By Yara Omar, Janus Networks
This month, RIM and Verizon Wireless announced the launch of the new touch-screen smart phone: Blackberry Storm. A specific release date and pricing were not announced, but Storm is expected to be out by the holiday season with competitive pricing.
Blackberry Storm introduces a touch-screen with a new technology called ClickThrough, which requires physically pushing the screen down. Storm has an accelerometer that detects if it is held horizontally or vertically and rotates the screen and keyboard according to its direction.
The new blackberry offers dual-mode functionality; meaning that it automatically switches between CDMA and GSm offering seamless international roaming. It also works on Verizon’s EV-DO Rev. A network as well as Europe’s 2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA band. Other wireless options include Bluetooth 2.0 with support for stereo Bluetooth headsets and dial-up networking and GPS but no Wi-Fi.
The smart phone has a full-HTML browser (with no flash) and also supports Verizon’s V Cast Music and Mobile TV services. It will come preloaded with instant-messaging clients (Yahoo, Windows Live, AOL, and ICQ) and a number of social-networking apps, including Facebook, MySpace, and Flickr.
The media player can handle various music and video formats, including MP3, AAC, WMA, WMV, MPEG4, and H.264. The new Storm has a Media Sync software for synchronizing iTunes files with it. It is also equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera with video recording, auto focus, and flash. The phone features 1GB of onboard memory storage and a card slot that allows for up to 16GB of additional storage. Storm seems to be an iPhone killer, specially if it comes with competitive pricing as promised.
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