A SurePress by any other name… might not suck as much

The BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Storm’s rose to the top of the smartphone charts despite being burdened by an awkward press-to-click touchscreen mechanism. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion calls this technology “SurePress.” All I’m sure about is that it was a half-baked band-aid feature aimed at convincing the consuming public that BlackBerry smartphones could innovate on the touchscreen front too.

RIM knows this. They’ve done away with the clicking touchscreen on the BlackBerry Storm 2, replacing it with a more reasonable capacitance-based touchscreen. Previous rumors hinted at a new haptic-feedback technology called  “TruePress” being used in the Storm 2, which would put SurePress out to pasture. But, according to Engadget, RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis has confirmed that “SurePress” will live on in the BlackBerry line.

It’s not clear if SurePress will continue as a clicky touchscreen technology or as the branding for a new touchscreen feedback technology. In the latter case, RIM might have a winner. Capacitance touchscreens are the new hotness in the touchscreen smartphone market, and an innovative new haptic feedback technology could rescue the SurePress brand from PR-hell.

To be fair, SurePress, in theory, could have been great. Unfortunately, RIM’s touch paradigms limited SurePress to little more than a gimmick attract potential iPhone customers. Here’s to hoping SurePress lives on as a more thought-out touchscreen technology that what we see on the Storm.