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The BlackBerry Storm 9730 offers 3G capability, lots of memory and a snazzy two touch-screen experience along with the familiar secure messaging platform.

But in the wake of the Storm's Nov. 21 debut, it's what Research in Motion's (NASDAQ: RIMM) latest smartphone seems to miss that has critics offering less-than-kind comments.

New York Times technology columnist David Pogue tags the Storm as the "BlackBerry Dud", and is a bit miffed over the missing traditional QWERTY keyboard.

"It's like an iPod without a scroll wheel. A Prius with terrible mileage. Cracker Jack without a prize inside," Pogue seethed in his review last week.

Joshua Topolsky, the editor-in-chief at popular tech blog Engadget, noted two key features of the Storm's touchscreen -- that it offers iPhone-like "hovering" over icons, and a unique ability to providing a tactile "clicking" sensation while typing. But ultimately, Topolsky was disappointed by how both features performed.

"The Storm's screen certainly provides those two things in spades, but our question is whether or not they actually improve the experience of using this sort of device -- and in our opinion, they do not," he wrote.

Only the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg seems to be semi-enamored by RIM's latest competitor to the Apple iPhone.

"Overall, the Storm is a very capable handheld computer that will appeal to BlackBerry users who have been pining for a touch-controlled device with a larger screen," Mossberg wrote. "Despite its lack of a keyboard, the Storm is a real BlackBerry in every other respect."

See here for the rest of this article at InternetNews.com.