Storm Chasers: Long Lines At Some Verizon Stores For RIMM’s Much-Discussed New Touch Screen BlackBerry

The debut today of the Research In Motion (RIMM) BlackBerry Storm, the company’s first touch-screen phone, has drawn long lines at some Verizon Wireless stores, according to Reuters and other news reports. At some stores, people lined up by the “hundreds.” Reuters notes that more than 200 people had waited at a Verizon store in midtown Manhattan early Friday, but that many were turned away after it ran out of phones less than an hour after it opened at 9 a.m.; according the report, “angry customers caused a ruckus and police came to restore order.” Vodafone, part owner of Verizon Wireless, said yesterday that it was struggling to meet demand for the device at its own stores in the U.K. The story notes that in San Francisco, smaller lines of about 20 people were seen at Verizon stores at 8 a.m. At one store, an employee said the store had sold about 100 of the phones. For the Storm obsessed, you might want to read through the comments on today’s ... (link)