I was reading some blog the other day, probably BlackberryCool.com, and I saw a story about a new skin for the Storm. It looked so sweet in the photo, I just had to jump on over there and check it out. For $20 I was able to get one for myself, but the best part was I got to design it myself. I could use any picture I wanted. I love this photo I got off of Flickr as a Blackberry Storm background, so I uploaded it and designed my skin.

Not only is my skin custom, but it’s also scratch resistant so my new Storm won’t get all scratched up. I have a traditional rubber cover for it, but it’s too bulky and takes the slim sexy look away from the Storm.

Installing the skin wasn’t too difficult, but I wouldn’t call it easy either. You have to have a steady hand to get all the pieces lined up. If you mess up, you can easily peel it off and start again. It doesn’t appear to lose it’s stickiness. And the company boast that the skin leaves no residue on your device when removed. So far I love it.

The only thing I don’t like is the screen protector that comes with it. It’s not as clear as the others that you can buy for the screen, and the thing is nearly impossible to pull off and reposition if you don’t get it just right. Unfortunately I didn’t get mine right, so it looks funky. I wish I could get another one to try again or I may have to go back to the other brand I was using.

They make skins for lots of different phones, iPods and laptops, so If you’re in the market for some bling for your tech, check out Unique Skins.

Normally I’m not a first day, stand in line, early adopter. I usually wait a few weeks, maybe even a few months before I buy something. But for some reason I really wanted this new Blackberry Storm right away, so I went down to the Verizon store and bought one on Friday, the first day they were out. The store was fairly busy, and I gave my name to the guy at the door, who promptly logged me into the system and told me the wait was about 30 minutes. 45 minutes later I walked out the door with my new activated and ready to use phone. I took this photo as soon as I got to the car.

While I was waiting for my phone, I played around with the demo unit they had in the store. Like I’ve read all over the internet, these demo units were slow as molasses and not very intuitive. I was a little nervous about buying one, and I’ve heard others say they changed their minds after playing with the demo units. I just figured the units had taken a beating all day and were showing the damage. I took a chance. Turns out my phone was much more zippy than the two on display, but there is room for improvement.

I read on the internet that RIM and Verizon at the last minute decided to downgrade the firmware of the phones because of an error and the firmware we all received on these first release phones is not the most recent update. That kind of sucks, but it’s not all doom and gloom. I like to think of it, as I get to play around with the beta Storm for a few weeks or more before the real deal is released. I’ll just upgrade at a later date and feel like I have a new phone all over again. It’s not like this phone is unusable. Quite the contrary actually. I’ve been able to do everything I’d normally do on my Pearl.

I shot a video and took a few pictures with the new 3.2 megapixel camera. Very nice. The flash is extremely bright. Everyone complained it blinded them, but the flash didn’t seem to reach very far. If the distance between the camera and the subject was too great, the photo still was a bit dark despite the bright flash. It also took a while for the camera to lock on to the image, focus and then take the picture, much like the iPhone does. In bright natural light, the camera works great though.

This is not my first Blackberry (#4) so I’m already familiar with the way it works, but it’s still taking some time to get used to clicking and sliding my fingers on the screen. It’s hard to unlearn habits, like working the no longer present trackball, but the menu button and return buttons are still there. All the side buttons are the same with the exception of the USB port. They went with an even smaller connection so all your old USB cables will not work with the new Blackberry unless there’s some kind of adapter.

I give a more detailed review of my new Blackberry Storm in my VloMo08 Day 22 video. Check it out if you’re thinking of buying one of these.

It’s taking a bit to get used to the new clickable screen. Most of the time it works flawlessly but other times it takes a few extra seconds to registered your finger and the link you want to click on. It was also difficult to figure out how to maneuver around on the web pages, clicking, enlarging, and scrolling up/down/side to side. All in all, I love this phone and I’m not disappointed in the least that I bought the first version without the updated firmware. I know it’s coming and it will be a added bonus when it does.
Photo originally uploaded by dr.coop

1. Mobile Broadband – It’s just a matter of time. T-mobile has me tied down for another year, and I’m not anxious to give up $200 just to say good bye, so this may not happen just yet. Mobile broadband is great for internet access where ever you happen to be, like on a bus commuting. And with my new portable internet PC, it’s almost useless without a little wifi love. This is number 1 on my wish list.
2. Better Camera on my Cell Phone – I currently have a Blackberry Pearl and the camera is less than desirable, plus it doesn’t shoot video. I love taking shots and uploading them to Flickr and Facebook, and also Utterz, but my BB Pearl is lacking. No, I don’t want an iPhone. I need an upgrade to the Curve, but not at the price of another 2 year agreement and no mobile Broadband on Tmobile.
3. Media Center – and I don’t mean a media center PC. I think I already have one of those. I mean something like the AppleTV, but better. I want to be able to watch my own content on my HD television, plus web content. There are lots of different options that do lots of different things. Let’s combine. I like Tivo for letting me view my photos on my tv, but I have Directv, and Tivo doesn’t have a HD box compatible with satellite systems. And the directv Tivo box doesn’t have all the fancy Tivo functions, so I only have it on my standard tv.
4. Wireless Surround Sound Speakers – Save me the trouble of climbing in the attic. Hook up my sound wirelessly. And make the speakers portable, so you can distribute music throughout the house during a party.
5. Ford’s Sync – but I don’t want the Ford. I actually like the new Ford Edge, but I don’t need another SUV; I just want Sync, and I want it to work. Sync is a voice-activated, hands-free, in-car communications and entertainment system that fully integrates your Bluetooth®-enabled mobile phone and digital music player. Sweet!

I can see myself having all of this in the near future. It’s really not asking for all that much. All are feasible with a little lot of money and a little hacking know how. For me, I’ll just wait until someone else gets it all right, and then I’ll jump on board.