The rumors have been flying for months: In addition to its just-released BlackBerry Bold, Research in Motion(RIMM Quote - Cramer on RIMM - Stock Picks) has been working on a touch-screen phone that would take the ubiquitous BlackBerry to its next step.
And an early look at the new device has it looking like a major contender to be the next
Apple(AAPL Quote - Cramer on AAPL - Stock Picks) iPhone-killer on the market.
Photo Gallery: The Blackberry Storm Is Here
For now, the company's
Bold is being sold in a handful of countries, but it still isn't available for sale in the U.S. I wonder what partner
AT&T(T Quote - Cramer on T - Stock Picks), which has delayed its release, is waiting for.
In the meantime,
Verizon(VZ Quote - Cramer on VZ - Stock Picks) is wasting no time introducing its amazing new BlackBerry -- the Storm.
I was able to see, touch and play for a short time with a pre-production Storm last week at a private meeting with Verizon and RIM officials. What I saw was pretty amazing.
First of all, there's the high-resolution screen. While this is the first touch-screen BlackBerry, it's a touch-screen unlike any other you've tried. When you press a button, character or command on the screen, it actually feels like you are pressing a button.
I know some readers are going to write and say that many other
smartphones have a "haptic" response -- a little vibration when you touch the screen. But the Storm feels different, like you're actually pressing a hardware button. RIM President and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis called the screen "intuitive" and told me that it's the first time that two separate screen technologies create this effect. I have to tell you -- it's really amazing.
Gary Krakow
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