RiM job

The Wall Street Journal has the story by Sara Silver and Amol Sharma:

Research in Motion Ltd. is rolling out its first real answer to Apple's iPhone, the touch-screen BlackBerry Storm, which will work on broadband networks on both sides of the Atlantic and be exclusive to Verizon Wireless in the US and to Vodafone throughout Europe. BlackBerry will have to distinguish itself amid the wave of other sleek do-everything smart phones coming to market, like Google Inc.'s G1. The Storm, BlackBerry's first touch-screen device, aims to make it harder to inadvertently select items while moving images across the screen.
The success of Apple's iPhone has spawned a series of touch-screen smart-phones from manufacturers around the world over the past year. Consumers will have a multitude of options this holiday season, among them, Samsung Electronics Co.'s Instinct, LG Electronics' Dare, and the soon-to-be-launched G1 from T-Mobile.
The Storm has a 3.25-inch screen -- just under the iPhone's 3.5 inches -- and a durable design that makes it about 16% heavier than the iPhone. It will run on relatively quick third-generation broadband networks in the U.S. and overseas, a first for Verizon. But it doesn't have wi-fi Internet access, which RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said would drain battery life unnecessarily. Like the iPhone, it doesn't have a physical keyboard, but rather touch-sensitive software that can emulate either a full PC-style keyboard or a triple-tap cellphone setup. It is expected in stores before the end of the year.

Rico says it's got a smaller screen, is heavier, and doesn't have wi-fi; yup, that'll be a winner...

One distinguishing feature of Apple's iPhone not possessed by the new BlackBerry or other smart phones: the ability of a user to zoom in and out by putting two fingers on the screen at the same time and spreading them or pinching them closer together. Apple has filed for a patent covering "multi-touch" technology in phones.
Besides BlackBerry email, the phone will come loaded with applications like Facebook's social- networking service and Flickr photo-sharing. While BlackBerry devices run many other applications, the Storm won't have initially a built-in "open" platform like Apple's iTunes store or Google's Android marketplace for companies to offer games and other mobile applications.