BlackBerry Storm, the new iPhone rival

The new Blackberry Storm lets users take pictures, play movies and music and visit Facebook and MySpace pages with ease, and has the 'world's first "clickable" touch screen.' The phone and e-mail device that just a few years ago could be found mostly clipped to the belts of high-powered professionals, isn't just for workaholics anymore.

For years, the Waterloo, Canada, company has been the de facto provider of e-mail devices for corporations. But the company has its sights on the consumer market. It launched its first-ever mainstream TV ad campaign this year and is partnering with Verizon Wireless to expand a marketing blitz that has touted the Storm on TV and in print.

RIM is trying to gain market share as tech-savvy consumers embrace smartphones, which are hand-held computers that enable users to make calls, surf the Web, check e-mail and maybe even watch TV. Smartphones account for 12.6% of handsets in use in the U.S. market and for 19% of recently acquired phones, according to Nielsen Mobile.

Like other handset makers, RIM faces competition from Apple's iPhone, whose sales have surprised analysts since its June 2007 launch. According to NPD Group, the Apple gadget was the top-selling phone in the third quarter, followed by Motorola's RAZR and the Blackberry Curve.