Scenes From The Eye Of The BlackBerry Storm

The BlackBerry Storm, the first ever touch screen BlackBerry smart phone, officially hit stores Friday, marking Research In Motion (RIM) Ltd.'s official answer to the Apple iPhone 3G.





At the Verizon Wireless store in Natick, Mass., BlackBerry faithful started lining up at 5:30 a.m. to be the first to get their hands on the coveted handheld and see what all the hype was about. By the time the store opened at 8 a.m., roughly 70 people were queued up for their chance to buy the most coveted device in BlackBerry's 10-year history.



Here's the scene from outside the store, which contained more than 75 people after the clock struck eight and the Storm launch was underway.

The signage around the Verizon Wireless store proclaimed the BlackBerry Storm's arrival, several Verizon employees walked the floor to answer questions and let visitors get an on-hands preview of the smartphone before they buy.







According to one Verizon employee, the store received 100 Storms to be sold on Friday. More would be received each day, quelling rumors of a BlackBerry Storm shortage due to a last minute security flaw discovered in the operating system that required the devices to be re-flashed.

Everything Channel Associate Editor Brian "Grand Pooba" Kraemer gets his hands on a BlackBerry Storm to give it a solid once over. Kraemer admitted that the Storm is a slick touch screen, but said he's likely to choose an iPhone for his next device.





The BlackBerry Storm is being billed as BlackBerry's official iPhone killer. Along with battling the iPhone, the Storm puts BlackBerry head-to-head against other touch screen titans like the Google Android-based T-Mobile G1, the HTC Fuze and the LG Incite.

Here Kraemer surfs the Web on a BlackBerry Storm, just moments after the device is released to the public.



Along with Web browsing, which uses Verizon Wireless' high-speed 3G network, the Storm ties in all of BlackBerry's email, calendaring and messaging capabilities. The Storm lacks Wi-Fi connectivity, which was a bone of contention for some potential buyers.

Yup. Here a Verizon employee demonstrates the clarity of the video playback on the BlackBerry Storm. We're not sure why she chose a Vin Diesel flick to showcase the device, but to each her own.





Along with video playback, the BlackBerry Storm packs in a host of multimedia functionality like GPS, music and more. It also features a 3.2-megapixel camera with zoom, flash and video-recording capabilities.

As BlackBerry Storm buyers entered the Verizon store, each was handed a flyer with an assigned number. When their number was called, it was their turn to buy the device, which Verizon was selling for $199 with a two-year agreement and $50 rebate.

Here anxious BlackBerry fanatics wait for their chance to buy a BlackBerry Storm. For some, the wait lasted well over an hour.

Nearly every inch of counter space and every cash register was in use as Verizon staff sold buyers their BlackBerry Storms and answered any additional questions they may have.

This guy, one of the first to buy a BlackBerry Storm, was so excited he couldn't even steady his hand. Lucky for him, the Storm features a virtual QWERTY keyboard and a "clickable" touch screen, which depresses slightly and makes an audible click when a user taps a selection.

Even an hour after the Verizon store opened its doors Friday morning, a crowd waited to buy the BlackBerry Storm. While the Storm's launch wasn't the circus atmosphere surrounding the Apple iPhone 3G's release this summer, the large crowd was a sign that BlackBerry has a loyal and faithful following.