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The BlackBerry Storm2, the crown jewel of Research In Motion's consumer lineup, debuts today from Verizon in a radically different mobile landscape than its predecessor did a year ago.

Coming in below the usual $199 price point, the Storm2 goes on sale today for $179 after rebates and is generally garnering positive reviews as a slick update to the original model.

The Storm2 operates on the BlackBerry OS 5.0, providing better e-mail folder management and remote file access as well as faster JavaScript processing, according to RIM (NASDAQ: RIMM), and includes Wi-Fi, which was missing in the first iteration.

Also new is support for tethering, a feature still missing from the iPhone 3GS, the Storm2's chief rival. Tethering is the connection of a smartphone to another device with a data cable so the device can access the Internet using the handheld as mobile modem.

The Storm2 has a 3.25-inch display with 480x360 resolution, comes equipped with GPS, Bluetooth and a 3.2-megapixel camera. The Storm2 also has a microSD slot and comes with a 16GB card. For connectivity, it uses EV-DO Revision A, UMTS/HSPA (2100 MHz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks.

On the software side, the new device comes preloaded with Verizon's Wireless WZ Navigator, and includes other Verizon Wireless mobile features such as V Cast Music with Rhapsody.

The debut of Storm2, the follow-up to RIM's first touchscreen device released last fall, comes amid a blitz of new mobile contenders, operating systems and alliances.

Get the full story here at InternetNews.com.