Verizon to Offer BlackBerry Storm for $199

Verizon Wireless is putting the BlackBerry Storm smartphone on sale November 21 for $199...you know, with a new two-year contract and after a mail-in rebate.

Verizon Wireless has announced it will be selling the touchscreen-powered BlackBerry Storm smartphone for $199.99 beginning on November 21, putting the Storm’s price point right in line with Apple’s popular iPhone 3G. The $199.99 price is after a $50 mail-in rebate and is only available with a new two-year contract.

Verizon’s pricing for the much-anticipated BlackBerry Storm has been the subject of somewhat intense speculation after Vodaphone started giving the BlackBerry Storm to customers in the UK for free when they sign a contract. Vodafone and Verizon Wireless have exclusive locks on the BlackBerry Storm.

Announced last month, the BlackBerry Storm is intended to be a consumer-friendly version of RIM’s popular smartphone line, featuring a “clickable” touchscreen that depresses slightly when pressed, giving users tactile feedback when they press on-screen items—handy, because the phone lacks a BlackBerry’s traditional button-laden QWERTY keypad. The phone also offers a 3.25-inch 480 by 360-pixel display, Bluetooth 2.0, a 3.2 megapixel camera, 1 GB of onboard memory (with microSD expansion), full HTML Web browsing, integrated speakerphone, and, of course, the capability to connect to BlackBerry-enabled enterprise communications systems, as well as traditional email and messaging services.