BlackBerry Storm: First Clickable Touch Phone in the World

Said to be the world’s first ‘clickable’ touchscreen smartphone, the BlackBerry Storm is finally out from hiding in the shadows and is now made official. This new touch handset from RIM will be offered by Vodafone and Verizon Wireless in the US and eventually for customers in Australia, India, and New Zealand.

The latest BlackBerry device features a better touch interface because it gives a “click” feel like you were pressing an actual button says Coolest Gadgets. With its global connectivity, it puts itself in the ranks of high end 3G phones. Specs include 1 GB of built-in memory, microSD slot, Bluetooth, and a spacious 3.25 inch touch display.

Not much information on pricing yet but I’m certain Verizon Wireless and Vodafone will make their announcements soon.

[News Release]

BlackBerry Takes the World by Storm with Verizon Wireless and Vodafone

BlackBerry Storm Delivers the Full Power of the BlackBerry Platform on
the World’s Leading Networks with the World’s First “Clickable”
Touch-Screen Smartphone

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., NEWBURY, England, and WATERLOO, Ontario, Oct. 8
/PRNewswire/ — Verizon Wireless, Vodafone Group (NYSE; LSE: VOD) and
Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that the
BlackBerry(R) Storm(TM) will be available later this fall, exclusively to
Verizon Wireless customers in the U.S. and Vodafone customers in Europe,
India, Australia and New Zealand.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081008/NY37571 )

Designed to satisfy the needs of both consumers and business customers,
the BlackBerry Storm smartphone combines the powerful communications
features, global connectivity and personal productivity advantages of the
BlackBerry(R) platform with a revolutionary touch-screen technology that
dramatically enhances the touch interface and enables easy and precise
typing. The world’s first “clickable” touch-screen responds much like a
physical keyboard and also supports single-touch, multi-touch and gestures
for intuitive and efficient application navigation.

In the U.S., Verizon Wireless customers will benefit from the nation’s
most reliable wireless voice network and the pervasiveness of Verizon
Wireless’ reliable high-speed 3G Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision
A (Rev. A) network for rich Internet browsing and multimedia applications.
In Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand, Vodafone will support
customers with its high-speed 3G mobile broadband networks and the power
and reach of the world’s leading international mobile communications group.

“We are proud to introduce the first touch-screen based BlackBerry
smartphone together with Verizon Wireless and Vodafone,” said Mike
Lazaridis, president and co-chief executive officer at RIM. “The BlackBerry
Storm is a revolutionary touch-screen smartphone that meets both the
communications and multimedia needs of customers and solves the
longstanding problem associated with typing on traditional touch-screens.
Consumers and business customers alike will appreciate this unique
combination of a large and vibrant screen with a truly tactile touch
interface.”

“The BlackBerry Storm offers our customers more ways to stay connected
to both their personal and professional lives — whether in their
communities or around the globe,” said Mike Lanman, vice president and
chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless. “The BlackBerry Storm combines
the reliability of our 3G network with the dependability and network
efficiency of the BlackBerry platform to deliver our customers the ultimate
wireless experience — all in one of the coolest smartphones available on
the market today.”

“We are delighted to bring the power of the purpose built BlackBerry
Storm, directly into the hands of consumer and business customers,” said
Frank H. Rovekamp, global chief marketing officer, Vodafone Group. “With
its unique clickable touch-screen, giving access to all the desirable
multimedia features and services such as browsing, music and video,
turn-by-turn satellite navigation, messaging and social networking, and
BlackBerry’s mobile heritage and strong business reputation, the BlackBerry
Storm is being brought by Vodafone into the consumer world. With Vodafone’s
ultra high-speed, reliable mobile network and this exclusive and exciting
new smartphone, there has never been a better time to be with Vodafone.”

Touch and Feel

The BlackBerry Storm smartphone comes with an innovative touch-screen
that actually depresses ever so slightly when the screen is pressed. The
user distinctly feels the screen being pressed and released with a gentle
“click,” similar to the feeling of a key on a physical keyboard or a button
on a mouse. The “clickable” touch-screen gives the user positive
confirmation that they have made a selection and the result is a
dramatically enhanced touch interface and a highly-intuitive typing
experience.

In addition to the familiar navigation keys (”phone,” “menu” and
“escape”) that are common to other BlackBerry smartphones, the new
BlackBerry Storm adds support for multi-touches, taps, slides and other
touch-screen gestures, so customers can easily highlight, scroll, pan and
zoom for smooth navigation.

The BlackBerry Storm smartphone also features a built-in accelerometer,
allowing its touch-screen to automatically switch between landscape mode
and portrait mode as the user rotates the handset — RIM’s SureType(R)
keyboard layout is available in portrait mode and a full QWERTY* keyboard
layout is available in landscape mode. Other relevant features, such as cut
and paste, are only a touch away for the ultimate smartphone experience.

World Class Smartphone

The BlackBerry Storm is a top-of-the-line 3G mobile phone with premium
features and global connectivity. In the U.S., the BlackBerry Storm 9530
gives Verizon Wireless customers 3G EV-DO Rev. A/CDMA technology — and
(2100Mhz) UMTS/HSPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM for global use. The
BlackBerry Storm 9500 from Vodafone supports (2100Mhz) UMTS/HSPA and
quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks.

Browsing is Fast and Easy

Customers will enjoy a full HTML high-performance browser that works in
either portrait or landscape orientation. Navigating Web sites is fast and
easy with the touch-screen interface that lets users double tap to zoom in
and slide their fingers to scroll and pan.

Icons along the bottom of the display allow for quickly accessing Web
sites, switching between “Page View” and “Column View” as well as the
ability to toggle between “Pan” mode and “Cursor” mode. The enhanced
browser supports file downloading, streaming audio and video (RTSP), and
with its built-in RSS support, new content from supported Web sites can be
automatically pushed to the user.

Staying Connected

The BlackBerry Storm smartphone brings the full power of the industry’s
leading mobile e-mail and messaging solution without compromise. It
supports personal and corporate e-mail and text (SMS), picture (MMS) and
instant (IM) messaging on the most prevalent consumer and enterprise
platforms, as well as easy access to popular social networking sites.

Packed with Additional Features

The BlackBerry Storm smartphone, available from Verizon Wireless and
Vodafone, also includes the following features and functions:

— BlackBerry(R) Internet Service, BlackBerry(R) Unite!, BlackBerry(R)
Professional Software and BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server support
— Preloaded DataViz(R) Documents to Go(R) allows users to edit
Microsoft(R) 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(TM)/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(R) 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
Additional details related to availability and pricing will be
announced in the coming weeks. To learn more or register to be notified
when the BlackBerry Storm is available, visit http://www.blackberry.com/storm,
http://www.verizonwireless.com/storm or http://www.vodafone.co.uk/storm.

* Virtual keyboards are also available in AZERTY, QWERTZ and other
configurations to support different language groups.

About Research In Motion

Research In Motion (RIM) is a leading designer, manufacturer and
marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile
communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware,
software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM
provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive
information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and
intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of
third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and
services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM’s portfolio of
award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by
thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry(R)
wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld(TM) product line, software
development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements.
Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in
North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock
Market (NASDAQ: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more
information, visit http://www.rim.com or http://www.blackberry.com.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable wireless voice and
data network, serving 68.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking
Ridge, N.J., with 70,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint
venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE:
VOD). For more information, go to: http://www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and
request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of
Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia
Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About Vodafone

Vodafone is the world’s leading international mobile communications
group with approximately 269 million proportionate customers as of 30 June
2008. Vodafone currently has equity interests in 27 countries across five
continents and over 40 partner networks worldwide. For more information,
please visit http://www.vodafone.com.

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to
the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, words such as “intend” and
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information
available to Research In Motion Limited. Investors are cautioned that such
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, possible product defects and product liability, risks related
to international sales and potential foreign currency exchange
fluctuations, the initiation or outcome of litigation, acts or potential
acts of terrorism, international conflicts, significant fluctuations of
quarterly operating results, changes in Canadian and foreign laws and
regulations, continued acceptance of RIM’s products, increased levels of
competition, technological changes and the successful development of new
products, dependence on third-party networks to provide services,
dependence on intellectual property rights, and other risks and factors
detailed from time to time in RIM’s periodic reports filed with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory
authorities. RIM has no intention or obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols
are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.
RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries.
All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service
marks are the properties of their respective owners. RIM assumes no
obligations or liability and makes no representation, warranty, endorsement
or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or
services.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless

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Related links:
# http://www.blackberry.com/storm
# http://www.verizonwireless.com
# http://www.verizonwireless.com/storm
# http://www.vodafone.co.uk/storm
# http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html