Storm Watch: Early morning lines form for BlackBerry Storm

Customers lined up outside Verizon stores all over Washington, D.C., and all over the country today to snap up Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm, which Verizon Wireless is launching today.

One FierceWireless team member was able to snap a few shots of the lines earlier this morning. Verizon's Storm Center website was also reporting lines elsewhere in the Washington metro area.

The phone retails at $199 with a two-year contract. This will mark the first touchscreen device from RIM and another contender for "iPhone Killer" crown.

Some Storm fans said they had waited in line at retail stores for the phone, but weren't able to get a device because others ahead of them had purchased multiple devices. Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney said that because certain customers, especially business customers could have multiple lines on their account or multiple contracts that were up, they could have purchased more than one Storm.

For more:
- see these photos of the lines for the BlackBerry Storm
- check out the Verizon Storm Center for more updates
- see our Unboxing slideshow
- check out our review with photos