Verizon cuts BlackBerry Storm pricing to $49.99; sheds inventory for Storm 2 in Oct.

Remember "the first touchscreen BlackBerry," the Storm?

For a moment, it was nearly outshined by the new $49 Curve 8520, Tour and rumored Onyx.

Just one month ago, Verizon dropped the Storm's price to $99.99.

Now maker RIM is getting desperate...by offering the smartphone for $49.99 with two-year contract.

To boot, the move rids of inventory in anticipation of the upcoming BlackBerry Storm 2, due in October.

The deal comes on the tail of the company's latest buy-one-get-one-free deal, too. Why so many deals? Easy: the Storm 2 nears, of course, and there's a rumored Curve 2 due in November.