I’ve gone ahead and done it, I purchased my first BlackBerry (BB). As a long time Windows Mobile user it was with a heavy heart that I let go of my HTC s640, that is until I fired up my new BlackBerry Storm! Within 30 seconds of playing with the Storm I forgot all about the sub-par s640 and the flawed Windows Mobile Standard OS and began exploring and customizing my new BlackBerry.

After becomming accustomed to the stock OS that was on my Storm (from Telus Mobility) I learned that I was able to upgrade to a more recent, official OS which has been released by BlackBerry for Bell. The process was a breeze, you download the .exe and install the BB OS to your computer, then open up a folder and delete a file which identifies the OS as being carrier specific (ie: made for Bell and not Telus), then plug in the BB and let it update! The process took about 15 – 20 minutes and I have experienced no issues to-date (approx 1 week of usage).

Moving over to a BB was almost a “perfect storm” (pun completely intended) of events. First off, I was very dissatisfied with my HTC s640 phone; frequent crashes, poor battery life, not enough memory (even the built in camara wouldn’t run 75% of the time!). I was also dissatisfied with the Windows Mobile Standard OS, after using WinMo Pro for so long, I missed a lot of the features that Standard cut out. The final nail in the coffin was the fact that the company I work for decided to pull the plug on all non-BES mobile devices. So unless you’re running a BB with a BES connection you are SOL. So I took the plunge, convinced Telus to give me a good deal on a BES plan and picked myself up a new Storm… and I haven’t looked back!