As mentioned earlier, the RIM [RIMM] BlackBerry Storm was scheduled for release today, and it certainly did, amidst a flurry of “you-just-gotta-have-it” TV and radio commercials. Although the product has been in the pipeline as a competitor to Apple’s [AAPL] iPhone 3G for several months, it did not seem to have the kind of public reception that most people (me included) expected.

Some of its thunder was certainly stolen by the advent of the T-Mobile [DT] G1 (also known as the HTC Dream), especially given the partnership between Google [GOOG] and its Android cohorts.

Much remains to be seen about whether the BlackBerry Storm will truly be successful. In the professional/corporate mobile device market, RIM has generally been strong, despite its missteps, mostly because there were no other major players who cared to tap into the burning need of the corporate and professional mobile users. The other opposing force against RIM is, of course, its own previously-released devices.

Potential Customer Reactions

As I wandered about, asking various folks at several local stores whether they’d be willing to purchase a BlackBerry Storm if it was available to them, the majority of responses were lukewarm. The two biggest reasons given about this were:

1. “The iPhone is a much better product.”
2. “I already have a cell phone that I’m okay with.”

Supply Problems

On a separate but related front: there appears to be a supply issue with the BlackBerry Storm. Simply put, there were not enough issued to retailers, so people who were interested in seeing the product and buying one were unable to do so today.

Perhaps tomorrow? Or the next day? Or the day after that?

Let’s give it a few weeks or so, and then let’s see what’s up with this ‘phone…

The war for the hearts, minds, and hands of the wireless masses continues, this time with a new entrant (actually a duo) vying for an initial foothold (handhold?) in the ever-dynamic market for smartphones. Or, perhaps more accurately, it has taken on a new angle due to the new competitor.

Never mind the Samsung Instinct. Keep walking past the Palm Treo Pro. Hey, just ignore the expensive “feature phones”, the nutty Windows Mobile clonies, and the past-generation smartphones. For the price-performance point, just go straight to the current generation of smartphones (which the marketing folks euphemistically are terming “next generation” (and even I was guilty of the looseness of terminology once )).

Apple iPhone 3G (AT&T)

The Apple [AAPL] iPhone 3G is now the elder stateman of the current-gen smartphones. It is also, by far, the frontrunner in the wireless war, by virtue of brand recognition, timing, and production scale. It also has received the vast majority of public scrutiny, and it has managed to successfully weather both its own past successes, the bugs that popped up since its release, the current economic downturn, and its competition.

Even better, since its initial launch, the product has dropped in price under the current AT&T subsidy, and the network performance has improved, both due to a phone software update and incremental 3G network upgrades. Couple these with the product’s inherent strengths, and you’re looking at a very compelling product. Touch screen, “learning” touch typing, plethora of free vetted applications, iPod functionality, Wi-Fi as well as 3G data transmission, an established development platform with APIs, stylish sleek profile… yep, it’s all good.

HTC Dream/G1 (T-Mobile)

The HTC Dream, branded as the T-Mobile [DT] G1 in the U.S. and other parts of the world, is the infamous first Google [GOOG] “GPhone” implementation released into the wild.

Think “anti-iPhone”, and the G1 may be quite close: it has a physical slider keyboard; it has a definite thickness and blockiness to it, instead of the sleek elongated iPhone design; and while it has a sizable display screen, it is not a tactile touch screen like the iPhone 3G’s. It also does not have quite the same polished UI that approaches that of the iPhone. On the other hand, it has the backing of Google, and it includes several Google mobile applications that have been tailored for the G1. Let’s also not discount the allure of developing for a somewhat open source device platform like the G1, as well as the potential for creating and maintaining an integration between Android devices of varying structural formats.

It should be noted that there does not seem to be that massive flood of other Android phones that were expected by year’s end, or at the latest, the beginning of next year. At least, no new or even revised commitments.

RIM BlackBerry Storm (Verizon)

This promising competitor has not yet been released, but we’ve already seen some details publicized, including the launch date and pricing. The smartphone is the latest of RIM’s [RIMM] offerings, and it will be subsidized by Verizon [VZ], its exclusive wireless carrier– at least, for now.

A clicking-button touch screen that is not a plasma membrane, so that when you’re “typing” along the screen, it is essentially one giant button? Rotating (portrait/landscape) visualization on the touch screen? Revamped UI? RIM has tried to take a few pages from Apple’s playbook and “one-up” a bit. It is questionable whether having the entire screen click in order to capture user finger impressions is a good thing… it may hamper fast typists and pro-level users. But it’s still a BlackBerry device, so developing applications for it is somewhat similar to that of previous BlackBerry types, including using the Java variant for coding.

Guess Who’s Not Invited to the Party?

So, seeing the three competitors discussed above, you may be wondering: who’s not represented? It’s somewhat obvious: there’s Palm [PALM] the manufacturer, and there’s Sprint [S] the wireless carrier. Not surprisingly, these two have partnered in the past with their own subsidized phone combinations. And certainly, the Palm Centro has been a commercial success this year; however, it does appear as if the target audience that Sprint and Palm are aiming for is no longer among the population that everybody else wants.

What’s Next

Given the economic climate, the prevailing thought concerning high-ticket tech purchases is that many companies are not loosening their purse strings to allow the rank and file to acquire the smartphones; these products are going to the limited to tech-savvy consumers and the tech-heavy professionals instead.

It is clear that, with the continued cost-cutting observed across the various industries, this is unlikely to change soon. This also means that every single sale and accompanying service sign-up is much more valuable, since every active user becomes a walking billboard for future sales. It also means that newer, more cost-effective smartphones are needed to capture mainstream interest.

Remember when the news about the T-Mobile [DT] G1 smartphone came out, and the news about the updated (first “official” 1.0) Google [GOOG] Android SDK?

Well, today is the official release date of the G1 to the public.

A lot of reporters and analysts have already said their piece about the G1, so now it’s time for the various consumers who have hankered for the device to try it out and put out their spin.

After a fairly long delay, the first major publicly available implementation of Google’s [GOOG] Android SDK on a phone (the GPhone format) is finally unveiled as T-Mobile’s [DT] G1, also known as the HTC Dream.

In addition to the G1 itself, there’s also the Android Market, a software depot very similar to Apple’s [AAPL] App Store. Because the Android SDK has been available since its release as open source, plenty of developers have been able to muck with it for quite some time in fairly unrestricted ways. And, the usual suspects of Google software will be bundled or downloadable to the G1.

Even more enticing, at least for the Amazon Music Store fans out there, Amazon has announced that they will be making the ‘Music Store available on the G1. Cool beans!

Also reported is the mention that the G1 will be using Qualcomm’s dual-core MSM7201A chipset. Earlier, there were reports that some of the delay in producing any viable Android-based phone was somehow associated with chipset problems.

Is this the much-vaunted iPhone killer that everybody (other than Apple and its fans) has been seeking? Unfortunately, no. The photos of the G1 clearly show that it is a slider, but it lacks the sophisticated lines and styling that consumers expect from an advanced smartphone. For developers, hackers, and tinkers, though, the G1 is going to be a must-see.

But as the success of open source development and Google’s muscle has already shown us, there’s certainly an opportunity here. Especially if the copy-paste functionality is included and third party software support is alive and well.

N.B.

Hey, is that “G1″, as in “Google-1″, perhaps? Who won that naming contest?

Other external news articles associated with this post:

• CNET News – live blog coverage of the announcement

Hot out of the CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008 conference are the announcements from RIM [RIMM] about their upcoming smartphones:

• BlackBerry Pearl 8220
• BlackBerry Bold

BlackBerry Pearl 8220

Unfortunately for AT&T [T] customers, the Pearl 8220 will debut in the U.S. as a T-Mobile [DT] exclusive shortly. It sports a lot of the same “consumer” type features that the previous Pearl did, including the SureType keypad. But given the flip phone nature of the new product, there is a larger available screen and more real estate for the input controls, including the recessed trackball quadrant and the better-centered keypad. And for the wirelessly connected people, having Wi-Fi in this model will be a significant improvement in their lives. Given the improved screen contrast (some folks have mentioned that it is on par with the Bold) and the updated 4.6 OS, and just the Star Trek look to the new phone, people who have the older Pearl candy bar format should seriously consider the worthiness of the flip phone format for their needs, especially if they’re already T-Mobile customers.

BlackBerry Bold

But, oh, it gets worse!

While other countries are already getting the Bold, the U.S. has yet to see an official carrier for the product. This may have to do with the failure of the product to pass the various internal testing suites that the U.S. carriers impose. In the wireless war, not having a phone subsidized by a carrier is a serious issue for many of the consumer-type users: just look at the fate of the Treo Pro.

The top-of-the-line Bold has all of the features that pro-type users have come to expect from the BlackBerry, including the QUERTY keyboard, trackball, Wi-Fi, and enterprise server access. The multimedia features are still present, similar to what the Pearl 8220 brings to the table. Most Curve users will probably look momentarily at the Bold, but it would be an incremental upgrade for them. Diehard BlackBerry fans will probably get the Bold regardless, subsidized or otherwise; hardcore mobile users should consider both the Treo Pro or the Bold carefully; everybody should just wait to see what the subsidized pricing plans and options will be for the Bold once it is available in the U.S.