RIM, the maker of the BlackBerry, is taking on Apple. with a touch-screen phone that puts a new twist on the technology. With the new model being announced Wednesday, the Blackberry Storm 9500, RIM is for the first time giving up the physical keypad in favor of a large screen, just like the one on Apple’s iPhone. But RIM has listened to users who find the iPhone’s glass screen awkward to type on because its virtual buttons provide no tactile feedback.
Storm features a revolutionary touch-screen technology that dramatically enhances the touch interface and enables easy and precise typing. The world’s first “clickable” touch-screen responds much like a physical keyboard and also supports single-touch, multi-touch and gestures for intuitive and efficient application navigation. The Storm’s whole screen is backed by springs, and when pressed, it gives under the finger.
As a Web browser, the Storm more closely emulates the desktop experience than the iPhone does. That’s because the screen can distinguish between light touches and firm presses. A light touch can move around a cursor, while a firm press activates a link, much like moving a mouse cursor has a different effect from clicking a mouse button.
Storm will be available from Verizon Wireless in the U.S. and from Vodafone overseas before the holidays.
Here is a video of Blackberry Storm 9500 in action:
Source: Press release