As promised, RIM has finally taken the wraps off the Storm, its iPhone clone. The BlackBerry version will go on sale via Verizon in the U.S. and Vodafone in the U.K. No pricing info yet, but the assumption is that it will come in around the $200 range, like every other would-be iPhone.

We'll let our mobile whiz Dan Frommer give it an official assesment, but based on press reports and RIM's own site, we're hard-pressed to figure out who the buyer is for this machine, other than someone who can't or won't leave Verizon for AT&T. From what we can tell, the Storm is like an iPhone except that:

• It doesn't have a real multitouch screen (no zooming with your fingers).
• It doesn't have wifi.
• It doesn't have Apple's slick OS

And for the record, we're neither BlackBerry-haters or iPhone apologists -- our household uses both (we should probably be cutting back on our wireless bills, really) and likes both. But if we wanted a fun media phone with a touch screen, we'd stick with the iPhone. And if we wanted a serious email device, we'd stick with a Berry.

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