Samsung's Omnia is nice enough to find a good home in many a professional's pocket, but in terms of overall desirability it doesn't quite compare to the iPhone or G1. Why, then, did Verizon price the thing $50 higher than its alternate-platform competition? Your guess is as good as ours, but at least the company didn't take long to see the error of its ways, dropping the handset under the magic $200 mark just a few days after the early-adopters got done paying too much for theirs. We're thinking Verizon might have been targeting the $249 Touch Diamond, but really that could do with a price cut of its own. $199 seems about right for an Omnia, so you go right ahead and click on if you want; we'll wait for the higher-res one, thanks.

We suppose this comes with the territory when you're dealing with a major new smartphone on a major new (or heavily tweaked, anyway) platform that's in its launch infancy, but there's already a second new firmware floating around for the Storm. Actually, "floating around" isn't a great term here since Boy Genius Report isn't giving up the goods -- but the site appears to have obtained 4.7.0.76, which would be exactly 0.0.0.01 higher than the leaked firmware from earlier in the day. They've posted a laundry list of improvements and changes, giving us hope that the handset is on RIM's fast track to being as solid as it needs to be; unfortunately, no one knows when it'll be released, or if it'll simply be rolled into another build down the road. Keep your chins up, Storm users.

Okay, remember that bit about waiting for a wide release? Yeah, screw that noise. Firmware 4.7.0.75 for the BlackBerry Storm has drizzled out onto the interwebs, and initial reports from intrepid updaters seem to be generally positive. We can't verify the authenticity of this sucker, but if you were counting down the minutes until RIM got around to patching up issues and killing some lag, 75 might be a good start. Good luck, friends.

[Thanks, Erik]

The good news is that one of those rumored imminent firmware updates for Verizon's Storm has just materialized -- the bad news, though, is that it's not available to the unwashed masses just yet. For now, the only way to get version 4.7.0.75 (compared to the 4.7.0.65 launch build) is to have a super on-the-ball BES admin who's pushed the update out to his / her Storm users; non-BES users are still in the dark, but we're hearing those folks (read: the overwhelming majority) should get it within a week or two. Let's hope, eh?

Here on Thanksgiving Eve, we've got two juicy Storm tidbits sure to make your Turkey Day that much more interesting. For starters, one fellow over on HoFo has purportedly unlocked his touchscreen BlackBerry for use on T-Mobile's GSM network. Hot, right? The process involved sourcing a SIM unlock code from VZW, then updating the phone with software intended for the Bold. If you're not confused yet, you'll also need a dash of Elvish magic and a bit of luck, but you should know that you can't tap into T-Mob's 2G voice network and Verizon's 3G data network at the same time. Next up, the Boy Genius has it on authority that two firmware updates are but weeks away, both of which will target some of the many issues that early adopters have been harping on since launch day. Hit the links below for more details on everything.

Read - Storm unlocked for T-Mobile [Via SlashGear]
Read - Storm updates [Via SlashGear]

It's not much to look at, and actually, it's not particularly cheap, either -- so we're not too sure where Verizon's going with this one. If it's any indication, there doesn't appear to be an in-store launch planned for the somewhat frumpy CDM8950 -- which, to its credit, manages to offer VZ Navigator, EV-DO, and a totally mind-blowing 1.3-megapixel cam -- so we think Big Red's going to try to keep this sucker as low-key as possible by using it as a bone to throw to third-party sales partners. Pricing comes in at $79.99 on a two-year contract before $50 mail-in rebate (okay, we suppose $30 for a 3G flip ain't bad), while INpulse prepaid customers will be able to score their own for $99.99 after rebate.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

If it's a 5-megapixel cameraphone you're looking for, there are decidedly cheaper entries on the market -- but if only a 5-megapixel WinMo Professional set will do, the Omnia's just about the best (read: only) deal you'll find on an American carrier these days. The CDMA translation of the smartphone that Samsung's been selling in other parts of the world for much of 2008 in GSM form carries over most of its key features, namely Windows Mobile 6.1 with TouchWiz, WiFi, DivX certification, the love-it-or-hate-it optical directional pad, and that beefy cam with flash and autofocus. It also nabs VZ Navigator support, stereo Bluetooth, a 3.2-inch 400 x 240 display, and 8GB of internal memory. Gives pause to that imminent Touch Pro purchase, doesn't it? Look for it to be available for order this week -- a full retail launch is expected come December 8 -- for $249.99 after rebate on a two-year contract.

Well, it looks it looks like we can put the first Storm conspiracy theory to rest, as RIM has now come out and said that the supposed delay-causing Storm OS glitch was, in fact, more of a sticker glitch, and that there was never such a thing as an OS version 4.7.0.82. As you may recall, the rumors started flying when some Storms started showing up with a sticker indicating the OS version as 4.7.0.82, while the device itself showed that the OS was version 4.7.0.65. That prompted some to speculate that the OS had to be downgraded at the last minute, prompting the delay, but according to RIM, the problem was simply that "several thousand" boxes were printed with the incorrect version number, which then had to be covered up with the proper sticker. Unfortunately, RIM didn't have anything to say about an actual update for the OS, which could certainly use a little patching up of its own.

If your company-issued handset / USB modem / WWAN-enabled laptop just happens to have a big red swoosh on it, you might want to think twice before dabbling in any digital debauchery. Verizon Wireless has just started offering Static Internet Protocol to its private network for businesses, which gives managers the ability to carefully monitor activity from each device that taps into the pipes. Of note, the whole idea here takes a big hit when you learn that BlackBerry devices are incompatible, but it should play nice with pretty much any other mobile unit. Oh, and did we mention prohibitive costs? Try a one-time setup fee of $500, and you'll also get dinged with a $60 monthly data plan per device as well as being required to have an AAA server -- which runs between $30,000 and $40,000 -- to implement the technology. Suddenly, knowing that your employees are on MySpace all day doesn't seem that bad, does it?

[Via phonescoop]

It's pretty fricking hard to believe that Motorola didn't have any touchscreen phones in the North American market before the Krave, isn't it? It's true, though -- so when it came time to draw inspiration for that all-important first device, designers looked to none other than Moto's own MING series, a popular (and fairly attractive, if we do say so ourselves) line of Linux-based smartphones sold in China for inspiration. In the course of its metamorphosis into a thoroughly Americanized phone, the Krave (Kring? MAVE?) lost GSM, gained CDMA and 3G, and found itself locked in to Verizon. All things considered, that's a pretty traumatic conversion there -- so how'd it end up faring? We took a quick look at the ZN4 to find out.

If it's just gotta be Windows Mobile then the HTC Touch Pro is about as good as it gets. After HTC jumped the gun yesterday, the Touch Pro is up and dancing the QWERTY slide on Verizon's website exactly as rumored. $419.99 minus that $70 mail-rebate makes it yours for $350 with two-year contract. Right, $50 more than with AT&T.

[Thanks, Leindurstit]

Earlier in the summer, some words from Verizon chief Ivan Seidenberg led us all to believe that he wanted his firm to take full control of Verizon Wireless. Now, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao has made clear that his outfit had precisely zero plans to sell its 45% stake in VZW, though he did mention having an "open mind" about the future of said stake. Just in case that wasn't definitive enough for ya, he stressed that staying put was "the best thing" for Vodafone right now, and given just how many Storms are flying off of US shelves, we can't stand to disagree.

[Via mocoNews]

It looks like HTC jumped the gun here just a little bit for two reasons: first, we've yet to hear a single peep (officially, anyway) from Verizon about its Touch Pro's existence, and second, the "Buy Now" link on the product page takes you to... wait for it... Sprint. We don't know much, but we know that ain't right. Anyway, hang tight, folks, because we're still hoping for a release this week -- we've heard rumors that it may have been pushed back, but from the looks of things on HTC's end, they'd just as soon get this thing out the door on the double.

[Thanks, Leindurstit]

With day zero of the Age of the Storm (well, Verizon's day zero, anyway) now behind us, it's probably a good idea to pause for a moment, take a deep breath, and reflect on what just went down. First and foremost, we're hearing that stock levels are pretty bleak at the moment in many areas; in some cases, stores didn't get as many Storms as they'd been expecting, leading to speedy sell-outs. Some of those that were able to snatch a scarce unit were met with activation issues, Verizon's servers seemingly meeting the same fate as AT&T's and Apple's on iPhone 3G launch day. Will the situation improve? We can only imagine -- but it's hard to say just how long it'll take before you'll be able to stroll into the store (or shady mall kiosk) of your choice and score a Storm sight unseen, especially in light of the firmware drama unfolding before our very eyes. In the meantime, owners (and hopefuls, too), keep sending in your reports from the field!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

If you're one of the many, many BlackBerry Storm buyers who cleaned out inventories at Verizon stores on Friday, all that time spent waiting in the cold just became a bit more worthwhile. Online orders are being subject to shipping delays and, while you might think this is just another case of holiday supply versus demand, many are calling shenanigans. Supposedly the Storm was set to launch with OS version 4.7.0.82, but due to a last-minute security glitch every last handset had to be downgraded to .65 -- a surely time-consuming task that resulted in many fewer handsets in-store and online for release. Right now Verizon is indicating that orders placed before noon on November 21 should ship on the 25th, those received after noon will ship on December 5, and anything received on November 22 or later will not ship before December 15. That's close enough to a certain major holiday to make BlackBerry-loving kids of all ages nervous. If a Storm is high on your Christmas list you might just want to plan a few extra good deeds on your schedule to boost your placement on the "nice" list -- nobody wants a 7100i in their stocking.

[Via CrackBerry]