The lack of WiFi is undoubtedly due to the ridiculous array of mobile radios. I'm sure they simply ran out of room. As much as I like EV-DO, it's not a standard that's terribly viable given the global (and US) saturation of GSM and, more specifically, HSDPA 3G coverage. They should have offered it without CDMA and swapped in a WiFi radio.

Given the state of the US and Canadian markets, this simply would not be viable. AT&T in the US and Rogers in Canada already carry the iPhone, making it extremely unlikely that either of them would carry the Storm. It wouldn't sell well against the iPhone and I'm sure neither of them are willing to risk eroded profits.

More frustratingly for RIM, they are a company that is not well-known. Even if the Storm were in every way better than the iPhone, it would be a relative failure. RIM lives in obscurity for your common phone-buyer who's hyped about the iPhone.

In the end, the phone is nothing more than a placation for Verizon and the minuscule number of CDMA carriers in the far east. Despite RIM's attempts to make inroads in the consumer market with colored Pearls, they've got a long way to go and probably will never get there.