RIM Aims To Out-Touch iPhone

RIM Aims To Out-Touch iPhone
Elizabeth Woyke and Bruce Upbin 10.08.08, 12:00 AM ET
 

Does the world need a touchscreen BlackBerry? Research In Motion, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone are making a huge bet that it does.

On Wednesday, the three mobile giants planned to unveil the Storm, a handset that combines BlackBerry's familiar push e-mail functions with a "clickable" touchscreen. The phone is available exclusively to Verizon Wireless customers in the U.S. and Vodafone (nyse: VOD - news - people ) customers in Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand and will go on sale in coming weeks. The trio's goal is to have the phone available in 208 countries before the holidays, according to Research In Motion (nasdaq: RIMM - news - people ) President and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, who spoke with Forbes.com. Prices will vary according to carrier and market.

The launch caps a year-and-a-half collaboration between the companies. U.K.-based Vodafone, which operates throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, approached RIM in early 2007 to discuss the project, according to Lazaridis. The request: a sophisticated device that would fuse advanced multimedia features with the security and productivity functions BlackBerry models are known for. (RIM is targeting consumers and business users with the Storm.) In a nod to Verizon Wireless, Vodafone's U.S. wireless joint venture with Verizon (nyse: VZ - news - people ), the phone was also designed to work around the globe, added Lazaridis.

And the touchscreen? It may have been a counter-punch to the Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) iPhone, announced at Macworld in January 2007.

The Storm's specs appear to handily meet Vodafone's requests. The handset supports both CDMA and GSM networks, the world's two main cellular technologies. Its media player can play movies in full-screen mode and create music playlists; a 3.2 megapixel camera can also record video. A built-in accelerometer allows the screen to swivel between landscape and portrait modes for typing or browsing. The phone accesses speedy third-generation or "3G" technology.

Like other BlackBerrys, personal and corporate e-mail is pushed quickly to the handset. Workers on the go will be able to edit Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the phone. The phone's operating system, radio, and accelerometer technology are all native to RIM, according to Lazaridis.

RIM also took pains with the phone's design, giving it contoured corners and "chrome" side accents. Even the gadget's charging stand--complete with a clock and music speakers--is unique.

Most consumers will be attracted, at least initially, by the Storm's touchscreen, which depresses and audibly clicks when pressed, similar to a computer mouse. Users can launch menu icons--such as Contacts, Calendar, Maps or Browser--with one quick tap. RIM says the click system gives users "positive confirmation" of their actions, making for "highly intuitive" typing--in other words, fewer typos.

Though RIM also describes the screen as "multi-touch"--the same term often applied to the iPhone's highly responsive touchscreen--a brief Forbes.com test found that the Storm didn't react as intuitively as the iPhone to finger panning and scrolling. The clarity of its screen, however, beats the iPhone; the Storm's higher resolution makes images look particularly crisp. (At 3.25 inches, the two screens are about the same size.)

These comparisons are key since the Storm will inevitably battle the iPhone, to some extent. In preparation, RIM has baked in some missing--and much-requested features--of the iPhone, such as cut and paste, a removable battery and memory card, and turn-by-turn satellite navigation, powered by standalone and assisted GPS. Unlike the iPhone, the Storm will allow users to run multiple applications at the same time.

Hefty data revenues are one reason Vodafone and Verizon are so excited about the device. Verizon plans to pair the phone with its $29-a-month Smartphone Unlimited Data plan, but hopes that users will tack on additional services, such as its music-streaming service, V CAST Music, and GPS program, VZ Navigator.

Fancy features aside, the Storm is debuting in a particularly tough market. The struggles of financial services firms may affect RIM's enterprise business, which accounts for approximately 58% of its subscriber account base. AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ) has postponed the U.S. release of RIM's other most anticipated phone, the BlackBerry Bold, for months. The delay led Deutsche Bank to cut its RIM price target on Tuesday, helping send the company's stock down 7.73%. In an interview with Forbes.com, Lazaridis characterized the Bold as technologically sound, noting that it is live on many networks outside the U.S.

Verizon and Vodafone appear ready to invest in the phone's success, with new ads already running. Their efforts and RIM's handiwork will determine whether the Storm can blow the iPhone--and other rivals--away.