BlackBerry Storm Debuts in the U.S.

The BlackBerry Storm -- the device some are calling the iPhone for the enterprise -- is now available from Verizon Wireless.

This is the first smartphone from RIM with a touchscreen. It also supports its carrier's fastest cellular-wireless network.

As had been promised, it sells for $200 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a new two-year customer agreement.

It can be purchased now on Verizon's website.

An Overview of the BlackBerry Storm

This smartphone has a tablet shape with a 3.25-inch, 360-by-480-pixel display, with both landscape and portrait support. It doesn't have a built-in keyboard, so all text is entered on the display.

The screen supports multi-touches, taps, slides and other gestures, allowing users to highlight, scroll, pan, and zoom. A built-in accelerometer allows users to switch between modes by rotating the device.

As always, RIM is emphasizing the email capabilities of this BlackBerry, it comes with DataViz Documents to Go, which lets users edit Office files directly on the handset. But it won't be all business; RIM is also pushing the Storm's use as a music and video player.

Verizon's version of this smartphone -- the 9530 -- has support for this carrier's EV-DO network, but doesn't stop there; to allow users to roam around the world, it also has a quad-band GSM and 2100 MHz HSDPA.

The Storm has 1 GB of internal storage and a microSD/SDHC memory card slot. It comes with an 8 GB card.

In addition, it includes Bluetooth 2.0, but not Wi-Fi, a GPS receiver, and a 3.2 MPx camera with flash.

RIM says its 1400 mAh battery will provide approximately six hours of talk time on 3G networks or 15 days of standby time.

For additional details and specifications, visit www.verizonwireless.com/storm.

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• BlackBerry Storm: A Potential iPhone Killer in the Enterprise