BlackBerry Storms Onto Touch-Screen Market

'Clickable' screen feels more like a keyboard

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 8, 2008 12:43 PM CDT

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BlackBerry Storms Onto Touch-Screen Market — This photo provided by Research in Motion Ltd., shows the company's new touch-screen phone, the Storm. With the new model being announced Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2008 the Storm, RIM is for the first time giving up the physical keypad in favor of a large screen, just like the one on Apple's iPhone. (AP Photo/Research... (AP Photo/Research in Motion Ltd.)

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.
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