NEWBURY, England, October 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The highly-anticipated BlackBerry Storm2 can now be pre-ordered online on Vodafone UK and customers ordering it today will receive their new smartphone from 26th October.

Available first in the UK through Vodafone, the BlackBerry Storm2 (http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobile-phone/blackberry-storm2) is available for free on pay monthly price plans from GBP35 with 600 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited BlackBerry Internet Service, unlimited Vodafone Mobile Internet and broadband on a 24 month contract.

Customers who want to be the first in the UK to have a BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone can pre-order today at http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobile-phone/blackberry-storm2.

The second generation of RIM's innovative and award-winning smartphone significantly improves the BlackBerry(R) touch-screen platform with new technology and features among its hundreds of hardware and software enhancements.

- The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone from Vodafone features: - New SurePress technology based on an electronic suspension system that provides the user with tactile feedback when the touch-screen is pressed - Fast performance Wi-Fi capability - 3.2 MP camera with variable zoom, autofocus, flash and video recording (with enhanced speaker performance) - Flexible storage, including 256MB flash memory and an expandable microSD/SDHD memory card slot - Thinner, sleeker and cleaner lines than its predecessor, the BlackBerry Storm 9500 - Enhanced BlackBerry OS 5

Note to Editors

The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone (model 9520) from Vodafone features:

New SurePress Technology

The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone introduces a new SurePress(TM) technology based on an electronic system that provides the user with tactile feedback when the touch-screen is pressed. The new system responds equally to gentle pressure applied anywhere on the surface of the screen and makes clicking the display practically effortless. Typing on the smartphone's virtual keyboards is easier, more comfortable and more accurate. The new SurePress technology also allows the user to type a letter with one thumb even while their other thumb may still be touching or resting on another letter, enabling faster typing and multi-key actions such as Shift or Alt - key combinations.

Hardware Features

- Smooth design and premium finish with sloped edges, chrome accents, glass lens and stainless steel backplate - Large (3.25), dazzling, high resolution 360 x 480 display at 184 ppi - Capacitive touch-screen with integrated functions (Send, End, Menu, Escape) and new SurePress technology that makes clicking the display practically effortless - Global connectivity support: UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz), quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM and Wi-Fi(R) (802.11 b/g) networks - 3.2 MP camera with variable zoom, autofocus, flash and video recording - 256 MB of Flash memory - 2 GB of onboard memory storage and a microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 16 GB cards today and is expected to support 32 GB cards when available - Premium and easy-to-access phone features, background noise suppression technology, loud distortion-free speakerphone and face detection (proximity sensor) that prevents accidental clicks and blanks the screen while the user is on the phone - Media player for videos, pictures and music, plus BlackBerry(R) Desktop Manager for both PCs and Macs, and BlackBerry(R) Media Sync for easily syncing iTunes(R) and Windows Media(R) Player music with the smartphone* - Vodafone's music client pre-installed, giving access to an extensive catalogue of artists - A 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and dedicated volume controls - Bluetooth(R) (2.1) with support for Secure Simple Pairing, hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals - Built-in GPS for maps and other location-based applications, as well as photo geotagging - Access to BlackBerry App World(TM), featuring a broad and growing catalog of mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include games, entertainment, IM and social networking, news, weather, productivity and more. Applications developed for the original BlackBerry Storm are fully compatible with the BlackBerry Storm2 - BlackBerry(R) Internet Service and BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server support - Removable, rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery that provides approximately 6 hours of talk time on 3G networks and 280 hours of standby time

BlackBerry OS 5

More responsive experience and includes usability and visual enhancements such as inertial scrolling, spin boxes that make it easier to set dates and times, gradient shading on buttons and more use of animation

- Typing accuracy and selection have been significantly refined - BlackBerry(R) Browser improved with faster JavaScript and CSS processing as well as support for Gears and BlackBerry Widgets - Customers running BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server 5 will gain the ability to: - Set follow-up Flags on the handset like they can in Microsoft(R) Office Outlook(R) - Manage Microsoft Exchange email folders (Add, Rename, Move, Delete) on the - handset - Access remote files shares (Windows Shares); Save, View, Edit, and Email documents from remote file shares - Forward appointments and view calendar attachments on the handset - Benefit from wireless sync improvements for Contacts, including sync for multiple contact folders, personal Distribution Lists and contacts in Public/Shared folders - Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. RIM assumes no obligations or liability and makes no representation, warranty, endorsement or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or services.

Vodafone is the world's leading international mobile telecommunications company, with equity interests in 27 countries and Partner Markets in more than 40 countries. As of 31 March 2009, Vodafone had approximately 303 million proportionate customers worldwide.

Find out about Vodafone latest mobile phone deals ( http://online.vodafone.co.uk/maintenance/), mobile broadband and accessories at http://online.vodafone.co.uk. Vodafone, make the most of now.

SOURCE: Vodafone UK

CONTACT: For further information, please contact: Ben Taylor, Vodafone UKExternal Communications, +44-(0)1635-666777