Verizon Wireless -- whether by design or accident, I can't tell -- just announced the BlackBerry Storm 2. In an editorial piece written by the New York Times, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam admitted that he's been carrying the Storm 2 around for several weeks, and even showed it off to people in New York City.Even though Research In Motion has not officially announced this device, Verizon Wireless must be tired of waiting. The article written by the New York Times is an editorial that covers RIM's current position in the market and what it's doing to respond to the iPhone, Android and other competitors. Right smack in the middle of the piece is this passage:

This week, Verizon and RIM are trying again with a Storm do-over, the Storm 2. Among its many improvements, the new phone gives the user the sensation of pushing a physical button when pressing a number on the glass touch screen.

Lowell C. McAdam, the chief executive of Verizon Wireless, has been carrying the revamped device for a few weeks, looking for any evidence that this time it will catch on. Mr. McAdam said that while he was recently visiting the Verizon store in New York's SoHo district, he started talking to a couple of students from New York University who were shopping for cellphones.

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"I let them play with the second-generation Storm device," he said. "They came back and said 'Oh, my gosh.' They were very excited. This is what they hoped the original Storm should be."

Apparently, the New York Times> knows something we don't. The first sentence above says it all: "This week, Verizon and RIM are trying again with a Storm do-over, the Storm 2." The Times must believe that RIM and Verizon Wireless are announcing the Storm 2 this week, otherwise it wouldn't make such a statement.

Backing this up, there's been lots of activity at Verizon Wireless. Storm 2 dummy units have arrived in stores. Best Buy is stocking Storm 2 accessories, and Verizon has been clearing out its inventory of Storm's for some time now.

As far as I am concerned, if the CEO of Verizon Wireless is going to carry a device around and actually show it to people in public, he's copping to the device's existence and making it public knowledge.

So there you have it. Verizon is finally admitting that the darned phone exists, and further, that it is hoping the device succeeds where the original failed.