Verizon chief already shows BBerry Storm 2

Verizon Wireless chief Lowell McAdam today partly spoiled his own company's launch plans for the BlackBerry Storm 2 by confirming it in an interview about it ahead of its formal release. The executive says he has already shown the smartphone to shoppers at one of the carrier's stores and claims they were impressed by the sequel, whose central boost is a piezoelectric touchscreen that provides simulated physical feedback for button presses.

"They were very excited," McAdam says. "This is what they hoped the original Storm should be."

The talk alludes to a common complaint regarding the original Storm's screen, which physically moved downwards and was often panned for slowing down typing by forcing a physical click and for preventing multi-touch input.

His talk is also accompanied by a matter-of-fact observation by the New York Times that the Storm 2 is due this week, suggesting an announcement within a few days at most. The news is supported by a forum post leaking an internal memo that has the touchscreen BlackBerry launching October 21st.

Outside of its screen, the Storm 2 is only a mild refresh of the Storm with Wi-Fi as its primary addition. Verizon is nonetheless thought to be hinging most of its hopes for fall sales on the phone as the original Storm was considered the provider's flagship and its best alternative to the iPhone. The company plans to safeguard this with the launch of two Android phones in the near future, though at least one isn't expected to ship until December.

By Electronista Staff

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