• by November 7, 2008

While Verizon Wireless has not yet announced when its iPhone competitor--Research in Motion's touchscreen BlackBerry Storm--will actually go on sale, the company has definitely stepped up promotional activities in the Big Apple--amidst some blog reports that the smartphone could be in consumers' hands as early as Friday.

Storm trackers seeking a head start could play Verizon Wireless' "Storm Hunt," which began last Thursday and runs through Nov. 15. The scavenger-type promotion, via Chicago-based mobile marketing agency Vibes Media, directs consumers to gather keywords from kiosks at 45 Manhattan locations and then text them in for a chance to win daily BlackBerry Storms and $50 activation gift cards.

On Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., a 4-foot-by-4-foot-by-12-foot BlackBerry Storm will appear in Times Square. Those who enter will be surrounded by a flurry of tickets blowing around. They will then have 30 seconds to grab as many tickets as they can for a chance to win one of 100 Storms, each with a $50 activation gift card. Bluetooth headsets will go to another 100 winners. Verizon Wireless expects about 400 participants--meaning that about half of those who play the game will be winners. The promotion agency is Momentum Worldwide.

The Boy Genius Report reported that this promotion already paid a visit to downtown San Francisco last Monday.

According to the blogger, the phone booth-sized display allowed one person to enter at a time, and the 100 phones were given away to participants who succeeded in catching seven business card-sized tickets. 

Also last week, Verizon Wireless announced pricing for the BlackBerry Storm's GlobalEmail plans--$69.99 monthly stand-alone, and $64.99 when added to a voice plan. The plans include POP3 email, Web browsing, picture messaging and visual voice mail.