I have had a Storm for three weeks. Coming from a ten-year old Mokia 6110, it was quite a culture shock, what with all the features that smartphones in general now have. The virtual keyboard takes a bit of getting used to but I can now type on it as fast and (in)accurately as I ever did on my Nokia. The big screen offers fantastic picture quality for watching DVD movies transferred from the PC.
I bought it because a) the Vodafone contract offered unlimited 'net access, push email, unlimited phone calls, and 250 texts for only fractionally more than my monthly Nokia cost. However the main reason was so that I can stay in touch with eBay customers when on the move, either through email or vi eBay itself on the phone.
The push email is a doddle to set up and works perfectly. The phone checks my normal email address (ie the one I use for my PC at the office ) server every 15 minutes. If it finds email that has not already been downloaded by my PC, it sends it to the phone. It then checks again every few minutes. If it finds no more emails during the next 15 minutes, it reverts to the once-per-15 minute check.
The Storm has had a bad press so far, because it was launched prematurely and the first ones in customer hands were buggy. Many people can't get on with the "press" touch screen. But I like it, and you soon get used to it. There have been two, maybe three software updates that have fixed most of the initial complaints and ironed out bugs. Also, virtually everything on the phone can be altered to suit your preference, including the responsiveness of the touch screen. So much of the initial negativity was -and is -down to simply not learning how to use it. The BB forums are full of ranting users asking questions to problems that are easily solved if they simply bother to read the user manual.
I can't say whether the Storm is better or worse than other smartphones as I have absolutely no experience of anything other than my ancient 6110 (which btw was a brilliant phone in its day, which is why I've kept it so long!). All I can say is that I'm coming to love it as much as my trusty Nokia, and outside of business use I am finding it brilliant for listening to music, watching YouTube videos and a Lord of the Rings DVD!