Blackberry Thunder / Storm on Video!

The first video of the upcoming Blackberry Thunder (Storm on Verizon)!

Captured by Brew Ninja – infamous for early access to upcoming phones.

Blackberry Thunder / Storm Release Date and Other Rumours

Verizon Blackberry Storm Box from Engadget

The Blogsphere is brimming with speculation on the upcoming Blackberry Thunder. 

 

A quick recent rumour mill summary:

• It will be called the Blackberry Storm 9530 on Verizon
• It will be called the Blackberry Thunder on Rogers and Vodafone
• It will be exclusive to Rogers in Canada
• Telus will also carry it in Canada. (Yes, conflicting rumours)
• It is ready for prime time and expected out on Verizon in October
• The user interface and OS is still buggy and it will be delayed into November
• It will include Wi-Fi
• It will not include Wi-Fi
• The touch keyboard: haptic feedback, full Qwerty in landscape, and Suretype in portrait
• 8 GB microSD included.  Raising hopes of strong multimedia capabilities

Of the rumours to date on the Storm/Thunder, a few things stand out for us. 

1. World phone.  CDMA/EVDO and UMTS/HSPA in one piece of hardware spells bulk.  Good for CDMA players and their business customers but a handicap when compared to pure UMTS/HSPA devices.

2. No Wi-Fi.  If this is true, then it will be a significant liability relative to other new smartphones such as the iPhone.  The majority of the average user’s time is spent in home and work environments that can support much faster speeds via Wi-Fi.  Wi-Fi for speed and EVDO/HSPA for coverage appears to be a reasonable approach taken by other smartphone vendors.

3. Battery life.  Heavy users, especially business users, need their device to work all the time.  Time is money etc.  It will take more battery than a traditional Blackberry to power the big screen.  More battery implies more bulk.

4. Keyboard, keyboard, keyboard.  Blackberry’s are highly regarded, rightfully so, for having fantastic keyboards.  They keyboard will make or break this Blackberry.  No doubt, great Exchange integration, rock solid reliability, and enterprise grade security have all contributed to the RIM’s success and should be expected on the Storm / Thunder but without a novel writing worthy keyboard, this Blackberry only will fall into line with the other ‘average’ business smartphones.

We are longtime Blackberry fans and are hopeful and excited about the launch of this device.  If the keyboard is close to as good as a traditional Blackberry hard keyboard, then we will forgive the bulk.  Though maybe not the lack of Wi-Fi.

UPDATE:  The Blackberry Thunder on Video