On Thursday, RIM and Verizon announced the long-rumored BlackBerry Storm2 9550. RIM didn't just add a new coat of paint and a few software tweaks with the new device. We've spelled out five of the key improvements between the original Storm and Storm2.

On Thursday, RIM and Verizon announced the long-rumored .

RIM didn't just add a new coat of paint and a few software tweaks with the new device. Finally, the innovative touchscreen smartphone just works, and just a few key deficiencies kept it from earning an Editor's Choice award.

After getting our hands on it (), we've decided it's a great device and the phone RIM should have released the first time out. What has been improved? Here are five big differences between the Storm and Storm2.

1) A vastly improved touchscreen: Let's just say it: the first Storm's touch screen was weird. When it came out, people couldn't stop talking about its odd clicking touch screen that provided haptic feedback. It was like pushing down on a physical button, and yet it wasn't. Not compared to a keyboard, anyway. The Storm2's screen has a lot of similarities to the original, but now RIM has placed four electrical actuators under the screen (one for each corner). This makes the screen more responsive and better for typing.

2) A lot less bugs: When the was released last November, the unit was buggy as heck. We ran into many problems during testing, and users complained that the software felt incomplete. Six months after the release, RIM and Verizon fixed most of the bugs with . Fortunately, the Storm2 shouldn't have this problem, and the subsequent bad buzz because most of the kinks have already been worked out. (There are still a few bugs, mind you, but nothing drastic.)

3) Multi-touch: Since the iPhone 3GS is now the standard all touch-screen smartphones live up to, the addition of multi-touch to the Storm2 is important. It's not full multi-touch, but it's a good start. For example, you can copy and paste text by holding two fingers on both ends.

4) Wi-Fi: While Verizon's 3G network is pretty peppy and far-reaching, people complained when the first Storm didn't have Wi-Fi while the BlackBerry Bold did. Most major devices these days add Wi-Fi to be taken more seriously as a computing platform, so it's good to see it on the Storm2.

5) Bottom-edge speakerphone: The original Storm had its speakerphone molded into its aluminum back panel. This was an unfortunate design problem; if you wanted to do anything on the touch screen while on speakerphone, well, too bad. The Storm2's speakerphone is on the bottom edge of the phone, allowing users to talk on the phone while using the touch screen.