One of the best parts of being a fan of phones and the companies that create them, is that you always have something to look forward to. Unfortunately for Research In Motion, I haven’t had that feeling for a long time now. RIM was one of those companies that, even before a new device was announced, I already knew what it was going to look like, and I already knew that I wasn’t going to be impressed by the specifications of the device. And in a world after the iPhone, that meant getting bored pretty quickly. The original Storm started to change that, but it looked like the company was heading back into a rut soon after. A change seems to be coming again with the Storm 3 and Dakota showing their lovely faces around.

I owned the original Storm, and while I was quick to voice the device’s limitations and faults, overall I was pretty impressed with the handset. When the Storm 2 launched, while there weren’t many improvements, there were enough to make the handset worthwhile – at least to those who weren’t already infatuated with something else.

But then I moved on to bigger (in most cases, literally) and arguably better things. However, the BlackBerry 6 OS is intriguing to me (I’ve only tested it, never had a chance to really use it), and now that the Storm 3 is incoming, I’m excited to use a BlackBerry again. And the same goes for the Dakota, too. Bringing together a touchscreen, BlackBerry 6, and the loveable physical keyboard seems like a dream come true, doesn’t it?

The sad truth, and it’s one that I know I can’t escape, is that the physical specifications of either device won’t be enough to really attract my attention for long, or that of the general consumer. There are still BlackBerry fans out there, no doubt about that, but I feel like we’re rooting for the underdog now. I imagine that the higher-ups at RIM have a game plan and that they’re trying to stick with it, but someone needs to tell them that it has to be updated, and quickly. Consumers want a powerful phone with loads of memory and fast processors – it’s just the way of the times, and the company seems to be ignoring that.

Of course, the BlackBerry PlayBook is a powerful machine, so there’s the sheer hope that RIM will move that same idea from the tablet to their smartphones. If they do that, I think they can start making a lot of people happy again. I know I certainly will be. So here’s to you, RIM. You’ve still got a strong corner rooting for you; so don’t get knocked out yet, okay?