The BlackBerry Storm2 (that’s right, there’s no space) has officially been announced, Vodafone has already put it up for preorder and it will ship October 26. There is no announcement yet but I would guess that it will show up for Verizon shortly after October 26.

The device has a 3.25-inch 360×480 capacitive SurePress touchscreen, 802.11b/g, 256MB of flash memory, 3.2 megapixel camera, and GPS.

Walt Mossberg has published his review of the device and oddly he has chosen to review the BlackBerry Storm2 and the Motorola CLIQ in the same article,  indicating to me that he believes these are “me too” handsets.

Regarding the “improved” SurePress screen:

The screen now stays still when tapped, providing tactile feedback electronically instead of mechanically. This allows for faster, smoother typing.

It sounds like RIM has learned from their mistakes. But  knowing where all competing handsets are in terms of functionality and usability, I don’t know why anyone would choose the Storm2.

Previously:
5/15/09: CrackBerry Posts BlackBerry Storm2 Pictures

Update 10/17/09: This is quite humorous; according to RIM’s comparison table, the following has changed between the Storm and the Storm2:

• The original Storm does not weigh anything, the Storm2 weighs 5.64oz.
• The Storm2 now has Bluetooth v2.1+EDR, Bluetooth Stereo Audio, and DUN
• The original Storm did not have a color display or backlighting.
• The Storm2 has a slightly shorter battery life.
• The Storm2 now has twice the onboard and flash memory, now 2GB and 256MB respectively.
• The Storm2 does not have sleep mode.
• The Storm2 has Wi-Fi and is capable of connecting to 850/900/1800/1900Mhz GSM/GPRS networks.

It’s almost as if they forgot to edit the page, or they forgot to input the correct data.

Update 10/19/09: A user on CrackBerry.com’s forum has posted screenshots that appear to be from Verizon’s intranet detailing the BlackBerry Storm2 launch. According to the screenshot, the device will come to Verizon on October 21 and will have some sort of “MiFi” functionality.

Update 10/22/09: CrackBerry reports that a BlackBerry Storm2 dummy unit has been spotted at Best Buy.

Update 10/25/09: Engadget has found that the BlackBerry Storm2 will likely be available for Verizon on October 28 for $179.99.

Update 10/28/09: The BlackBerry Storm2 is now officially available from Verizon for $179.99.