The release day for Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Storm has finally arrived and the device will be available, starting today, in all of Verizon Wireless’ stores. The massive hype surrounding the product was caused by the belief that the Storm might become the first real competition to Apple’s iPhone; it received names such as the ‘real iPhone killer’ and the presentations released over the past few weeks pointed out that the company does mean business with the device, as its features appear to cover all the aspects demanded by the high-end market segment.

The touchscreen phone lets users take photos, play music and movies, and also facilitates the access to Facebook and MySpace. RIM recently decided to address the mainstream market, after many years of targeting corporate customers. The switch in the company’s policy comes as a direct result of the popularity recorded by the touchscreen smartphone segment over the past two years, ever since the release of the iPhone.

"The smartphone market has plenty of room to grow, and we are well-positioned to benefit from our continued focus on innovation, customer value and partnerships," said Mark Guibert, RIM's vice president of corporate marketing, certain that many more releases will follow. So far, the company released in 2008 another two models: the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 and the BlackBerry Bold 9000. RIM plans another release by the end of the year with its Blackberry Curve 8900. Still, this multi-release strategy could backfire, confusing users in their attempts to decide on the best device for them.

RIM announced that its product is the "world's first 'clickable' touch screen" – as the Storm's screen is designed to compress when tapped and the user receives a tactile feedback to mimic the feeling of a real keyboard. The company expects a significant boost for its market shares, as its offer includes several models that appeal to a wide range of consumers. Its product line has grown over the past few months, looking to ensure that the BlackBerry line will attract customers from every demographic. A recent survey found out that 18% of online 12- to 18-year-olds who are constant Internet users on their phones, want a BlackBerry, while only 15% said they want an iPhone.

The BlackBerry’s MySpace app has already been downloaded more than 400,000 times in less than a week since its launch. The move was initially embraced by Apple, which offered through its App Store special platforms for both MySpace and FaceBook, each one recording huge downloads.

The Storm will operate on Verizon's 3G network, providing all of BlackBerry's e-mail, calendaring, messaging and mobile Web capabilities, and also offering multimedia capabilities such as GPS, video, music and several others. It also features a 3.2-megapixel camera with zoom, flash and video-recording capabilities, which places it above the competition.

Even though all the elements needed appear to be present, it is still uncertain whether the device will become a major hit or not.