Alain Segond von Banchet, Channel Sales manger for RIM in the Netherlands, reportedly spoke freely about the BlackBerry Storm 2 during the TeleVisie 2009 Expo in the Netherlands yesterday. Segond von Banchet supposedly revealed that the Storm successor will launch in late 2009 or early 2010 with KPN, a move away from the exclusive Vodafone launch seen with the original Storm. He also confirmed that the Storm 2 will contain an improved touch input method, which we spoke of yesterday, so consider this a third source of confirmation. Now here’s where things get sketchy. Segond von Banchet supposedly also claimed that RIM will be slowing down the release schedule for devices in 2009 with no new devices except for the Storm 2. Considering we all know the Niagra alone is well on its way to two US carriers, at least one confirmed in 2009, this report loses a bit of credibility lest he was speaking only about the local market in the Netherlands. Either way, RIM and its partners seem a bit loose lipped regarding the unannounced Storm 2 — very, very uncharacteristic.
[Via Unwired View]
