BLACKBERRY 9520 STORM 2

 The first generation BlackBerry was a phenomenal success, but even the most die hard of fans will admit it wasn't perfect - few first generations are.

Its tilting screen was innovative in design but wasn't to everybody's taste in practice. What's more, the big gap between the lusciously large screen and the rest of the casing and the fact that the whole screen tilted like a see-saw every time you typed were two of the biggest irritations some had encountered in a touch screen phone. Beyond the touch screen element not working, of course.

For those who liked everything else about the original Storm, the Storm2 (9520) has arrived on the scene. And it's a very welcome arrival too.

Vital statistics stand at 62.2x13.9x112.5mm (WDH) with a weight of 160g, meaning the handset is reassuringly solid but not too heavy and nestles comfortably in the hand.

A luscious, 3.25-inch (360x480 pixels resolution) capacitive screen sits centre stage on the device, delivering great colour definition. Blacks appear blacker than we've seen them in a while and other colours are served up with great clarity. The gap between the large display and the outer casing has gone and the hard call buttons are now part of the touch screen itself rather than on a conjoined but distinctly separate extension. This, coupled with a few other design finesses, such as a 3.5mm jack being flushed in the casing, sloped edges and a stainless steel back plate, makes the Storm2 very pleasing to the eye.

 But looks aren't everything. Whether you're a business user or a consumer, it's the sort of phone you won't be embarrassed to be seen with, or using. Although, like so many of its peers, it does suffer from greasy finger marks, so if you want to ensure the looks of admiration continue, just bear that in mind and be prepared to wipe.

Text input has been greatly enhanced. There's a satisfying click as you press, thanks to four electrical actuators under the bonnet, so you can be confident that your command will be actioned. And, as you'd expect, there's a choice of virtual keyboards, the full screen one of which is very easy to use. Even larger-than-average digits can comfortably use the keyboard without spitting out gobbledygook sentences. And the automatic spell checker generally gets things right most of the time, which is not something that can be said for that used by some handsets.

Auto correction is present and correct and it's well executed and likely to prove very useful to those who email {which is very easy to set up and works in the usual BlackBerry fashion) and text a great deal, as is the ability to send different messages (email, SMS, MMS) from within one menu. Copy and paste is also on board as another handy, time saving feature.

 This all goes towards helping make the Storm2 easier to use to communicate than ever before. Indeed email is very easy to set up, with a number of presets available to choose from such as Google et al .

Call quality is pretty good and battery life (the Storm2 sports a 1400 mAh battery) is quoted as six hours of talk time (3G) and up to 280 hours on standby.

The phone also boasts other usability features such as background noise suppression and a built-in proximity sensor that ensures items aren't pressed accidentally when the phone is held up to the ear and in use. And, of course, there's built-in GPS for maps, which can come in very handy indeed if you find yourself somewhere new or just have a rubbish sense of direction.

The BlackBerry Storm2 sports the version five of the BlackBerry operating system, which brings with it many advancements in both interface and usability.

Running the latest version of the BlackBerry operating system, you'd expect the handset to run just as slickly as its outer shell. And you'd be right. Scrolling is super quick and slick and users can easily search from within apps such as email for what they want, which should help keep track of conversations and threads. Some 256MB of Flash memory, 2GB of internal storage and the potential to store up to 32GB thanks to microSD only serve to add to the Storm2's appeal.

In the same way you could control the volume by clicking on the small icon on the home screen with the first generation Storm, the Storm2 lets you do the same thing with the clock and connectivity icons. It's a subtle but very clever tweak. HSDPA and Wi-Fi are both supported, with the Storm2 quickly and easily locking onto wireless networks with little effort. Indeed, surfing the web and viewing pages is much enhanced, thanks not only to the large screen but also better support for CSS and Javascript.

The Storm2 can also hold its own in terms of multimedia functionality, in addition to the flushed 3.5mm headphone jack, the speaker offers great audio quality. Video is also in its prime on the large screen displaying content from YouTube and the onboard video content in a way that wouldn't make you resentful if you were stuck in the back of a car with the handset for a long journey. There are also bundled games like Brickbreaker and Word Mole to amuse you.

The onboard 3.2 megapixel snapper isn't going to set the world on fire and doesn't have that many bells and whistles, bar a beefier flash, but images are still average to good depending on the conditions. The addition of a camera hard key also makes taking pics that bit easier.

Geo-tagging is also supported, meaning you can try and work out where you were when you took that drunken snap of those four random strangers going uphill on a unicycle.

And, of course, as if everything included out-of-the-box isn't enough, there's also one-click access to the BlackBerry App World from within the Storm2, offering up a world of opportunity for users to access even more tools not bundled as standard with the device.

In essence, the Storm2 serves up all that was good about the Storm but with quite a few added extras. And it's those added extras that will make it a hit with a wide-ranging audience.