iPhone in Path of Verizon Storm

by Ken Schachter on 13 November 2008, 10:37

Categories: Archives - Computers - General news - Media - Communications - Internet - Finance
Topics: nokia , storm , blackberry , vodafone , Verizon , AT&T , smart phone , iPhone , Android , Ken Schachter , G1

 
Get ready for a smart phone rumble.

Just in time for the holiday season, Verizon Wireless is rolling out the Storm, Blackberry’s first touch-screen model, at a price point that puts the base iPhone 3G from Apple in the cross-hairs.

On Thursday, Verizon announced the Storm, “with the world’s first ‘clickable’ touch screen,” will be available November 21 online and at Verizon Wireless stores for  $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. Users also would be required to sign a new two-year customer agreement.

The runaway popularity of the iPhone since its launch 1½ years ago has helped define the smart phone market and vaulted Apple past Blackberry maker Research in Motion. In the July to September period, Apple had 17.3 percent of the global smart phone market versus 15.2 percent for RIM, according to researcher Canalys. Both companies were grabbing market share from No. 1 cell phone maker Nokia, which had 38.9 percent of the market.

Verizon’s pricing puts the Storm on par with the iPhone 3G with 8GB of memory which run on the AT&T wireless network. The 16GB sells for $100 more. Verizon opted not to match the pricing of Vodafone, which in October said it would give the Storm away free to customers in Britain who sign a new contract. Verizon and Vodafone are partners in Verizon Wireless.

Like the iPhone 3G and the HTC G1 phone that uses Google’s Android operating system on the T-Mobile network, the Storm has a touch screen. Unlike its rivals, however, the Storm’s screen offers tactile feedback, a feature designed to make typing on a screen more like typing on a conventional keyboard available in other Blackberrys.