It looks a bit like some of the vintage jump hours you see on sites like Watchismo but with a name like Darth you can pretend you’re a Sith.
Product Page

UPDATE – Watchismo has these in stock. FYI.

I’m sure somewhere in the fine print of my contract allows Verizon to push whatever the hell they want to my phone. The contract probably says that they can listen to my phone calls and read my text messages. I don’t care about that stuff; let ‘em. I lead a boring life and couldn’t care less if anyone listens in on my calls. But I don’t want any more stupid apps pushed to my phone just because Verizon is probably getting a nice financial kickback.

That’s why BlackBerrys have an app store now. If I wanted Bing Mobile, I could find it in App World and download it myself. That’s what I did with Slacker Radio. What I don’t need is more bloatware on my already slow and buggy BlackBerry Storm. The damn app doesn’t even run well on the Storm. It’s slow, unresponsive and thinks I’m in NYC. (I’m a thousand miles away, actually)

The Storm, and other Verizon BlackBerrys, didn’t come loaded with all the Verizon-branded apps that the carrier is noterious for loading on its handsets. Instead VZW is randomly pushing apps on to phones, which isn’t much better. Once again, Verizon, you’re doing it wrong. Leave our phones alone.

Remember last year when everyone was stoked about the new touchscreen BlackBerry called the Storm? Oh man, the hype was huge. There was iPhone-ish lines, media coverage, the works. But then the first reviews came out and we all realized the truth: the phone sucked. It’s now a lot better thank to firmware updates, but the upcoming BlackBerry Storm 2 will hopefully recapture some of the original anticipation.

The BlackBerry Zone is reporting that Verizon will launch the BlackBerry Storm 2 around Black Friday in November. Also, Vodafone in the UK will release it in October which hopefully means if there are any issues, RIM will quickly work them out before launching the phone in here. WiFi and OS 5.0 is expected to be featured in the second Storm, and yes, the SurePress screen will be there too. (I like the clicky screen btw) Now, the only question left is what price point the phone will launch at: $99 or $199.

[via CrackBerry]

Remember last year when everyone was stoked about the new touchscreen BlackBerry called the Storm? Oh man, the hype was huge. There was iPhone-ish lines, media coverage, the works. But then the first reviews came out and we all realized the truth: the phone sucked. It’s now a lot better thank to firmware updates, but the upcoming BlackBerry Storm 2 will hopefully recapture some of the original anticipation.

The BlackBerry Zone is reporting that Verizon will launch the BlackBerry Storm 2 around Black Friday in November. Also, Vodafone in the UK will release it in October which hopefully means if there are any issues, RIM will quickly work them out before launching the phone in here. WiFi and OS 5.0 is expected to be featured in the second Storm, and yes, the SurePress screen will be there too. (I like the clicky screen btw) Now, the only question left is what price point the phone will launch at: $99 or $199.

[via CrackBerry]

A new name would make since as the Storm namesake doesn’t exactly have a good reputation and RIM has been known to switch up names before the launch. The 9630 Tour was once called the Niagara. We’ll just have to wait and see when either RIM or Verizon finally announces the phone.

Crackberry has some hot video of the Storm 2, RIM’s follow-up to the abysmal Storm. This new model has a less clicky screen with better keyboard and it’s slightly thinner. It also has dedicated call buttons. No word on Wi-Fi, though.

via Giz

You should still avoid purchasing this thing. Is the Storm 2 coming soon?

Verizon Wireless

▪ CDMA 1xRTT/EVDO Rev. A
▪ Quad-band GSM/EDGE
▪ Single-band UMTS/HSDPA (2100MHz only)
▪ Wi-Fi b,g
▪ 3.2 megapixel camera
▪ 360×480 resolution capacitive screen
▪ OS 5.0

There is also talk of a 3G Storm for AT&T and Rogers.

via Gizza

Great news: The Blackberry Storm is finally usable. Most of our issues with the phone were resolved with the first official Verizon update for the Storm. It’s now a quality phone that’s worthy of the BlackBerry name.

As of Sunday, May 31, the update is available via either directly from the support section of VZW.com or from an OTA download. We downloaded the update over the air yesterday and it took about 2 hours for the 19MB update – the servers were probably running at full capacity. Once it finished downloading and installing, we were instantly pleased.

The phone is finally quick and responsive. The entire system feels noticeably faster. It no longer takes 5-7 seconds for the phone dialing app to load. Even the web browser seems to load pages faster. However, the auto-rotation of the screen still isn’t as quick as we would like it but it’s better than before. We still wish there was a way to disable this entirely though.

Even the camera is quicker. Now, the picture is displayed almost instantly when the shutter button is pressed verses the 5 second lag on the old firmware. Picture quality doesn’t seem upgraded though.

One of the biggest and most welcomed changes however is the new text selection mode.  A little box appears around the selected text that can be easily slid one way or the other to modify the selection. Previously, it was a frustrating task to select text for deletion or copy and paste. It took a steady fingernail to select the desired text.

Overall, the update transformed the phone. It took the Storm from one of the worst phones ever made, to a quality BlackBerry. We just wish it hadn’t taken Verizon seven months to update the phone. RIM has issued leaked numerous firmware updates ever since the phone launched that greatly improved the stability, but this is the first one Verizon has picked up. Never mind that, the BlackBerry Storm is finally worth your time and money.

Great news: The Blackberry Storm is finally usable. Most of our issues with the phone were resolved with the first official Verizon update for the Storm. It’s now a quality phone that’s worthy of the BlackBerry name.

As of Sunday, May 31, the update is available via either directly from the support section of VZW.com or from an OTA download. We downloaded the update over the air yesterday and it took about 2 hours for the 19MB update – the servers were probably running at full capacity. Once it finished downloading and installing, we were instantly pleased.

The phone is finally quick and responsive. The entire system feels noticeably faster. It no longer takes 5-7 seconds for the phone dialing app to load. Even the web browser seems to load pages faster. However, the auto-rotation of the screen still isn’t as quick as we would like it but it’s better than before. We still wish there was a way to disable this entirely though.

Even the camera is quicker. Now, the picture is displayed almost instantly when the shutter button is pressed verses the 5 second lag on the old firmware. Picture quality doesn’t seem upgraded though.

One of the biggest and most welcomed changes however is the new text selection mode. A little box appears around the selected text that can be easily slid one way or the other to modify the selection. Previously, it was a frustrating task to select text for deletion or copy and paste. It took a steady fingernail to select the desired text.

Overall, the update transformed the phone. It took the Storm from one of the worst phones ever made, to a quality BlackBerry. We just wish it hadn’t taken Verizon seven months to update the phone. RIM has issued leaked numerous firmware updates ever since the phone launched that greatly improved the stability, but this is the first one Verizon has picked up. Never mind that, the BlackBerry Storm is finally worth your time and money.

So what are we looking at here? It’s a suspended, completely self-contained watch with nine hands that turn in wild abandon. The thing is inside a massive steel case and looks as cool as all get out.

I’m not a huge Storm fan but this one seems to speak to me as a man who likes big watches. It costs about $170 on a steel bracelet and $199 on a “slate” bracelet. You can pick it up at Watchismo, my favorite watch site.

Another day of WES2009, another day of BlackBerry news. This morning brings an announcement from LogMeIn, makers of the remote desktop access software of the same name. For those unfamiliar with the concept, LogMeIn allows you to control a Windows or Mac computer from another terminal across the internet. Previously, the term “terminal” here was limited to meaning any PC or system with an up-to-snuff browser. As of December, the launch of LogMeIn Ignition expanded it to include the iPhone. This morning, LogMeIn is announcing that they’ll soon be throwing the BlackBerry Storm into the mix as well.

The application isn’t ready to go just yet, but they’ve got an alpha release of it on display on the WES2009 showroom floor. Pricing info has not be disclosed thus far, but I’d imagine that it’ll go for something around the same price as the iPhone release: thirty bucks.

The notable features:

• No firewall configuration necessary: This is LogMeIn’s primary strength over VNC and other widely available solutions – it’s dead simple, even for the technically useless. No router configuration is necessary, nor do you need a static IP.
• Touch Screen Navigation/Keyboard: Zoom In/Out and pan around with the touchscreen, with full onscreen keyboard support
• 256-bit SSL encryption
• “My Computers” list: No remembering IPs – just tap to log in.

We haven’t had the opportunity to check out the new Storm app yet, but I can’t say I’ve had the best of luck with the iPhone version. I run a dual monitor set up, which LogMeIn supports. Unfortunately, one of my monitors runs at a fairly high resolution. Unless I unplug that monitor first, LogMeIn Ignition curls up and starts to cry as soon as I connect, claiming limited memory as the blame. Oh well – hopefully such setups fair a bit better on the Storm.

The LogMeIn alpha is currently private, but folks interested in getting beta access can check out www.LogMeIn.com/StormPreview.

Laptop Mag:

Co-CEO Jim Balsillie was criticized when he said that there was a “new reality” to making smart phones when it came to scrambling to get the Storm to market. Many interpreted his comments as an excuse for RIM for releasing a buggy or unfinished product. Do you disagree with that interpretation?

CEO Mike Lazaridis:

I think there’s some truth to the fact that these devices are becoming much more complicated, and of course we do a lot of testing every time before releasing these devices. And I think that it’s unfair. That’s our first touch product, and you know nobody gets it perfect out the door. You know other companies were having problems with their first releases.

Read the entire interview here.

I have been using a BlackBerry Storm for about a month now and have came to like the phone. While I don’t have an iPhone love affair going on, it’s a solid phone I wouldn’t not recommended. (understand?) It has its quarks like any phone, but the single most annoying feature could – and should – be resolved by Research in Motion.

You see the Storm auto rotates everything unlike the iPhone where only certain apps switch to landscape view. That’s fine with me for apps and such. Auto rotating the main menu/app menu doesn’t add any usability and in fact, is frustratingly annoying. Half the time the phone takes a few seconds to change orientation causing random bad thoughts to race through my head while the phone decides what to do. But mainly, there is no reason to have the home screen rotate and RIM needs to address this aggravating trademark of the Storm.

The BlackBerry Storm has square-like icons just like the iPhone and the beauty of these squarish icons is that you can tell what they are no matter how you are looking at them. The Twitter app still looks like the Twitter app when viewed on its side. The same thing goes for the Calendar, Contacts, Messages, all of them really cause they are square.

Listen, I would not have an issue with the auto-rotating thing if the Storm were fast enough to rotate. But when you pull the phone out of your pocket to make a quick call, you shouldn’t have to wait for the phone to decide which way it’s going to orientate itself and then allowing you into the phone dialing app.

This should be an easy fix by RIM. Just give users an option in the Homescreen Preferences to disable this action. Maybe some people like the feature, but a quick look at BlackBerry forum sites will turn up dozens of threads ranting about the same thing.

Other than that annoying feature and typing on a touchscreen, I have been pleasantly surprised by the Storm. The early reviews blasted the touchscreen BlackBerry, but if you’re bound to stay with VZW for some odd reason, the Storm isn’t that bad. Or you could wait for the 9630.

Research In Motion’s founder and co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis, has cleared up some non-existent confusion about his company’s first touch screen device, the Storm — it’s a netbook.

Wait, what? Sorry, can you repeat that? I must have misheard you Mr. co-CEO.

In a recent interview, when asked “Would you consider Netbooks as your competitors?,” Mr. Lazaridis responded:

No, I think I can put Netbooks in here [referring to the BlackBerry Storm]. These are Netbooks. They are just smaller.

Unfortunately, there were no follow-ups to this confusing declaration.  Apparently, Lazaridis defines ‘netbook’ differently (netbook = smartphone?) than the rest of the us (see Wikipedia: A netbook is a light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient, highly portable laptop…).  One could more reasonably argue that the Bold or other qwerty-equipped BlackBerry devices more directly resemble netbooks, albeit in a non-clamshell, 1/3 the size screen kinda way.

But it all makes just a tad more sense (maybe) if you consider some of Lazaridis’ earlier comments in the interview:

We must always work within the laws of physics and ergonomics of small handheld wireless devices with respect to processor speed, display and keyboard size, weight, cost, battery life, radio bandwidth, network capacity and latency.

These “limitations” are the same ones faced by netbook manufacturers.  However, it still doesn’t follow that the Storm, a tactile keyboard-less non-laptop mobile phone, would fall under the netbook umbrella.  It’s sorta like describing the Internet as a series of tubes — a sort of half-truth/lay understanding; although that claim at least has some merit to it. There are, after all, tubes involved.

The latest unreleased firmware for the Blackberry Storm (aka le lump of poo) has leaked is now available over at CrackBerry forums.

The results, so far, seem promising. I’ll install it tonight, if I can, and report back. The improvements seem manifold. To wit:

Some bugs have been fixed, the accelerometer action is definitely quicker and typing feels a bit more responsive. You’ll want to jump into our Storm OS forum for all of the details and findings surrounding this release. My opinion? This is what the Storm should have launched with.Definitely worth an install if you’re a 9530 Storm owner.