Blackberry Storm!

OS provided: BlackBerry Handheld Software; Installed RAM: 128 MB; Band / mode: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) / UMTS 2100 / CDMA 800/1900 (Dual Band);

Looks like RIM (Research In Motion) is coming out with a new Blackberry. The BlackBerry Storm is due to come out ... well it's like with Blizzard you never know exactly when, but it is rumored to be for sale in Verizon stores nationwide this upcoming holiday season. The Storm is RIM's competitive alternative to Apples' iPhone in the sense that this is their new "touchscreen" smartphone device. Why is touchscreen in quotes you ask? Good questions there fatties - unlike the iPhone's sensitive responsiveness, the Storm is unique. You actually press down on the screen like you would for any tactile button - deemed the ClickThrough. (The suspension system is under the display.)

The Storm features a 3.25-inch diagonal display with a 480x360 pixel resolution and support for 65,000 colors, whereas the Bold has a half-VGA, 480x320 pixel display. The phone is about the size of the BlackBerry Curve though slightly thicker. 4.4 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep and weighs 5.6 ounces. It's equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack, has four shortcut keys (Talk and End, Back, and BlackBerry menu), and a microSD slot behind the back cover, among other things.

Yes, WiFi will not be available on this handheld.. but that doesn't bother me so much since I've been intentionally turning off the WiFi on my current Curve - it eats up the batts like no other. It almost seemed more of a hassle to have the option anyways.

Similarly, RIM and Verizon have yet to decide the price on this new product. With hope, they won't pull the same sneakiness on their patrons the way Apple and At&t did when the first generation iPhones initially rolled out.