There has been known for quite a while that the BlackBerry Storm, research In Motion’s first touchscreen phone, will be available on Telus. What wasn’t clear was the price tag the phone will have. Fortunately, Telus has announced that the Storm will be available for those planning an agreement that involves a voice, email and data plan of at least $40 a month, for $249.99.

 Those wanting a shorted contract, for just one year or two, will be getting the phone for $450 or $550, while those not wanting a contract at all, can buy the Storm for $599. The prices are only available until the end of the holidays and it is not known if afterwards the prices will go up or down.

Research In Motion tried its luck with the BlackBerry Storm, the first touchscreen phone produced by the company, in an effort to bring down a notch the incredible sales the iPhone is having. Unfortunately for research In Motion, the new BlackBerry seems slow and it doesn’t compare with its predecessors in terms of quality and reliability.

The most noticeable thing at The Storm is that it doesn’t have a physical keyboard, though Research In Motion could have included one like we can see in HTC’s G1, which leaves all the focus on the touch keys. The phone is out on a market for two weeks and has been widely criticized by everybody. 

The Storm utilizes a system, called SurePress, where the entire screen of the phone acts like the button of a mouse. In theory this sounds great, but in practice, the whole thing seems slow and inefficient. Storm feels like the kind of device which was rushed out on the market, without being tested enough; it seems unfinished and buggy.