BlackBerry "Storms" Verizon Wireless on Nov. 21st

We knew it was going to be soon; we just didn't know when. Now we know that the launch of the BlackBerry Storm on Verizon Wireless is a week away.

Verizon Wireless announced the Storm will be unleashed on customers on Nov. 21st. Price? $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year service agreement.

The Storm features a touchscreen design, much like the iPhone, but with tactile feedback. Once again, carriers seem to believe that if one device with a touchscreen sells well, others will as well. This is, of course, a RIM device, and I'm actually mostly complaining about touchscreen Windows Mobile devices, that still have the clunky WM OS under the touchscreen.

And despite the fact that its launching on Verizon's CDMA network, its one of the new world phones that also supports a SIM card, for those times when your outside the somewhat passe CDMA networks in the U.S.

Specifications (aside from the mundane necessities such as Bluetooth, etc. etc.):

• 4.43"/112.5mm (Length)
• 2.45"/62.2mm (Width)
• 0.55"/13.95mm (Depth)
• 5.5 oz/155g (Weight)
• SurePress™ touch screen
• On screen keyboard: portrait SureType® and Multi-tap, QWERTY landscape
• High resolution 480 x 360 pixel color display
• Transmissive TFT LCD
• Expandable memory – support for microSD™ card
• 1GB onboard memory
• 128 MB Flash (flash memory)

By pricing the Storm at $199, Verizon is undercutting the price of AT&T's recently released BlackBerry Bold by $100. However, the Bold has a full QWERTY keyboard.