No, not that Storm silly -- that storm. As cellphone users around the globe put off that once imminent upgrade purchase in order to make the mortgage and feed the family, (most) handset makers are obviously feeling the pinch. A fresh report from The Wall Street Journal pretty much reiterates much of what we've already heard, but still dives deeper into which companies are best positioned to escape the madness. As predicted, HTC, Apple and Nokia were all pinpointed as being able to make it through tough economic times without losing their proverbial hats, but both Motorola and Sony Ericsson could be facing insurmountable odds. Granted, it's not like either firm has really been killing it of late, but it's a pretty bad time to be struggling, regardless. The takeaway? Don't be shocked to see some wild stuff go down in the mobile space -- all bets are off at this point.

[Image courtesy of DayLife, thanks JagsLive]

Just how badly do you want a Storm? Badly enough to pull up your long-established roots, fly for half a day, and take residence in a foreign land thousands of miles from home? For Americans who absolutely cannot wait another week for RIM's first touchscreen device to launch on domestic soil, that's the only option; for Brits on Vodafone, though, heaven is but a single shop trip away. The BlackBerry Storm has now officially launched in the Old Country and can be had for as little as zilch on a Voda plan, so do let us know how your experiences go, yeah? Your yankee friends thank you in advance.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

As promised, Vodafone has officially announced a November delivery order date for its BlackBerry Storm -- November 14, to be specific. Pre-orders are being taken (as they are in the States), so if you want to be in the first batch of Brits to rock this thing, it might be a good idea to go ahead and get on a list lest the throngs of humanity trying to get one on launch day end up harshing your chances. On a related note, Vodafone's better (or worse) half Verizon has come forward with a surprisingly affordable data plan -- GlobalEmail -- that'll allow unlimited web browsing, MMS, and visual voicemail both in the US and a laundry list of countries around the world for $69.99 (or $64.99 when tied to a voice plan). Speaking of voice, Verizon's also announced a new Global Value Plan that hooks you up with discounted minutes abroad for $4.99 a month. Seeing how the Storm is Verizon's first handset with global 3G, this new action should see some serious play.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Read - Vodafone release date
Read - Verizon's global plans

Vodafone's BlackBerry Storm is way ahead of Verizon's in terms of availability, so you North Americans are going to have to suffer through the agony that is knowing Voda subscribers are delighting in this handset well before you. And now, we've even got pictures to make the wait that much more excruciating. T3 has managed to get a RIM-issued BlackBerry Storm underneath the lens for a quick unboxing, and while nothing is out of the ordinary, we definitely got that warm, tingly feeling in our chest when watching a shiny new handset meet its owner for the first time. Flip through the gallery in the read link and see if you don't feel it, too.

[Via CrackBerry]

We may be savoring just a small taste of WiMAX here in these United States, forced to wait until "2010+" before getting to know the robust flavor of LTE (the next, next high-speed wireless standard), but that's not stopping analyst Philip Solis from predicting that multi-mode chips supporting both standards will be introduced sometime next year, ahead of LTE itself. He indicates that numerous providers like Vodafone are hedging their bets (though we know where CEO Arun Sarin is placing his), and so therefore mobile device makers should follow suit by supporting both formats in their laptops, netbooks, and MIDs. We're inclined to say he might actually be a year too pessimistic on that call, but more interesting is his comment that wireless broadband providers "will use LTE in industrialized regions, and WiMAX in developing nations." We're sure that Baltimore has some issues it needs to address, but labeling it a "developing nation" bit seems a bit harsh.

Remember when Vodafone told us to hold our horses a bit on the pricing details when the BlackBerry Storm was made official this month? Believe it or not, the holding period is over, and now we're staring some actual price tags in the face. Reportedly, Voda will make the touchscreen BlackBerry available with four different pricing plans, so we'll get right to it. The Perfect Choice Access 100 plan will get you a Storm for €109.99 ($141), while the per-month rate (€49.99; $64) will include 100 minutes (yes, seriously), 100 texts (still for real here, people), 1GB of BlackBerry e-mail, mobile TV and ten music downloads. The Perfect Choice Access 200 / 400 / 600 plans bump up the minutes and texts just as you'd expect for €64.99 / €84.99 / €99.99 per month while netting you the phone for €64.99 / €69.99 / €49.99, respectively. For the full spill, head on down to the read link -- meanwhile, here in America, we all sit waiting for Verizon to follow suit...

[Via CrackBerry]

Not that you really needed any additional instructions on how to operate the BlackBerry Storm, but just in case you're a little slow on the uptake (or just want to be ultra-prepared come launch day), you'll certainly want to direct your attention to the video after the break. Yeah, it's a Vodafone Storm, so those looking for the typical Verizon garb will be a tad disoriented at first, but we're sure it'll be of assistance in the long run. Run along and study, kids -- release day is, um, soon... ish.

There are, shall we say, certain "advantages" to driving a race car sponsored by global wireless behemoth Vodafone. Fame, fortune, and a free account (seriously, all the minutes and kilobytes you can eat!) definitely rank high on that list, but it all pales in comparison to this. It seems that Formula 1 wizard Lewis Hamilton has been gifted with a Voda-branded Storm, a great publicity play for the carrier -- particularly as he's sitting in front of a camera describing how "wicked" it is. Clearly, the video is little more than a PR stunt, but the phone genuinely seems to be his, and at least we can get a clear look at how fast, fluid, and pretty the interface appears to be. So, anyone know where he leaves that thing when he's out racing? Check the full action after the break.

We can't put our finger on it, but there's something vaguely familiar about this new Storm 9500.

In case you're reading this after these images get taken down -- which they inevitably will be -- this was the official marketing material posted tonight by RIM's Storm launch partner, Vodafone.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

RIM's a little late to the touchscreen party, but comes bearing goodies. The BlackBerry Storm is a beast of a phone in more ways than one. Fronted by a meaty, high-resolution touchscreen with an innovative clicking mechanism, the phone is easily the prettiest by RIM to date. There's a brushed metal back, a beautiful new OS interface, and enough radios to give your grandkids cancer (EV-DO Rev. A, quad-band GSM, Europe-friendly HSPA, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, though sadly no WiFi). But the real test of a phone is usability, not flash. Check out our impressions after the break.

A storm's arrival typically isn't something to celebrate, but we're going to make a notable exception here seeing how the BlackBerry Storm is less of a destructive weather pattern and more of an incredibly hot smartphone -- arguably RIM's hottest to date. Fit to its business-savvy roots, the long-rumored handset comes equipped with the most comprehensive global roaming capabilities of virtually any wireless device you'll find anywhere, featuring EV-DO Rev. A, quadband EDGE, and 2100MHz HSPA for Europe. Beyond that, the Storm becomes RIM's very first touchscreen phone, mounting a 3.26-inch 480 x 360 glass display on a unique clickable surface so that the entire thing can be pressed downwards -- just like a real button -- for tactile feedback when making selections. It includes a full HTML finger-navigable browser, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint editing capabilities, Bluetooth 2.0, 1GB of on-board storage with an 8GB microSD card bundled in the box, 3.5mm headphone jack, automatic orientation and ambient lighting sensors, and a 3.2-megapixel autofocus cam with dedicated flash, making it a legitimate jack-of-all-trades that seems likely to be able to handle even the most chaotic personal and professional lives users can throw its way. It'll allegedly do 15 days of standby or 5.5 hours of talk time on either GSM or CDMA networks. No word on pricing yet -- we're told all will be revealed "in the coming weeks" -- but it'll launch on both Verizon and Vodafone in November.

We're still waiting on Verizon to stop teasing us about this thing, but Vodafone (who's been hinting at the phone since last month) just announced the BlackBerry Storm, RIM's touchscreen flagship. As if you didn't know already, Vodafone is confirming a 3.25-inch 480 x 360 touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera, automatic orientation flipping, 1GB of built-in storage and a host of multimedia capabilities, including iTunes sync.

[Thanks, Bob]

In what can only be described as the fastest and most exhilarating one minute, twenty-two seconds of our lives, RIM and Vodafone have thrown together a promotional video for the upcoming Storm that touches on most of the handset's high points: mobile music, GPS, desktop-grade browsing, streaming video, expandable memory, and -- get this -- voice and data ("it can do two things at once," we're triumphantly told). Now, bear in mind this is a Vodafone video, not Verizon, so that "two things at once" claim probably isn't going to hold water when you're hooked up to Big Red's EV-DO Rev. A -- but the remainder of the factoids in the flashy, seizure-inducing commercial should apply. Follow the break for the covertly-shot material, if your sensitive eyes can take the kind of sensory punishment that only this much primary color and enterprise compatibility can deliver.

[Via CrackBerry]