BlackBerry's iPhone rival hits the market

The latest rival to the iPhone has been unveiled by the makers of the business world's favourite, the BlackBerry.

Research In Motion's Storm abandons a physical keypad in favour of a large screen, just like the one on Apple's iPhone.

But the company has listened to users who find the iPhone's glass screen awkward to type on because its virtual buttons provide no tactile feedback. The Storm's whole screen is backed by springs, and when pressed, it gives under the finger.

It will be available from from Vodafone outside the US before Christmas but no price has been announced yet.

The addition of a touch-screen phone to the BlackBerry lineup, the mainstay of email-addicted executives and managers, is a testament to the effect of the iPhone.

Over the last year, technology buyers at large corporations have found their employees demanding a touch-screen phone, said Mike Lanman, chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless.

"Everybody eventually leaves work ... and becomes a person," Mr Lanman said.

The iPhone's facility with web browsing and movie playing are big reasons for its appeal. The Storm will initially lack an equivalent of Apple's iTunes movie store.

As a web browser, the Storm more closely emulates the a desktop computer than the iPhone does. The screen can distinguish between light touches and firm presses. A light touch can move around a cursor, while a firm press activates a link, much like moving a mouse cursor has a different effect from clicking a mouse button.