Right now the key lights up blue which some people have claimed is not that useful.

RIM can make this much better than Apple iPhone, very easily.

Here are a couple of choices:

1) ghost the character that is touched (not pressed yet) so the user can SEE which key the thumb is over. If it’s the correct key, the user can can press down to finalize the key. (With iPhone this is impossible because the key is already pressed when it shows up on the screen.)

2) To be extremely annoying, but in the same manner as above, the phone can call out each letter before the press. This would be GREAT for people with vision problems.

Like I’ve been saying, the extra degree of freedom in the z-axis (ie. the ability to select X,Y,0 or X,Y,1) has huge implications for future capabilities.

Even if the Storm doesn’t stomp on the iPhone, the Storm will be a serious contender. If RIM can get Verizon to allow the public access to write apps for the appstore, the Storm might become a really great consumer device.

For instance, James Kendrick has provided a very positive review at JKOnTheRun; this includes an actual video of using the keyboard. And it’s also worthwhile to have a look at what they are saying in several posts at crackberry.com (which probably is not as independent as JKOnTheRun give their store but their publisher also has an iPhone site).

As for the App store, you can view the CrackBerry mobile store for BlackBerry – on a BlackBerry. RIM has announced that their store will arrive in March; they had over 700 attendees at their recent BlackBerry Developer Conference. I am getting quite positive responses from developers, including some who already have iPhone apps. There are over 4000 BlackBerry apps out there – that work independent of carriers. RIM just needs to get to the “one click to purchase” level but some interesting apps — some of which were previewed at BBDC are coming.

To say that OS 4.5, 4.6 and 4.7 are just more of the same as 4.2 is totally wrong. You get the best browser BlackBerry has had to date (yes, it still needs some Javascript fixes but I get most of what I want via this browser), you get the ability to edit Office documents. To me my Bold has become a laptop for the hip or purse. It’s a true two way device whereas the iPhone is basically a one way device.

The one impressive feature I like about the iPhone is the innovation being shown in the third party applications. I can use it to follow the freeway webcams, find a Tim Horton’s or Starbucks or to join Obama’s political campaign. It does show what can happen when you give developers the appropriate free rein to innovate and succeed.

And I have QIK for BlackBerry running now. I have seen demonstrations of SlingPlayer for BlackBerry on a Bold – coming soon. (I have been a heavy user of SlingPlayer for the N95 but the battery dies after five innings of a baseball game.) And I am close to having Truphone for Blackberry. Soon I won’t need my N95.