BlackBerry out to squash Apple in Christmas rush

The first touch-screen BlackBerry phone will arrive in British stores today in a fresh battle with its main competitor, Apple.

The BlackBerry Storm offers many of the same features found on the Apple iPhone and will be available exclusively on the Vodafone network. It will become available in Ireland next week.

Tariffs in Britain will start at £35 (€41) a month — the same as the iPhone’s — which includes unlimited internet browsing.