WiFi-equipped BlackBerry Storm 2 coming to Verizon in September?

Looks like you might be able to cross at least one bullet point off of your Storm 2 wishlist. According to unnamed source who SlashGear swears is the bee's knees, the successor to BlackBerry's touchscreen smartphone will add WiFi support for faster home / coffee shop web browsing. The informant hinted there's other surprises on the horizon but wouldn't give specifics, so for now you'll just have to keep dreaming about that SurePress touchscreen that doesn't slow down your texting. As for when we should expect the sequel, the report pointed to a release sometime in September on Verizon's network.

[Jimmy @ Apr 6th 2009 6:45PM]

It's about time = )

[Ron @ Apr 6th 2009 6:46PM]

should have been there from the beginning...

[System48 @ Apr 6th 2009 10:19PM]

Won't matter much to some people, assuming you still have to pay the $45/month plan to get synced with exchange.

[Ruffy @ Apr 6th 2009 6:52PM]

i wish verizon would put out a phone that doesn't crap out at least in one area of technology

[Bailers @ Apr 6th 2009 6:52PM]

Well, if this is true, it makes my August decision on a new phone/carrier alot harder. Storm, Pre, Omnia HD, or Iphone. Too many choices.

[electron @ Apr 6th 2009 6:53PM]

dude, you are leaving out the beautiful HTC lineup!!! :O

[Greg @ Apr 6th 2009 6:52PM]

Verizion will probably charge per month to have WiFi on !

[Jeff Tronti @ Apr 6th 2009 7:28PM]

Sad that would not surprise me.

[Epsilon-Not @ Apr 6th 2009 6:55PM]

So RIMM has finally figured out that it is, in fact, physically possible to put CDMA and WiFi in the same device?

[magicvash @ Apr 6th 2009 6:57PM]

I'm sure RIM would've put it on the original device had VZW not told them to take it out

[holycow @ Apr 6th 2009 7:08PM]

magicvash is probably right. I toyed around with one of the Storms back when they were released owned by a RIM Employee (in Waterloo) and it had fully functional Wi-Fi.

[Epsilon-Not @ Apr 6th 2009 7:21PM]

No way Verizon told them to take it out- if that were the case, Vodafone's Storm 9500 would have WiFi. And if you're willing to say that Vodafone has something against Wi-Fi, that seems off considering the large number of other phones (including the iPhone) that Vodafone does have WiFi on... VZW has a few Wi-Fi capable phones as well. Also, data plans have always been required on VZW BlackBerrys... And why don't any CDMA BlackBerrys on other carriers have WiFi?

I'd be curious if that Wi-Fi Storm owned by a RIMM employee was on GSM or CDMA... I had heard of GSM + WiFi Storms floating around, but no CDMA + WiFi versions.

[Phoenix @ Apr 6th 2009 8:06PM]

Where does vodafone have the iPhone?

[TheSuburbanWhiteBoy @ Apr 7th 2009 12:24AM]

Verizon is rolling out 4G LTE, so they are slowly saying goodbye to CDMA and the Wifi is sort of the buffer

[rudolphe @ Apr 7th 2009 3:17PM]

Epsilon, Vodaphone and Verizon are one in the same.

[a ham sandwich @ Apr 6th 2009 6:56PM]

god forbid they should have learned that most people really don't like the clickiness.

[R1cebrner @ Apr 6th 2009 7:09PM]

well there goes my idea of a 8 gig sd card with wifi like that other thing thats out there but just like you know to use as a normal wifi card

[Valério Vaz @ Apr 6th 2009 7:11PM]

It's very beautifull. I like it

[Abuzar Baloach @ Apr 6th 2009 10:16PM]

Dude the picture is of the original storm.

[wildman_91 @ Apr 6th 2009 10:23PM]

hey. learn to recognize sarcasm.
=)

[SCR @ Apr 6th 2009 11:24PM]

Who cares. Seriously, the Storm is a turd! Hopefully the Niagara comes out for Verizon, next month, and I can dump this PoS!

[Danny @ Apr 6th 2009 7:12PM]

Well Knowing Rim they will probably take out the gps, EVDO Rev A is fast enough for mobile browsing imo

[Cvstos @ Apr 6th 2009 7:12PM]

Damn. Why do all the phones come out a month or two after my contract renewal?

[NeoJew @ Apr 6th 2009 7:23PM]

Indeed, I'm gonna be getting a Storm in a couple weeks with the B1G1 deal when my dad does. Would wait for the Storm 2, but if it weren't for the B1G1, I wouldn't care enough to spend the money. And if I get the Storm now, I won't be able to get the storm 2 at the upgrade price T_T

[jleonard711 @ Apr 27th 2009 5:00AM]

New phones come out all year long....so I'm sure everyone can say the same thing no matter when their renewal date is. If you always hold out for the next new phone then you will be holding out indefinitely. As soon as the next new one is released, there will be another new one right around the corner. I'm sure they released the Storm initially without the Wi-Fi just so they could release a later version with Wi-Fi and effectively double their sales, since many of the people who got the first one will now want the new one with Wi-Fi. It's actually very a very smart move from a business standpoint, but very frustrating from a customer standpoint.

[snypergod @ Apr 6th 2009 7:14PM]

I'll believe it when it actually does come out. I don't trust Verizon one bit.

[daviddong.cn @ Apr 6th 2009 7:32PM]

Good timing for me. Im going to renew my 2-year contract with Verizon on August. The storm is on my list. Once it has wifi, it'll be the best!!!

[TriniBreds @ Apr 6th 2009 7:16PM]

Shouldn't WIFI be automatic these days? . . . initially

[nickcull @ Apr 6th 2009 7:20PM]

interesting

[Yipcanjo @ Apr 6th 2009 7:31PM]

From the graphic you made, it looks more like it's "RSS equipped". Sweet! :)

[Doug @ Apr 6th 2009 7:38PM]

So... No 3G?/

[nsdcx @ Apr 6th 2009 9:42PM]

EVDO is 3G for CDMA devices.

So you fail.

[Greg Mcp @ Apr 6th 2009 7:44PM]

Surely RIM should have realized "We don't do touchscreens. We do buttons".

[Ian @ Apr 6th 2009 7:48PM]

Oh boy! I hope Verizon charges us by the byte for vcast video downloads and per transaction micro fees for baseball scores and then mtv videos and.... oh wait- that's right- I forgot- that's all a pain in the ass. I will stick with iPhones simple unlimited data plan.

[donpablo19 @ Apr 7th 2009 6:31PM]

Um.. I have a very simple unlimited data plan on my VZW Storm. Do you think you're paying your cell phone bill to Apple when you say "iPhones simple data plan" ?

[ZeitgeistXIII @ Apr 6th 2009 7:53PM]

I still will prefer the HTC Touch Pro 2 I think.

[webterractive @ Apr 6th 2009 7:56PM]

I think RIM has lost it! All these new Blackberries are all the same design slapped with together with a different radio. No WiFi, now with WiFi, no 3G, now with 3G. They're (RIM) are reporting good results in company finances but I would question those results because slapping phones together and pushing them out the door is usually a sign that they're blindly shooting in the dark trying to see what will be big. As we all know the Blackberry Storm was a mess. Pardon me, it still is a mess.

[Koolio @ Apr 6th 2009 8:01PM]

The only reason I don't buy smart phone Verizon is no Wifi. Now I am thinking about it.

[wslcrew @ Apr 6th 2009 8:09PM]

Am I the only one skeptical about this story? I mean the first one came out like in November and it's not even passed the 6 month marker yet.

[BonerInSweatPantz88 @ Apr 6th 2009 8:07PM]

Thanks for posting the dish I gave and not giving any thanks :)
(Sarcasm)

[Pete @ Apr 6th 2009 9:02PM]

Would like to see Niagara with WiFi and touch screen.

[FILA @ Apr 6th 2009 9:17PM]

wowww, really i didnt know the first one didnt have WiFi, I mean really shoudl I really have to look into a smart phone to see if it has WiFi, I shouldnt but this just proves I should. Its all for profits. They leave out an important feature because they know people will buy it a second time around just to gain sales if they bought it the first time, just like the iphone and the lack of 3g in the first model

[Eric @ Apr 6th 2009 9:18PM]

Once they get rid of the "SurePress" crap, maybe. Until then, wifi or not, pass.

[John @ Apr 6th 2009 11:31PM]

Have you tried sure press? It's one of the best things about the storm. The ability to highlight something without clicking it is a nice touch. You can use extra features with it too, it's like having a right mouse button.

[briand515 @ Apr 6th 2009 9:26PM]

I tried the storm and it went right back the next day, that thing is a complete POS.

[bjharri @ Apr 6th 2009 9:38PM]

I really don't understand all the Storm bashing. I own one, it has higher specs than the iphone, its really easy to use and never craps out on me. I'm with Bell, I have unlimited data, I download podcasts and listen to them straight away, I can sink it with Itunes and the surepress thing is great. I just increased the sensitivity of it in the options and it does exactly what its supposed to. My only qualms about the thing, is that the lock/ unlock button is at the top of the phone which is the most stupid place to put such a button and that it can't do flash yet. The lack of wifi is hardly a problem, I can control my desktop over the net with it like I use to do with my ipod touch over wifi. I gave the ipod away. My Storm works great and does exactly what I ask of it. Even texting just took a week or so to get use to, I text very quickly now. All in all I love the phone, but I must be in the minority I suppose but I don't know why.

[nsdcx @ Apr 6th 2009 9:48PM]

I love the Storm too. I think that about 90% of Storm bashers either haven't used it or used it briefly before someone else said, "Hey look at me! I have an iPhone!" and distracted them. It's a great device with great features, and the lack of WiFi is no problem when EVDO rev A is plenty fast. Some people just like to hate for hate's sake, I guess.

[digitalrio @ Apr 6th 2009 10:47PM]

What app do u use to Remote Control of your desktop?

[Shane @ Apr 6th 2009 11:36PM]

Ditto. Another happy Storm user. Would be nice to have Wi-Fi but I'm not sure why everyone is so obsessed with it. Sure it gives faster speed and access to local network resources but personally I'm more concerned about getting access to my data where I DON'T have a Wi-Fi connection...

[bjharri @ Apr 7th 2009 2:13PM]

digitalrio, I use RDM+ for my remote desktop, here's the link http://www.rdmplus.com/