BlackBerry Storms Onto Touch-Screen Market

Hoping to broaden its corporate image and dethrone the iPhone, Research in Motion unveiled its first touch-screen smart phone today, reports CRN. The BlackBerry Storm will be available later this fall on Verizon’s US network, RIM said. The phone features a unique “clickable” touch screen that depresses slightly and releases with a click, giving it more of a traditional keyboard feel.

"We have seen a lot of me-too products in the touch-screen market—the Storm is clearly differentiated and it reinvents the touch screen," said a telecom consultant to MarketWatch. Like the iPhone, the Storm will have a motion sensor so it can switch between “landscape” and “portrait” modes as the user rotates the handset.