I understand why RIM wanted the Storm out before Christmas, but it clearly wasn't ready - and now it's going to hold onto the bad impressions for awhile:

Only half million Blackberry Storm devices were sold in the U.S. since November, according to the Wall Street Journal . During the same holiday period, Apple sold more than two million iPhones, totaling over a quarter of the North American smartphone market. RIM's shares have also dropped more than 5 percent since news broke that Storm users are still unhappy with their experience on the device.

I think they would have been better off had they held it until it could really wow people. The clear lesson? Don't trade time to market for quality. The old adage still holds: You only get one chance to make a first impression.

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