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Ever since the new BlackBerry Storm was released in Canada, general opinion has been raining on its parade.

Unlike the Apple iPhone 3G that was embraced with much enthusiasm last summer, the Storm was given a cold shoulder by some reviewers and industry watchers shortly after its winter release. Though it's worth noting any negative opinions in the press didn't seem to hurt the Storm's initial sales, with the phone quickly selling out after its Dec. 12 release.

One U.S. reviewer even went as far as to describe Research in Motion's first attempt at a touch screen interface as a “failed experiment.”

Some initial software glitches in the U.S. (Canada avoided these) led to mediocre user satisfaction ratings, according to a ChangeWave survey. For example, only one third of users were “very satisfied” with their experience on the Storm. Compare that to more than three-quarters of iPhone 3G users who were “very satisfied” with their new gadgets back in July.

In my view, though, the Storm doesn't suck. I've been toying with a tester unit from Telus for almost a month now and I want to clear up a few misconceptions I often hear from friends about the phone.

Misconception #1: The keyboard is hard to type on

The keyboard is the deal maker or breaker for the BlackBerry Storm. Faithful RIM customers will be hard-pressed to give up their traditional QWERTY keyboards for a touch screen interface if they are heavy typists.

Many critics have panned the Storm's keyboard for being too awkward and slow to use.

The clickable screen on the Storm is too slow to rebound after each press, an Engadget reviewer concludes. This reduces the normally fast typist to “pecking away” to write e-mails.

In my tests, I found the clickable screen adds value to the Storm's keyboard, giving it a satisfying crunchiness that affirms a key has been pressed. When you hover your finger over a key, it is highlighted in blue so you know what you're about to press.

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