BlackBerry Storm Charging Pod and Related Battery Supplies

The Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Storm 9530 is a 3G CDMA device, and as such, it's a bit of a battery hog: 3G smartphones use more power communicating with cellular networks than their 2G or 2.5G counterparts, and 3G CDMA devices typically consume more battery than comparable 3G GSM handhelds.

That means you'll very likely be recharging often, and there's no better way to power up a BlackBerry than with RIM's BlackBerry Charging Pod. I've been using a BlackBerry Charging Pod with my Curve 8320 for months, and though I love it for powering up, I really wish you could also sync data through the pod; right now it's only for charging. Enough users like me must've complained about the lack of sync functionality, because the new $49.99 Charging Pod--ne, Sync Pod--for the Storm now allows for syncing. And that's not all: In addition to charging and syncing, the Storm Sync Pod also cradles your device for easy video viewing.

Storm Sync Pod and External Battery Charger

The fact that the Storm's a 3G CDMA phone also means that a spare battery and charger could really come in handy, especially when travelling. RIM is already selling replacement Storm batteries for $79.99. That's a bit pricey, but you can spend a few minutes on Google and find the very same batteries for significantly less on sites like Amazon.com.

If you decide to purchase a replacement battery, it also makes sense to pick up an external battery charger so you can power up that second battery without first inserting it into your device. The OEM external battery charger for Storm currently sells for $39.99 through ShopBlackBerry.com, but again, you should be able to find it cheaper through third-party resellers.

microSD Memory Cards for BlackBerry Storm

The BlackBerry Storm is the first RIM smartphone that's meant to be a full-fledged media player, and accordingly, RIM and Verizon are shipping the device with an 8GB microSD memory card. That's all fine and good, but audiophiles like me have a heck of a lot more digital media than one 8GB media card could possibly hold.

SanDisk 16GB microSDHC and M2 Memory Cards

Thankfully, the Storm's memory card is removable and swappable, meaning users can purchase as many microSD cards as they can afford, load them up with music, images and video and interchange them. Currently the largest capacity microSD card is 16GB. Not surprisingly, 16GB is the highest memory card storage capacity supported by RIM's BlackBerry handheld OS.

Though the 16GB cards can be a bit pricey, Amazon's currently charging just $61.89 for a SanDisk version. That's actually very reasonable, and if you want to get the most of your digital media collection via Storm, I'd strongly recommend picking one up.

Or course, smaller capacity microSD cards are also available for bit less scratch.