BlackBerry Storm 2 on Vodafone: RIM needs a positive reaction

RIM tried to introduce to us its first attempt at a touchscreen BlackBerry last year with the Storm, but things did not go too well for the handset. This year Research in Motion hopes to make up for its past mistakes with the launch of the BlackBerry 9550 Storm 2.

It is no secret that the touchscreen handset market has been dominated by the Apple iPhone, so RIM will attempt once again to try to de-throne it. The first BlackBerry Storm was launched in the UK on the Vodafone network, Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 F1 World Champion got his hands on one weeks before the official release, not sure if that will happen this year though.

According to The Guardian, Vodafone UK is hoping that the 9550 will have a more positive reaction than the original storm did, as the handset suffered from touchscreen problems and the software was not up to the usual BlackBerry standard.

Touchsreen was a new technology for RIM and going with the controversial SurePress technology was a mistake. This was not like any standard toucscreen device; you had to press down on the screen, instead of gently touching it. RIM is sticking with SurePress, but the Canadian phone maker has made a number of improvements to the technology. They have now made it easier to use, while still making it impossible for people to make mistakes by accidently pressing a command.

So the question is, will you be buying the BlackBerry Storm 2 this month?