I was going to dump the Storm but the .141 upgrade has made me say it is worth keeping as most things work as they are designed.. (other than the GPS stuff Verizon has blocked)…

Thanks for the update Robb it is appreciated. As both a verizon consumer and a vodafone Australia customer, I am disapointed with the storm but know that once the bugs have been worked out you will have a device that is a jack of all trades. Until the next update see you on the flip side !!

There is RIM’s position, which is “every new version is a load of bugfixes, and of some regressions”, and which provides the most choice to the carriers.

and there is the carrier’s decision, which is to say “RIM’s Q&A is less than our own Q&A, we decide is the new regressions are bearable by our subscribers.

RIM’s position (release as fast as possible, nearly every 6 weeks !) is the most conciliate one and allows the carriers to choose. It’s thus the best way possible (apart from releasing directly to the public, which would oblige them to have a direct customer support as opposed to today’s indirect support, since the first support is taken care of by the carrier).

So basically RIM’s Q&A is low, on purpose, so that carriers can release an OS version if they want to. It’s like in a soccer team : attackers do not really care about defense, because there is a goal (your “gatekeeper” or Heimdall), they care about going forward.

About making an OS upgrade easy, many steps have been made in that direction. First the ActiveX upgrade, soon the wireless upgrade (for those already using a 4.5+ OS). I can accept people saying “oh but on the iPhone, it’s just a finger touch away”. But the upgrade from BlackBerry is not so far from that to this day ! 10 clicks of a mouse and it’s done.

So 4.7.0.141 is good enough for Vodaphone, it’s good enough to show at WES to the RIM gear heads, Eric Zeman at infoworld has it and gives the upgrade his approval, and it contains more than just tweeks to the OS. By the lack of release, verizon must feel threatened by a function or feature, there really is no other excuse for blocking yet another proven upgrade from RIM. RIM’s OS updates really have nothing to do with verizon, yet has everything to do with BB owners devices.

http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com/2009/05/blackberry_storm_update_470141_seen_at_wes_official_at_vodaphone_verizon_soon.html

What 4.7.0.113 added/solved (and verizon didn’t release)
http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com/2009/04/latest_blackberry_storm_update_470113_coming_from_verizon.html

“A full-QWERTY keyboard will be available in portrait mode.
Rotation speed while viewing contacts has been improved and pre-loaded games are more stable.
Version 4.7.0.113 of the Storm OS reduces waiting time before MP3 files start playing.
There will be an enhanced system to ensure that OTA updates continue if the media card is removed and OTA via an internal media card.
Languages support for Arabic languages, and full support for English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish in the East Asia language pack, as well as rendering support for Indonesian Bahasa, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
They added a “Go” button next to the address and search fields in the browser and for search. application.
Improved capability in auto off/on functionality for connecting to wireless networks when turning back on.
A Phone icon was added to the home screen.
Volume consistency across applications and calls has been improved.
The Calendar application when selecting “go to date,” is faster.
Streaming video content is now supported when the URLs are longer than 512 characters.
But wait— there are more improvements in the 4.7.0.113 firmware update for the BlackBerry Storm, take a look at all the bugs they fixed.”

What 4.7.0.141 added and solves (and verizon hasn’t released)
http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com/2009/04/470141_verizon_version_of_blackberry_storm_update_coming_may_day_or_later.html

“Faster screen rotation.
Faster (no lag) in clicking through menus and folders.
Faster unlocking and not can click on any button to unlock.
There appears to be a delay in locking.
When typing messages the font is smaller and seems less “laggy.”
Fading effects appear nice.
Camera appears faster.
Web browser loads faster.
More memory use at load up but less memory drain after a few minutes.
Accessing multimedia and music is very snappy and plays immediately.”

RIM is doing what they can, it’s a real shame RIM’s efforts are being blocked by a service provider famous for these types of actions. Let’s hope RIM takes all device control back from the cellular service providers. RIM deserves better, RIM BB customers deserve better. Say NO to verizon’s walled garden.

Users know how to get .141 if they want it. If Verizon says it’s not up to par…maybe that’ll push RIM to make a descent OS for the Storm. A PDA and/or smartphone is nothing without performance. Performance is the main reason the iPhone is so successful. The application base took off because the performance was so good. How “pretty” the device looked had nothing to do with it. The iPhone as of right now is a better device and will be until RIM steps up to the plate and supports this device appropriately. This is “surepress”ing my buttons…