November 23, 2008: The new Blackberry Storm is selling like hot cakes. On Friday, hundreds of people queued outside Verizon Wireless stores to buy the Storm as it went on sale. The latest device by Blackberry poses a big threat to the Apple iPhone on AT & T’s network. It is the first phone by the company to have a touch screen.

Verizon Wireless is the exclusive carrier for the Storm and is expecting that it will rake in good profits. Last year, four phones were launched in the market by Verizon, but this time the company has come up with only one new phone before the hectic holiday season that lies ahead.

As per reports pouring in, a Verizon Wireless store in midtown Manhattan was jampacked with 200 people lining up to buy the Blackberry Storm. Within an hour of opening, all sets were sold. Washington D.C. and New Jersey stores too saw a rush of people queued up to buy the latest gadget.

Brenda Raney, a spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless, said that customers who were not able to get their hands on the phone on Friday can order it and have it delivered right at their homes. She added that there are hordes of Blackberry Storm sets in the company’s warehouse.

Verizon Wireless will be sending shipments of Storm to the stores. Three of such stores have already got the shipment. These include two stores in Manhattan and one in New Jersey. By Saturday, all other stores will be getting their shipments.

Blackberry Storm is being sold in Europe by the Vodafone Group, one of Verizon Wireless’s two parent companies. It also reported that coping up with customer traffic has been tough.

The Blackberry Storm has been garnering good reviews since its launch in the market. Its unique features include a touch screen, media player and a full browser. It has 9 GB of storage space and is a good alternative to Apple’s iPhone.

But there are some drawbacks in the Storm as compared to the iPhone. Typing is difficult on the device and it lacks the most important feature, i.e. Wi-Fi, which is supported by the iPhone.