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Not content to stand by while AT&T , T-Mobile and Sprint generate all the wireless hype, Verizon last week announced that it would be supporting Research in Motion's BlackBerry Storm smartphone on its network come November.
RIM's first touchscreen device features a "clickable" screen that the company says simulates the feel of a physical keyboard. The Storm can connect to either EV-DO Rev. A or HSPA 3G cellular networks and features 1GB of onboard memory storage and a card slot that allows for up to 16GB of additional storage.
But while Verizon (and Vodafone in Europe and elsewhere) is hoping that the BlackBerry Storm will be its own "iPhone killer," questions remain about whether the offering can match the popular Apple consumer device in several key areas. Here's a look at how the Storm stacks up against the iPhone in terms of call quality, data coverage, price and more.
View as a slideshow comparing the iPhone to the Storm.
Year after year, survey after survey, Verizon consistently gets the highest marks for wireless call quality, for the least amount of dropped calls and for overall network reliability. Verizon also outpaces AT&T in terms of customer service and in the cost of service, the latest JD Power survey finds. The bottom line: If call quality is your most important qualification, go Verizon.
Verizon and AT&T boast impressive 3G networks that span across the United States. Verizon's 3G network runs on the CDMA-based EV-DO Revision A wireless technology, while AT&T uses the GSM-based HSPA. A study conducted earlier this year by ComputerWorld showed that while AT&T and Verizon offered similar data speeds for their 3G networks, AT&T offered slightly faster service for peak download speeds, average download speeds and average upload speeds. Added to this, the iPhone is able to take advantage of local Wi-Fi hot spots to download data, while the Storm is not. Thus, the ability to access Wi-Fi as a cheaper alternative to 3G data service gives the iPhone a slight edge in this category.
One of the most striking features of several new smartphones is their low cost. Apple and AT&T got the ball rolling earlier this year after they announced they were going to slash the price of the iPhone 3G to $199. T-Mobile and Google decided to one-up them by selling their G1 smartphone for $179. So far, neither Verizon nor RIM have released details on the retail cost for the Storm, but it will likely have to be in the $200 range if it really aims to be the "iPhone killer" that its makers hope it will be.
Comments (203)
blah blahBy Anonymous on June 3, 2009, 5:06 pmthis phone sucks!
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WiFiBy Anonymous on April 14, 2009, 10:14 amNo WiFi? What are Blackberry thinking.
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No Comparison. Apple Products are based on Apples own OS...By Anonymous on January 29, 2009, 11:30 amNo Comparison. Apple Products are based on Apples own OS. Apple phones just happen to be secondary hardware based on their Premium Software TECH. Blackberry is...
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well nowBy Anon on January 21, 2009, 4:24 amstorm does everything the iphone does and it works everywhere. enough said
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coolBy Anonymous on January 18, 2009, 10:11 pmman i love phones, we can do almost anything
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