May 23--TRUE STORY:

So I'm getting

an examination, and my stone-faced doctor, Elmore Becker, tells me he bought a BlackBerry Storm at my recommendation after reading my glowing, cloying first-blush review.

His voice is cold. And he's telling me this as he's pulling on a rubber glove.

Uh-oh.

"Don't tell me you hate it now," I said, probably turning a bit pale.

"Oh no, I really like it," Dr. Becker responds.

Whew. Thank you, God!

Owww!!

He really had me worried, because the thrill had quickly worn off for me with the Storm. I wanted a touch-screen BlackBerry, RIM's answer to the iPhone, so badly that I convinced myself I'd eventually get comfortable with the tricky, touch-screen QWERTY keyboard.

It didn't happen. And texting and e-mailing are über-important to me, so this is a big problem, even though I like the Storm a lot overall, especially for media and Web browsing.

Now there are rumors that RIM, realizing this is far from a (forgive me) perfect Storm, is hurrying to put out Storm 2.

You may not want to wait, though, because the new Verizon LG Versa combines a cool 3-inch touch screen that's customizable with three different home screens and plenty of shortcuts. And it has a roomy and detachable modular QWERTY keyboard out of the box.

For those who don't want the keyboard, there's the option of removing it, snapping on a slim, stylish back and using a virtual QWERTY keyboard on the touch screen.

I'd never take the keyboard off. It's solid and sturdy, with large, rounded keys and lots of space for typing with ease.

Like the iPhone and Storm, a built-in accelerometer rotates the screen from portrait to landscape when the device is turned.

The browser allows users to keep three windows open and switches back and forth from one window to the other to view Web pages.

It's also a good media phone, featuring Verizon Wireless' V CAST Music with Rhapsody and V CAST Video services. V CAST Video allows customers to download or stream news, sports and entertainment video.

Also like the iPhone and Storm, the Versa has Visual Voice Mail that allows users to skip ahead to the messages they want to hear first.

Other features: Verizon Wireless' VZ Navigator turns the phone into a GPS system.

The Versa has a 2.0-megapixel camera and camcorder with autofocus, flash and image editor, as well as SmartPic technology for improved image quality and face detection.

Video recording time: 30 seconds for sending or up to one hour for saving.

Users can multitask while playing music -- hiding the player to send messages, edit contacts, and browse the Web.

It sports a microSD memory port with up to 16 GB support.

And it has an animated three-dimensional interface for home screens -- customize up to three home screens with favorite features and applications.

The LG Versa is priced available online at $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year Verizon Wireless customer agreement.

Disclaimer: Dr. Becker, if you're reading this, I hope you're still happy with your Storm. If you're not, you may want to wait till June to try out the Palm Pre, a touch screen phone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. I seriously don't want to disappoint you.

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