Vodafone taking Storm2 preorders with shipping to start October 26th, exclusivity period limited

Vodafone has started taking preorders for the BlackBerry Storm2 9520. October 26th will be the date that Vodafone will start to ship the unit. The carrier will have exclusivity on the device for just a few weeks which means that other overseas carriers like O2, T-Mobile UK and Orange could be carrying the Storm2 in their stockings this holiday season. The phone will be free to those signing up for monthly plans of 35 British Pounds or more (approximately $56 U.S. Dollars).

The BlackBerry Storm2 9520 features the new and improved SurePress typing system with sensors in each corner. The original model had one sensor in the middle of the screen. The new Storm will also allow for multi-touch typing on the keyboard which means faster texting and e-mails. The 3.25 inch touchscreen will have resolution of  360 X 480 pixels. Another improvement with the 9520 is the inclusion of Wi-Fi. Like the first-gen Storm, the new handset will have a 3.2MP camera with flash and AF, a 3.5mm audio jack and a 1400 mAh battery. The software will be upgraded to BlackBerry OS 5.0 which will allow for threaded texting, a faster browser which has been improved with faster JavaScript and support for BlackBerry widgets.

RIM BlackBerry Storm2 9520 Specifications

source: Vodafone (press release),Vodafone (pre-order) via EngadgetMobile