So I’m sitting at home, watching my Tuesday night TV shows, when all of a sudden.. I see this strange Verizon Wireless BlackBerry commercial depicting some handset that has the screen face down on a table-top.  A hand reaches over to turn the handset over and then the commercial fades to black.. preventing us, the now drawn in viewer, from seeing this phone on the big TV screen.

ARGH.. what a tease!

Yes – that was indeed the BlackBerry Storm (I’ll try and get that commercial up on YouTube but I’m sure someone already has it up there by now). While the entire world already knew the Storm was coming, Research in Motion and Verizon Wireless decided that today was a good day to officially announce the phone.

Now before I get into my typical bulleted list of features and specs, I do want to focus on one of the major innovations of the Storm – the new “clickable” touch-screen. According to PC Magazine’s preview of the unit,

“The touch screen feels surreal; it’s like nothing I’ve ever tried before. ”

Basically, touching the screen causes the screen to actually depress. Press down and release the screen and you’ll actually hear a click – just as if you were pressing a key on a keyboard or a button on the mouse. From all that I’ve read, it’s a bit weird to use – especially since you’re not used to it on a touch-screen display. But.. if RIM was looking to create something that would make it stand apart from the iPhone, it looks like it sure did.

The display also supports your usual array of finger gesture motions such as multi-touches, taps, slides, etc. Yes, there’s a built-in accelerometer which allows the handset to easily rotate between portrait and landscape view depending upon the orientation of the handset.

OK.. with that said, let’s move to the feature set of the phone shall we?

• Full HTML web browser with support for file downloading, streaming audio and video (RTSP) and RSS support
• Personal and corporate email support
• SMS, MMS, IM messaging
• BlackBerry Internet Service, BlackBerry Unite!, BlackBerry Professional Software and BlackBerry Enterprise Server support
• Preloaded DataViz Documents to Go allows users to edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
• 3.2 megapixel camera with variable zoom, auto focus and a powerful flash that also provides continuous lighting when recording video
• Built-in GPS supports location-based applications and services, as well as geotagging of photos
• 1 GB of onboard memory storage and a microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 16 GB of additional storage
• Media player that can play movies smoothly in full-screen mode, display pictures and slideshows quickly and manage an entire music collection; playlists can be created directly on the handset and there’s an equalizer with 11 preset filters – including “Lounge,” “Jazz” and “Hip Hop” – for customized audio ranges when using wired headphones or external speakers
• A 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, support for Bluetooth® stereo audio profile (A2DP/AVRCP) and dedicated volume controls
• Sleek, elegant design with contoured corners, stainless steel back and chrome accents surrounding its large (3.25″) glass lens; its exceptional 480 x 360 resolution at 184 ppi is crisp and bright with eye-pleasing clarity
• An ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts backlighting for ideal screen viewing and an accelerometer that allows customers to view applications in either portrait or landscape mode by simply rotating the handset
• Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery that provides approximately six hours of talk time on 3G networks and 15 days of standby time

Here are the main specs of the phone..

• Touch Screen Navigation, with ClickThrough for user selection
• On-screen keyboard; portrait SureType, and Multi-Tap, QWERTY landscape
• High resolution 480 x 360 pixel color display
• Built-in speakerphone
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• Integrated earpiece/ microphone
• 3.5 mm stereo headset
• Mono/stereo headset, hands-free, phone book access profile and serial port profile supported (Bluetooth® technology)
• Video format support: MPEG4 H.263, MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.264, WMV
• Audio format support: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMA ProPlus
• Measures 4.43 x 2.45 x 0.55 inches and weighs 5.5 oz
• For Verizon Wireless, it’ll be the Storm 9530 – 3G EV-DO Rev. A/CDMA technology – and (2100Mhz) UMTS/HSPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM for global use
• For Vodafone, it’ll be the Storm 9500 – (2100Mhz) UMTS/HSPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks.
• 15 day standby time and 5.5 hour talk time
• 1GB on board memory

You can read the rest of the full specs here.

Now as far as availability is concerned, there’s no exact date set in stone as of yet. The phone will supposedly be available this fall. Verizon Wireless has exclusive access to the phone in the U.S., while Vodafone will have access to it in Europe, India, Australia, and New Zealand.

Finally, here are some links that might be of interest to you – enjoy!

- From BusinessWeek – “Verizon Wireless, RIM Unleash a Storm“

“Early reviews of the Storm have been favorable. The onscreen keyboard is more tactile than the iPhone’s, making typing easier and more accurate. The Web browsing capability of the Storm marks an improvement over previous devices from Research In Motion, though it doesn’t quite match the elegance and utility of the iPhone’s Web browser and its pinchable touchscreen technology, says BusinessWeek Tech and You columnist Stephen Wildstrom. And the Storm is a truly global phone—the first to work on the high-speed wireless networks of both Verizon Wireless and Vodafone. “It should serve as Verizon’s strongest response to the iPhone yet,” says Ross Rubin, an NPD analyst.”

- From vnunet.com – “First Look: BlackBerry Storm“

“Overall, we were impressed with the BlackBerry Storm, and we look forward to getting one for a fuller evaluation in the near future.”

- From ZDNet – “RIM’s Storm: Why It Matters“

“In any case, RIM has a lot riding on the Storm launch. If the Storm flops, chances are good RIM will too.”

- From Macworld – “RIM launches touch-screen iPhone rival“

“As would be expected, the Storm is a 3G device, and users can surf the web by EV-DO Rev. A or HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), but there is no Wi-Fi.”

- Another ZDNet article – “Is the BlackBerry Storm touchscreen system better than the iPhone?“

“RIM’s “push-screen,” as I think it should properly be called, seems to bridge the gap between a true keyboard and a true touchscreen. Which is good for RIM’s keyboard-happy users, but by no means some groundbreaking new technology.”

- From CNET – “The BlackBerry Storm is no iPhone“

“Apple has help with every product it releases, but RIM doesn’t have that luxury. So no matter how great the Storm will be, it doesn’t matter.”

- Also from CNET – “Verizon officially debuts RIM BlackBerry Storm“

“Overall, I was impressed–nice design, feature rich. Again, the ClickThrough touch screen takes some getting used to, and I wonder how it will hold up over months of use. Performance wise, the device seemed snappy, but I also caught a couple of bugs.”

- and from PC Magazine –

“Could the Storm be the “iPhone for business?” RIM and Verizon fire directly at Apple with this attractive and innovative touch-screen BlackBerry.”

So the real question for me is.. will this make me drop my iPhone and go back to Verizon Wireless? Probably not.. at least not yet. There’s no Wi-Fi on the Storm which isn’t necessarily a deal killer considering how good Verizon’s 3G network is.. but it’s a bit odd nevertheless. I’d probably wait till version 2 comes out and then re-evaluate the phone.

[Check out the Verizon Wireless Press Release]

Technorati Tags: Research in Motion, BlackBerry Storm, Verizon Wireless, Vodafone