Pitting the I-phone against the Blackberry Storm

I wrote the other day about how we decided to dump Verizon as our cable, home phone, and internet provider, based on their unwillingness to entice us to remain customers.

Well, actually we're looking to jump ship from Verizon altogether, and have been investigating AT&T as a cell phone provider because I am sooo ready to jump onto the iPhone bandwagon.

The problem?  Well, because Dave's entire family is on our "family plan," the entire group has to wait to cancel until the person with the latest contract is allowed to cancel.  That means that if we want to leave Verizon, we would have to wait until the end of February, which seems SOOO far away when Dave and I are ready to switch NOW.  (And, he and I are both eligible to cancel now as well, but it's financially wise to have the whole "family" switch with us if they are willing to as well.)

So, now we're also considering the smart phone options that Verizon offers as well.  I am strictly interested in getting a touch phone, and want something that is as similar to the iPhone as I can possible get.  Which means my only option is the BlackBerry Storm.

Isn't it pretty? If only looks were everything.... 

Source

The scary thing, there are very mixed reviews on the Storm, which might mean that it's not all that great.  The third-party electronics sites reviews are generally neutral, stating features and functions that it either has or lacks, but these sites don't really say whether or not they would recommend the phone.  And, most of these sites are only reviewing a sample phone that they received for a short period of time, so most of them can't comment on the long-term reliability, which is concerning.

On top of that, user-generated content about the phone - even on Verizon Wireless's own site - isn't great.  They give the phone 3 out of 5 stars, and there are a variety of negative comments.  Below are some of the negative comments that I encountered, and my "justification" of whether or not it's an issue that bothers me.

1. The keypad is annoying. 
I know no other keypads, so this would be the standard for me.  Most people that hat the "soft" keyboard are used to the hard keyboards on older BB models. It would have to be really bad for me to hate it.

2. The battery dies quickly.
This actually might be the standard for smart phones, since I read this about other phones as well.  This could definitely be annoying, but with a car charger I could probably deal.  I am currently used to charging my phone once every other week or so - I know that won't be case with a newer phone.

3. The phone locks up a lot.
This could definitely be annoying, and I've heard about other BlackBerry's - not just the Storm - that do this as well.  Some people have gone through 3 or 4 phones, which is crazy to me.

I don't know what to do.  Ultimately if it was up to me, Dave and I would switch to AT&T tomorrow.  We would both get iPhones and we would live happily ever after.

I need to TRY a Storm.  I need to find someone that I know that has one who will let me sit down with it for 10 minutes and play around with it.  I want to try to type a text message, make a call, browse the web, map directions for an exotic destination.  I feel like I can't get a sense of whether or not I'll love the phone if I can't  test these things out before buying this $100+ phone that has mixed reviews and signing on to a two-year contract that will raise my monthly access fee by an additional $60 for the two of us.  At the Verizon stores, they only have a fake, unusable version of the phone with a plastic sticker that shows what the screen might look like.  ATT, on the other hand, had a fully functional iPhone available for use with tons of apps and features readily available for playing with.  That fact alone makes me like them more, and I know that I like the iPhone because I was able to use it.  Anyone out there already own a Storm?  If so, do you want to spend some time with me while I use your phone?

I'm so impatient but I'm also trying to be reasonable.  I know that we'll save money if we stay with the Hartman family plan, and I wouldn't mind getting a new phone sooner rather than later. Staying with Verizon means that could happen, versus having to wait until February to switch to AT&T.  If I could confirm that I would enjoy the Storm, life would be so much easier...