Blackberry Storm 9530 (Blackberry "Thunder"?) Coming Soon From Verizon Wireless

Yes, it looks like the Blackberry Storm 9530 is now official as I got an email from Verizon Wireless directing me to their - I presume - official Verizon Wireless Blackberry Storm 9530 site and gave me the opportunity to give them my email address and sign up for even MORE pseudo-spam about this little item.

Now, apparently this is what became of the "Blackberry Thunder" project. It's, yes, what many people have been waiting for - part Blackberry, part iPhone.

From the Blackberry we have the familiar Call, Menu, Back, and Hang-Up buttons.

From the iPhone we have - yes - a ginormous touch screen.

Yes, I am going to be descending upon Verizon Wireless retail locations as soon as they release this thing to see if Blackberry has come up with a touch screen that I can actually USE.

Some great mysteries remain though - will the Blackberry have an iPhone-type browser that you can zoom in and out with two fingers?

Even more mysterious is some copy from this "official" site that that that the Blackberry Storm will have "global capabilities". Perhaps this will be similar to the 8830 with the SIM card so you can switch over to GSM when you're traveling in Europe and whatnot.

Yes, gang, this could be a REALLY big deal.

I'm presuming it has a user-replaceable battery and, well, a camera better than what's on either the Curve or the iPhone?

I guess we will just have to anxiously await the pseudo-spam announcing its arrival at the actual stores so that the ever-ready Verizon Wireless retail reps can accost me the moment I open the door to the store ...

Related:
First Live Pics of the BlackBerry Thunder! - Crackberry
Blackberry Storm 9530 Shipping Box - Crackberry
BrewNinja demonstrates Blackberry Thunder prototype - Engadget