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BlackBerry Storm2 and the Touchscreen Era Almost No One Remembers

The BlackBerry Storm2 arrived in late 2009 as Research In Motion's answer to the iPhone 3GS and the wave of Android handsets washing across Australian shelves. For a brief moment in a Telstra shop in Sydney or a Vodafone outlet in Melbourne, the device looked like it might actually compete. Learn more about How To Update Firmware On Nokia N8 Via Nokia Suite 996948.

In hindsight, the Storm2 sits in a strange valley. It is too unusual in its input method to feel like the default choice, arriving just before the app ecosystems of the following decade took hold. For Australians who picked one up during the 2010 Christmas rush, it was a different kind of smartphone, asking you to push the screen down rather than tap it.

Pulling a Storm2 out of a drawer today is a small reminder of how quickly mobile conventions shifted. The SurePress system is now a historical footnote, but the device still earns a second look from anyone curious about pre-app-store nostalgia.

SurePress and the Curious Feel of a Clicking Screen

At the heart of the Storm2 was RIM's SurePress, a piezoelectric mechanism that depressed the whole display when pressed. The original Storm used a single hinge that bowed the panel; the Storm2 used four suspension points for a more uniform click. It felt like typing on a flat piece of plastic that gave way under the thumb.

The idea was that tactile confirmation would speed up messaging, a key concern for BlackBerry buyers who lived in their inboxes. In practice, the click added a small delay to every action, and the resistive digitiser required a firm press. For a Sydneysider composing a reply on the train from Central to Parramatta, that meant a noticeable pause between thoughts and screen responses.

Typing Speed, Email, and the 9900 Comparison

The real test of any BlackBerry has always been how fast you can hammer out a message. The Storm2's on-screen keyboard was functional, but it never came close to the physical keyboards that defined the Bold and Curve lines. Comparisons on forums like Whirlpool often found the Storm2 trailing its siblings by a clear margin in words-per-minute tests.

The BlackBerry 9900, released later, was the answer for anyone who wanted a more modern BlackBerry. A useful typing speed comparison shows why the 9900's classic QWERTY paired with a touch display felt more natural for long email sessions.

For messaging fans in Brisbane or Perth used to a Curve 8520, the move to the Storm2 felt like a step backwards. Email pushed via BIS worked flawlessly, but the rest of the input model still felt half-finished.

How the Storm2 Stacked Up Against 2009's Rivals

The Storm2 launched into a market with two strong touchscreen alternatives already on Australian shelves, and a side-by-side look makes the trade-offs clearer. Three phones defined different visions of the late-2000s smartphone, and the specs of each are lined up below.

Feature BlackBerry Storm2 Apple iPhone 3GS Nokia N8
Display 3.25" resistive, 360×480 3.5" capacitive, 320×480 3.5" capacitive, 360×640
Input method SurePress click Multi-touch Capacitive touch
Camera 3.2 MP, no flash 3 MP, no flash 12 MP with Xenon flash
Operating system BlackBerry OS 5 iPhone OS 3 Symbian^3
App ecosystem BlackBerry App World Apple App Store Ovi Store
Talk-time battery Around 5.5 hours Around 5 hours Around 12 hours

The numbers tell only part of the story. The Storm2 was heavier in the hand and thicker in the pocket than both rivals. It lost to the iPhone 3GS on screen size and multi-touch gestures, and to the Nokia N8 on camera and battery, but it won on push email and BlackBerry Messenger.

Carrier Support and the Australian Rollout

In Australia, the Storm2 launched through Telstra as a Next G exclusive, with Optus and Vodafone picking it up shortly after as an unlocked option. For a time, the device was a common sight in CBD towers from Melbourne's Collins Street to Brisbane's Eagle Street.

Telstra's marketing leaned on the "clickable touchscreen" pitch, an unusual selling point that was hard to demonstrate in a 30-second ad. Shop staff in Sydney's George Street stores reportedly let customers feel the click, and the phone's heft felt reassuring next to the lighter iPhone.

Network compatibility was a quiet strength. The Storm2 worked on Telstra's 850 MHz 3G band, giving it regional coverage where the iPhone 3GS struggled, and making it appealing for tradies driving between the capitals and rural NSW or Queensland.

Why the Storm2 Slipped From Memory

Several factors pushed the Storm2 into early obsolescence. SurePress never reached a third generation, with RIM quietly abandoning the click-screen concept by 2011. Unsold inventory was cleared at steep discounts through JB Hi-Fi and Dick Smith by 2012.

There was also a shift in touchscreen expectations. The fluid interactions of iOS 4 and Android 2.x set a new baseline, and the Storm2's slower interface felt like a relic. By the time the iPhone 4 arrived, the Storm2 was already being traded in for less than its original plan price.

There is something appealing about a device that tried something different, even if the market moved on. That same willingness to step into unfamiliar territory is what makes revisiting the Storm2 worthwhile, the same spirit found when walking into Carpathian fog at Dragobrat without a clear view of the trail.

Owning and Using a Storm2 in Australia

For Australians who want a Storm2 today, the fun lies in the hunt and the small fixes that come with using a 15-year-old phone. Most units are ex-business handsets that have sat in a drawer since 2012, and a little patience goes a long way.