The hype created by Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Storm is quickly spreading and the wireless carrier Verizon announced that it will also support the new device on its network starting with November.

"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."

RIM’s first touchscreen is considered the first real competition to Apple’s iPhone as it features several key features that are expected to appeal to consumers everywhere. The popularity battle is extremely tough, with Apple offering its device through AT&T’s service at a price of $199 and another newcomer, HTC’s Dream, developed through a partnership with Google, being sold for $179. HTC’s release also made a strong move for the market lead, offering a new physical slide-out keyboard.

The reviews so far are favorable, presenting the Storm in a very good light. Many consumers expected for quite some time such a release from RIM as it was clear that this had to be the company’s next move. With its 3.25 inches touch screen that provides a 480 x 360 resolution 184 ppi, the device looks extremely attractive and the many features included in its development should please many gadget enthusiasts. Even though the screen is 0.25 inches smaller than the iPhone’s, it provides tactile feedback which should more than make up for its reduced size.

The smartphone shows RIM’s intentions of addressing a much wider audience, moving the focus off the corporate enterprise and releasing a product for the general public, also interested in such high-end devices.

The Storm offers full browser functions which are available in both landscape and portrait modes. Users can download files, stream audio and video in full screen, make playlists through its built-in media player, display pictures and slideshows, view corporate and personal e-mail, send text (SMS), picture (MMS) or instant messages many of the consumer and enterprise platforms. It also features a 3.2 megapixels camera with variable zoom, auto focus, flash and video recording. Aside from its integrated 1 Giga Byte of memory storage, it also offers a microSD/SDHD memory card slot to support up to 16 GB of additional storage, fixing one of BkackBerry’s main issues. Its removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery ensures up to six hours of talk time on 3G networks and about 15 days of standby time.

Mike Lanman, vice president and chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless, declared himself extremely pleased with the partnership, referring to the Storm as "one of the coolest smartphones available on the market today."

The Vodafone Group also released a statement through its global chief marketing officer, Frank H. Rovekamp, saying that it will surely be a great collaboration and that the device shows a lot of potential.