Three major sites were able to take the BlackBerry Storm for a test drive before the official launch. Engadget, Gizmodo and PhoneScoop all tested it out and snapped lots of pictures and wrote extensive reviews. Here is some of what they had to say about this new sexy device… 

Engadget: There’s an internal accelerometer, and the screen (speedily) rotates accordingly, even allowing full rotation for left-handed use. There’s a micro-USB plug on one side, and a 3.5mm jack on the top right side of the handset. Unfortunately, that sideways jack pretty much means you’ll need to go A2DP or rock the phone holster-style to listen to music on the go, it’s going to be quite uncomfortable in your pocket with a headphone plug sticking out the side. There’s a very, very loud built-in speaker for pushing out your tunes old school, and an included dock for enjoying movies in such a fashion — when docked the phone also doubles as an alarm clock, and is plenty loud enough to pull it off.

Gizmodo: No matter how many times your fingers dance on the screen like you’ve been trained on every other touchscreen, nothing will happen. At least, not until you push the screen all the way down and you feel a click. Yes, the screen is a giant button, one you have to punch for basically every action, even every letter you type, completely breaking the touchscreen paradigm. Surprisingly, it works.

PhoneScoop: …The physical click feedback works great, and there’s also visual feedback in the form of a large blue glow to show you which key you pressed. In case you do hit the wrong key, there’s also automatic word correction, which works just as flawlessly as on the iPhone. (Editors note: If you look at Richard from PhoneScoop’s review you will notice he must have a Rogers SIM in the Storm because its showing Rogers Mail, Do More apps…)