Customers even only slightly familiar with smartphones no doubt recognize the Blackberry. Research in Motion set the bar quite high with its original version and has continued to blaze the smartphone trail with each subsequent version of the Blackberry Storm. The Blackberry Storm 3 picks up directly after the Storm 2 and freshens it up to counter the iPhone’s continued popularity.

Preliminary reports are that the Blackberry Storm 3 is a touch up of the Storm 2, almost considered a version 2.5. One of the first things customers will notice on the Storm 3 is the totally touch screen QWERTY keyboard, eliminating the sometimes flimsy and breakable sliding version found on other phones. It will please Storm 3 customers to know that it is an accurately sensitive touch screen, preventing an inordinate amount of errors. The screen itself is a considerable 3.7” AMOLED capacitive touch screen, allowing scads of functions to appear in large scale.

The Storm 3 utilizes the Blackberry OS 6.0, customized for this particular phone. Making use of the Blackberry OS 6 is Research in Motion’s own Webkit, the company’s patented web browser. Those that are a little leery based on prior experience will be pleased that efforts have been made to better the previous versions. 8 or 16 GB of memory are enough to store a good amount of photos and video, enough to satisfy users who are well aware that it is a phone and not a PC. Memory upgrades can be made to 1GB RAM and 1GB ROM. The Storm 3 offers a 5 megapixel camera with a 2592 x 1944 pixel resolution.

The Storm 3 is a World Edition smartphone, already providing an advantage over other phones of its ilk. It also offers 3G hotspot capabilities of HSDPA at 10.2 Mbps. 802.11n WiFi comprises the connectivity aspect of the phone. Bluetooth version 3.0 is included as well as a standard, Li-Ion battery that allows approximately 9 hours of standby time in 2G and around 5 hours of standby time in 3G. It goes without saying that the Storm 3 presents the ability to store a wide array of ringtones in both MP3 and WAV format.

With the Blackberry Storm 3, RIM has updated their own product to a model that competes easily with its contemporaries. It provides all of the features and functionality that users have come to expect from a smartphone and does so with sleek and smooth operation. RIM continues to not only keep up with the Joneses, so to speak, they set the standard as well.