December 19, 2008, 11:08 AM — Research In Motion (RIM) has admitted it's struggling to keep up with demand for the BlackBerry Storm touchscreen smartphone, but said supply problems should clear up in the coming weeks.
RIM said strong sales of the BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Curve 8900 should mean a big jump in revenue in its current financial quarter, with the popularity of the new models driving up the average selling price of RIM's products to US$370 (£245) from $337 (£225).
The BlackBerry Storm, which is available in the U.K. via Vodafone, is increasing RIM's market share, the company said, with more than 70 percent of the new devices being sold to first-time BlackBerry users. The 158g BlackBerry Storm 9500 is physically larger and heavier than other BlackBerry phones. It has a brushed aluminium back with a rubber surround and a 75mm-deep transmissive screen that dominates its front.
Unlike other phones, the BlackBerry Storm 9500's touchscreen is not just touchable but clickable, so to select an option or a specific area of a web page, you press down firmly. Once you get used to pressing a bit harder than you would on other touchscreen devices, it becomes quite satisfying, but we did have to train ourselves to apply that extra pressure.
