Hands on: The new BlackBerry Storm

From the PCMike NBC-TV Report… The much anticipated new BlackBerry Storm is now available through through Verizon Wireless, threatening to create some serious waves for what up to now has been smooth sailing for the incredibly popular Apple iPhone.

I’ve been testing an evaluation unit for the better part of a week now and can say with certainty that the sleek new Storm is the most compelling rival yet, incorporating many of the iPhone’s revolutionary features but adding a distinctly BlackBerry style and some new tricks of its own.

Corporate types waiting for a major upgrade to the chunky and somewhat stodgy BlackBerry are going to love the Storm’s brilliant display and the fact that it works on Verizon’s superfast 3G (for third generation) data network.

Cost is $199, after a $50 rebate on a two-year contract.

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Review: Sprint’s Samsung Instinct

Sprint has launched a full-frontal assault on Apple with the release of the Samsung Instinct, a touch-screen phone that offers pretty much all the iPhone has. It’s also cheaper, but in a cumbersome and, ultimately, negligible way.

Sprint is clearly targeting price. The Samsung Instinct sells for $129 on a two-year contract, compared to an entry-level new iPhone that will cost $199 for a similar two-year contract with AT&T. Sounds good, right? But dig deeper and you’ll see it’s a bunch of marketing mumbo jumbo that gives you a $100 rebate after you pay $229 up front or $30 more than the cheapest iPhone.

Over two years, that’s a price difference of $15 a year. A little over a buck a month. Hardly enough to get excited about.

I wouldn’t buy the Instinct on price alone. After testing one a few days, I think, in the long term that Sprint may be shooting itself in the foot by emphasizing price so much. After a day of testing the unit, I think the Samsung Instinct really challenges the iPhone on features. It looks pretty much the same, works the same and has several new services and features that really stand out.

Among them is Voice Search. Looking for a Starbucks? Push a button, say “search” and then, at the prompt, ask for “coffee shops.” You’ll get a quick return of all the shops that the Instinct’s built-in GPS capabilities note that are near you. Punch one of the listings and you’ll get turn-by-turn voice and onscreen directions. How’s that for cool?

That same Speech to Action button provide many other functions using speech activation for calling, texting, picture messaging, traffic, movie, sports, news and weather information. If you really crave noise or have a short attention span, it has multitasking capabilities that allow the user to play music in background mode while surfing the Internet, texting or playing games.

I’m also impressed with Sprints’ video offerings of sports, news and entertainment clips. And the Instinct uses haptic technology, giving you a little force feedback vibration every time you punch a button.

The Instinct runs on Sprint’s EV-DO Rev A high-speed network, similar to Verizon’s BroadbandAccess network. The new iPhone (to be released July 11) will run on AT&T’s 3G network, also delivering near broadband speeds.

In the box with the Instinct is a 2GB microSD card that can hold approximately 2,000 songs you can download from the Sprint Music Store, two standard batteries that offer up to 5.75 hours of continuous talk time each, battery-charging sleeve, travel charger, USB cable, 3.5mm headphones with built-in microphone, and a carry case with stylus. The Instinct, besides clearly copying the look and heft of the iPhone, also mimicks the iPhone’s Visual Voicemail, which lets you look and listen to your voicemail messages in whatever order you want. And it comes with a 2 megapixel still and video camera, Bluetooth and support for corporate and consumer (POP3 and IMAP) email.

Access fees and voice and data plans are pretty flexible and competitive with AT&T and Verizon. They’re also a bit complicated.

Like the iPhone, the Instinct must be activated on a pricing plan offering unlimited data. Customers can choose from what Sprint calls Everything Plans for individuals starting at just $69.99 per month for 450 voice minutes or Talk/Message/Data Share plans for families starting at $129.99 per month for 1500 voice minutes to share between two lines. There’s also the Simply Everything Plan offering both unlimited nationwide voice and data services for just $99.99 per month. The Simply Everything Plan offers premium services, including GPS navigation, email, Web surfing, Sprint Music Premier and Sprint TV Premier, while letting customers easily budget for phone expenses.

Of all the smartphones I’ve tested this year… and it seems like a new one comes out each week… the Instinct is the most impressive iPhone alternative I’ve seen. It’s not an iPhone killer. But it’s a strong competitor.

More details can be found at www.instinctthephone.com