BlackBerry Storm gets official pricing and release date

Holy. Crap. On Wednesday, Verizon Wireless finally released the information we've all been waiting for, the release date and pricing of the RIM BlackBerry Storm, and frankly, I'm shocked. Shocked in a good way, but still, I'm picking my jaw off the floor.

The highly anticipated Storm will be available in Verizon stores and online on November 21 and here's the part that got me: it will go for $199.99 with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate. I know there were rumors about the $200 price point, but I really thought the touch-screen smartphone would be more in the $249.99 range. Hey, good on Verizon for proving me wrong.

With such a pricing scheme, RIM and Verizon might be sending a little message to AT&T and the precious Apple iPhone 3G to let them know they're not scared and they're up for a little friendly competition. Bring it, I say. It just means more choice and better products for consumers.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the BlackBerry Storm will actually deliver on performance, and I hope to get my hands on a review unit soon. However, I know there's already been a huge amount of interest in the device. Every day, I'm inundated with questions about the Storm, so let me ask you, who's heading out to the store on November 21 to get one and why?