Say Hello to the BlackBerry Storm

It's official: RIM just took the wraps off a decidedly iPhone-like BlackBerry, one it hopes will take the world by...wait for it...Storm.

As someone who considers a touchscreen mandatory equipment in a phone, I've never been a big BlackBerry fan (though I do enjoy blackberries...yum). The Storm is RIM's first touchscreen-equipped model, and for that reason alone, I'm stoked. I'm also stoked because I like shiny, pretty things, and this baby looks mighty shiny and mighty pretty.

Ah, but I've been deceived before (I'm looking at you, LG Dare). The Storm may look like all that, but is it any good? Gadget blogs Crave and Gizmodo have some hands-on reports for your perusal; they called it "impressive" and "really damn good," respectively, though both said the touchscreen takes some getting used to.

Alas, the Storm isn't available yet: Verizon says it'll arrive by the end of the year, at a price TBD. I think it'll probably sell in the neighborhood of $299, but I think $199 is a must if Verizon wants to steal any iPhone thunder.