I’m personally no fan of the touch screen BlackBerry Storm, but if you have invested in one, then keeping the screen from being damaged is likely to be a major preoccupation. The Otterbox BlackBerry Storm Defender case, which I checked out in prototype form at Showstoppers during CES in the US recently, offers one big advantage over most similar cases: you can keep using the phone while the device is inside. As the picture above shows, the case itself can get pretty scratched, so there’s no telling how long your screen will last without protection. The Defender is due for release “shortly” according to Otterbox, with a list price of around $US50. OtterBox
Seems like the combination of a touch-screen interface, reliable push email (take note, Apple) and more or less unlimited browsing is making the BlackBerry Storm a pretty appealing choice. Having originally planned a December 1 launch, Vodafone (which has exclusive local rights to the smart phone) has now pushed back the on-sale date to December 5 after being flooded with “thousands” of queries. Customers who have pre-registered for the phone will be sent an email on November 27 and given the option of ordering online, with the promise that those phones will be couriered out on December 4. (But if you didn’t pre-register, tough luck — the option has now been removed.) More »
