RIM BlackBerry Storm2 9520

We weren't completely convinced by the BlackBerry Storm's clicky screen when it first launched a year ago - it felt heavy and occasionally counter-intuitive, but the revamped Storm2 (aka the 9520) is far more persuasive.

Outwardly, there's little sign of change. The Storm2 differs little from its forebear - the BlackBerry Storm 9500 with a similar heft and feel - only the details have changed, with fewer sharper edges than before, a more streamlined profile, and all trace of physical buttons removed.

Where the Storm2 leaves the original trailing is in the way the click-screen technology (still dubbed Sure Press) is implemented. Rather than use the simple, single-button mechanism - an approach that led to the first effort feeling clunky - the system is now electro mechanical, using four actuators that produce a localised feedback effect when you apply pressure to the screen.

In conjunction with multitouch support, which allows key presses to overlap, and BlackBerry's excellent auto correction, it works incredibly well. We found we could type fast and accurately almost straight away, and the push-to-click felt a lot more sensitive too, without overdoing it.

And it's good to see that the screen actuators automatically switch off when you hold the phone to your face - no more accidentally pressing mute with your chin. There's bound to be some debate over its merits among iPhone fans, but this is at least as good in our opinion; try it, you might be surprised.

The one blot on its copybook is that there's a slight delay when switching between the alpha and numeric or symbol keyboards, which can be irritating. But it's a small complaint in light of such a technological tour de force, and one we hope would be fixed with a firmware upgrade in the coming months.

The lighter click mechanism makes all the difference to navigation and web browsing too, with the highlight-then-click procedure working flawlessly. The touch interface of BlackBerry OS 5 not only looks great, but feels extremely slick and responsive, and finding your way around is quick and painless. All the buttons and menu options are large and finger-sized and, apart from the pausing mentioned above, it all feels very nippy indeed.

And although the BlackBerry web browser isn't quite as nippy and slick as its rivals, it's perfectly workable in most scenarios. The high-resolution 3.25in, 480 x 360 pixel display means headlines and even some smaller text is readable zoomed out, and most web pages we visited were rendered accurately. One gripe we did have, however, was that the double-tap to zoom felt clunky and slow compared to the methods employed on Mobile Safari, the Android browser and Opera Mobile.

Given RIM's stated aim to entice consumers with its latest smartphones, it's surprising to find that there's as yet no way of directly synchronising Google Contacts or Calendar out of the box, so consumers still have to find a workaround. And BlackBerry AppWorld remains a shadow of both the App Store and Android Market. Although there are apps for most popular social-networking sites, there simply isn't the variety of free ones to compete. And, frustratingly, a lot of the existing applications simply haven't been designed with the Storm's touchscreen in mind.

It's a shame, since elsewhere there's very little missing. You get a 3.2-megapixel camera with LED flash, autofocus and electronic image stabilisation, images from which are decent if a little washed out. There's now Wi-Fi where there was none before, plus the obligatory HSDPA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, light sensor and accelerometer.

You get a 3.5mm headphone socket, so you don't need an adapter to use your own headphones, and there's a micro USB socket for charging and data connection. The music and video players are good too, supporting a range of formats, and the quality of both sound and pictures is superb.

But the biggest problem for the Storm2 is that battery life is less than stellar from the 1,400mAh cell. In our real-world tests, we make 30 minutes' worth of phone calls, download 50MB of data and then leave the phone idle, receiving email until the battery dies. We didn't quite have time to complete the test before going to press, but the Storm2 looked like lasting a maximum of three days - well short of its rivals.

It's a shame, because otherwise the Storm2 would seem to be the ideal phone. The BlackBerry email service, which hoovers up email from your accounts and then spits it out to the phone, coupled with the fantastic typing experience means it's an excellent choice for heavy emailers. Meanwhile, the slick OS, attractive design and good media capabilities, mean consumers will be satisfied too.

But, despite the fact that RIM is pushing the Storm2 as a consumer, as well as a business handset, and although it's available to non-business users for free on a 24-month, £35 per month contract (including BlackBerry email and unlimited data), it's no iPhone killer. It's a very good phone but still needs better battery life and a greater spread of quality, free apps.

Price when reviewed: £0 (£0 inc VAT)