Storm is tied with Verizon data plan services. For those who wish to partake only of data streaming and other related services, the minimum package from Verizon is $49.
If you want to use the Blackberry Storm for both its data services and its voice services, the price goes up by $20, making it $60. Short message services or SMS are also considered separate services; the lowest that you can subscribe will cost around $5 per month but it all still depends on how many messages you would need on a monthly basis.
If you wish to take the Blackberry Storm to the office as one of your business-oriented machines, you must add a bit more for the additional fee of $15. As for those who need to travel and still use their Verizon Smartphone, additional fees also apply. Unfortunately, even the Wi-Fi will not be usable if a Blackberry Storm owner does not have a data plan with Verizon.
Quality, Function and Specs
The performance of the Blackberry Storm is optimum; it can easily compare to the Apple iPhone when it comes to features. The Blackberry Storm uses a touchscreen technology that requires you to apply pressure when typing on the on-screen keyboard. While this might be a good thing for those who are used to notebooks, it might be disorienting for ex-Apple iPhone users.
There is a lock-in period of 50 days so you would have to use the SIM card provided by Verizon. After this lock-in period, you’re free to use any service provider you want, granted that you are no longer interested in unique Blackberry services.
If you want the Blackberry Storm as a mobile phone that can run multimedia applications, and you are happy with that, there would be no need to continue subscribing to Verizon data plans. However, without the plans, there is no email and no Wi-Fi.
Unlike the iPhone, the Blackberry Storm is completely memory-expandable and the software included would make sure that you never lose your data- you simply have to back it up to your own desktop computer or notebook.
All in all, the Blackberry Storm provides excellent features and would be the alternative for those who don’t like Apple iPhone features, such as the non-removable battery and the failure to handle multiple applications at one time.
