Let the holiday season smart phone wars begin. Research In Motion introduced Oct. 8 its BlackBerry Storm—with its new tactile touch-screen—that will be exclusively available on Verizon Wireless in the United States in a matter of weeks. Both RIM and Verizon Wireless are expecting the Storm to seriously challenge Apple"s 3G iPhone as the hottest electronic device under this year"s Christmas tree.
With a look similar to Apple"s iPhone, the Storm comes with a 3.2-inch screen, preloaded with Facebook, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. The device features built-in GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera, video recording capability, a media player and a removable battery. Additional applications will be available through a BlackBerry app store. The device is expected to sell for approximately the same price as an iPhone.