The BlackBerry Storm 9540 will be available in Verizon Wireless stores and online for $199.99 starting November 21. In the price tag, a subscriber will get a $50 mail-in rebate and a new, two-year customer agreement, so it’s really $249.99 or a lot more if you’re not eligible for a new contract. The Storm features a clickable touchscreen, which allows it to mimic the feel of the older BlackBerry keyboards. The device also boasts global high-speed cellular, a high-resolution camera and an improved Web browser. The BlackBerry Storm is the first Research in Motion (RIM) touchscreen device ever. Its main objective is to outsell the Apple rival, iPhone.

There are a few reasons for which the Storm is a serious opponent for the iPhone. Firstly, it features a 3.2 megapixel camera with video capabilities, variable zoom, auto focus and a flash that has the ability to provide continuous lighting while recording video. The iPhone has a 2 megapixel camera that does not offer video capture. Secondly, the BlackBerry Storm continues BlackBerry’s 10-year legacy of mobile e-mail, working with BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise.

Another advantage that the 9540 will have over its Apple competitor is the fact that is comes preloaded with DataViz Documents to Go suite for editing Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files from the handset, while iPhone only offers its users the chance of viewing a document, not editing it.

An interesting feature of the Storm consists of the fact that its screen is clickable. This way, users can feel like they’re using a physical keyboard or a mouse. In addition, RIM has recently unveiled its plans to launch its own application store, similar to the AppStore for the iPhone and the Android Market for G1. The store is set to launch in March 2009. All in all, it seems that the BlackBerry Storm 9540 could be a true iPhone killer.