BlackBerry Storm 2
Encyclopedia
The BlackBerry
Storm 2 is the second full touchscreen
smartphone
developed by Research In Motion
(RIM).
as well as a redesigned outer shell.
The phone's codename throughout development was "Odin
." The model number is 9520 for the GSM/UMTS
/HSPA
model offered by Vodafone
and 9550 for the CDMA/EV-DO and UMTS/HSPA model offered by Verizon. The Storm 2 comes with 2GB of on-board flash memory — 1GB more than the original — and is bundled with a 16GB microSD card (though not by Vodafone).
The phone has been a reasonable commercial success.
When comparing the Storm 2 with the original Storm, users find the Storm 2 more user friendly. The new screen allows users to type at a faster pace- it supports multi-touch
which is similarly found on other Android-based devices and the iPhone
.
The Storm 2 also supports OpenGL ES
.
ed in many regions of the world, and can be subsequently unlocked on both the 9520 and 9550 to use on any GSM network if the code is obtained from the respective provider.
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
Storm 2 is the second full touchscreen
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
developed by Research In Motion
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
(RIM).
Introduction
The BlackBerry Storm 2 is the first and only smartphone in the world to have a full clickable touchscreen powered by its piezoelectric sensors underneath the screen. Unlike the original Storm, the Storm 2 features Wi-FiWi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
as well as a redesigned outer shell.
The phone's codename throughout development was "Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
." The model number is 9520 for the GSM/UMTS
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System is a third generation mobile cellular technology for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed by the 3GPP , UMTS is a component of the International Telecommunications Union IMT-2000 standard set and compares with the CDMA2000 standard set for...
/HSPA
High Speed Packet Access
High Speed Packet Access is an amalgamation of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access and High Speed Uplink Packet Access , that extends and improves the performance of existing WCDMA protocols...
model offered by Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
and 9550 for the CDMA/EV-DO and UMTS/HSPA model offered by Verizon. The Storm 2 comes with 2GB of on-board flash memory — 1GB more than the original — and is bundled with a 16GB microSD card (though not by Vodafone).
The phone has been a reasonable commercial success.
When comparing the Storm 2 with the original Storm, users find the Storm 2 more user friendly. The new screen allows users to type at a faster pace- it supports multi-touch
Multi-touch
In computing, multi-touch refers to a touch sensing surface's ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface...
which is similarly found on other Android-based devices and the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
.
Hardware
RIM released specifications on the phone, reporting that 256 MB of RAM is available for applications, doubling that of the original Storm. One major change is that the method of input, SurePress, has been redesigned. Instead of one physical button that lies in the direct center of the screen, the Storm 2 has four piezoelectric sensors located on the four outer corners of the screen that allow for confirmation of input. The screen does not depress when the device is locked or off. It ships with the new BlackBerry 5.0 OS. The phone's SureType screen, which was heavily criticized on the original Storm, has been revamped and improved.The Storm 2 also supports OpenGL ES
OpenGL ES
OpenGL for Embedded Systems is a subset of the OpenGL 3D graphics application programming interface designed for embedded systems such as mobile phones, PDAs, and video game consoles. OpenGL ES is managed by the not-for-profit technology consortium, the Khronos Group, Inc.- Versions :Several...
.
SIM Lock
The BlackBerry Storm 2 by default is SIM lockSIM lock
A SIM lock, simlock, network lock or subsidy lock is a capability built into GSM phones by mobile phone manufacturers. Network providers use this capability to restrict the use of these phones to specific countries and network providers...
ed in many regions of the world, and can be subsequently unlocked on both the 9520 and 9550 to use on any GSM network if the code is obtained from the respective provider.
Providers
- Bell CanadaBell CanadaBell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
: Canada. - Celcom: Malaysia.
- Maxis CommunicationsMaxis CommunicationsMaxis Communications Berhad is a Malaysian cellular operator company headquartered at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was started in the year 1993. It uses the dialing pref ix identifier of "012" , "017" and “0142”. Their mobile services are provided over the 900 & 1800 MHz GSM band and as July 2005,...
: Malaysia. - SaskTelSaskTelSaskatchewan Telecommunications is a provincial Crown Corporation operating under the authority of the Saskatchewan Telecommunications Act. It is the only remaining Crown Corporation in the Canadian telecommunications industry....
: Canada. - O2: United Kingdom.
- T-MobileT-MobileT-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
: Croatia, United Kingdom. - TelusTELUSTelus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver...
: Canada. - Verizon WirelessVerizon WirelessCellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
: United States. - VodafoneVodafoneVodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
/VodacomVodacomVodacom is a pan-African mobile telecommunications company, and was the 1st cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2008...
: Australia, Cyprus, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, South Africa ,United Kingdom and India. - 3Hutchison 3G3 is a brand name under which several UMTS-based mobile phone networks and Broadband Internet Providers are operated in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom...
: Australia - Trigcom: Norway
- IusacellIusacellGrupo Iusacell is Mexico's #3 mobile operator.-Services:The company provides cellular services reaching about 90% of Mexico's population, including Mexico City and received more licenses to cover the remaining regions in early 2005. It has more than 3.5 million subscribers...
: Mexico - SK TelecomSK TelecomSK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Sunkyoung Telecom is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.SK Telecom is a provider of mobile service in Korea, with 50.5% of the market share as...
: South Korea