Whirlwind demand pushes back Storm launch

Vodafone has moved the Australian release date of the Blackberry Storm from December 1 to December 5 to ensure supply of the handsets meets high customer demand.

In a statement Vodafone attribute the short delay to "unprecedented demand" for the touchscreen smartphone and has urged customers to pre-order the handset from the company's website.

"In the UK, we've been selling a Vodafone Storm every 13 seconds, and on the basis of demand from our pre-registration process, which is well into the thousands, we're expecting demand to be just as hot here in Australia," said Vodafone Australia CEO Russell Hewitt.

Customers pre-ordering the Storm will receive an 8GB microSD memory card and "may also receive their device a day before the official in-store launch", if Vodafone's couriers manage to ship the handsets early.