New York Times review provokes BlackBerry Sh*tStorm
By John Lister
The launch of the first BlackBerry with a touchscreen has apparently seen strong early sales. But most of the buzz has been about a particularly scathing review from a major mainstream source.
David Pogue (pictured), the tech columnist of the New York Times, says the BlackBerry Storm would be better dubbed ‘the BlackBerry Dud’. His lengthy review, which appeared both online and in the print edition, will have made for some very long faces at the marketing department of manufacturers Research in Motion.
Pogue objects to both the principle of a BlackBerry with no keyboard and the practicalities of typing e-mails on the touchscreen, at one stage claiming:
In short, trying to navigate this thing isn’t just an exercise in frustration — it’s a marathon of frustration. I haven’t found a soul who tried this machine who wasn’t appalled, baffled or both.
The viciousness of the review has already raised questions among the online tech community. Nick Farrell of the Inquirer goes as far as to say Pogue has swallowed Apple’s ‘corporate Kool-aid’. While this may be a step too far, Farrell does make some good points about Pogue’s inconsistency in praising the iPhone while slamming the very idea of a touchscreen BlackBerry.
Still, while other reviews have stressed the positive features of the device, they have also criticized the performance of the touchscreen, albeit in less colorful terms.
It’ll be interesting to see what effect Pogue’s high-profile review, which first appeared yesterday, has on sales. It came too late to affect first-day sales, with reports of long lines on Monday morning in Verizon stores, though hardly at iPhonemania levels.
There don’t seem to be many reports yet of early buyers complaining about the Storm’s performance, though it’s always possible the publicity from the Times review may prompt some disappointed owners to realize they aren’t alone in experiencing a particular problem.
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Stumble It!
November 27th, 2008
The Storm is a “smart” phone, which explains why Pogue has had a hard time making it work.
November 28th, 2008
What an unprofessional review. The Storm has allot of appealing features and like the previous comment I think he (Pogue) needs to proof read his reviews before publishing them.
If he has a view on its short comings of the device then so be it but just to bag if for the sake of bagging it. Looking for a headline to me!
November 28th, 2008
I’m a blackberry user with Verizon (8830 world phone, wife has pearl) and usually upgrade to the latest device. I love blackberry’s and have used them as well as other devices and still prefer the blackberry. I’ve followed reviews on the storm closely as I would consider upgrading. But i think the anger at pogue is mis-directed. I’m sorry but Pogue is hardly alone in mainstream or alternative media. while the Storm gets a few positive reviews the shortcomings of the device are widely panned and the Pogue review is not nearly the worst. I will hold final judgement until i’ve tried the phone myself but don’t pretend this phone is the victim of an unfair review from a pro-apple guy. I’m afraid any honest asessment would find that is wishful thinking by those who don’t want to hear any negatives.