On Friday, Research In Motion Ltd. unveiled its first touch-screen BlackBerry device in the U.S. market. The launch saw long queues of customers standing in lines to grab their very own touch screen BalckBerry Storm. However, the question still remains that how will the new touch screen BlackBerry Storm compete against its biggest rival Apple-iPhone. 

After months of speculation, the BlackBerry Storm went on sale at Verizon Wireless stores. The latest BalckBerry Storm has come as a ray of hope for RIM to improve its market position which has been affected badly due to tough competition from iPhone. It is being claimed the company’s most ambitious product till date. 

Keith Bachman of BMO Capital Markets said, “The Storm remains key to RIM's model over the next few quarters.”

He added, “Nevertheless, we also believe that the importance of the Storm points to the evolution of the competitive dynamics of the high-end market. RIM will likely need to deliver a string of popular handsets to meet Street expectations over the next two years.”

Luckily for RIM, the initial reviews to Strom have been positive. However, every reviewer is also finding some unwanted comparisons with iPhone. 

With the aim to maintain its large base of users who have grown accustomed to the company's form factor, RIM worked to give the Storm a more realistic feeling of typing on a real keyboard. 

On Friday, the sales of Storm remained quite impressive, with many stores selling out their allotments in the morning hours and continuing to take orders from customers. Many other stores witnessed long queues of customers.