Who Will Buy The BlackBerry Storm?

Although I am an iPhone user, I make no apologies for being a fan of the BlackBerry Storm. Whereas most of the supposed "iPhone Killer" phones are less than threatening, I think the Storm really does stand side-by-side with the iPhone.

It is obviously a better business phone overall with better Exchange integration, MS Word/Excel functions and more flexible email options. Other features that the iPhone doesn't have are as follows: MMS, stereo Bluetooth, video recording, 1.2 more megapixels for its camera, auto-focus and copy & paste.

I have read a lot of articles about the Storm and the lingering question remains: Who will buy the BlackBerry Storm?

People who love the BlackBerry are mobile phone users who generally WANT to have a physical keyboard instead of a virtual keyboard. Even though the touchscreen on the Storm has a sort of "cushiony" feel to it so that it feels like you're pressing buttons, I'm not sure it's a replacement for a real one. So, I'm not sure that current BlackBerry users will be upgrading to the Storm.

Perhaps the Storm will pull current iPhone users who need the features that the iPhone doesn't have? I think so. Some people just have to use it for work. On iPhone message boards that I peruse, many say they will get the Storm for work and use the iPhone for play. As far as I can tell, those two phones complete each other.

Personally, if I was in the market for a mobile phone I would seriously look at the BlackBerry Storm. In the end though, the lack of wi-fi capability would be a dealbreaker. Still, I think the Storm IS the best mobile phone to go head-to-head with the iPhone at this time. It's no surprise that the next iPhone OS upgrade will be available this Friday, the same day as the Storm debut.

UPDATE: Reviews for the Storm are coming in and they don't look good. The biggest complaint: the darned touchscreen.
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