What a day it is shaping up to be for investors in Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) today. The stock is currently sky rocketing in premarket trading, climbing $33.00 or 20.0% following last night's earnings release.

The company reported its fiscal first quarter earnings results last night, and investors were delighted to see the company post a 73% increase in earnings for the quarter. The company had been expected to show earnings of $1.06 per share, but due to high sales of its wireless e-mail devices, the company beat estimates and was actually able to earn $1.17 per share.

In addition to the outstanding quarterly earnings numbers, the company also announced it would be doing a 3:1 stock split on August 20. The strong quarter combined with the upcoming stock split has the bulls in a fury, and today could be a great day for anyone holding shares in the company.

Today has been on the minds of most people on Wall Street -- actually on the minds of pretty much anyone who hasn't been hibernating in a cave -- due to the launch of the iPhone from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) that many have thought would create some stiff competition for RIM. Talk about stealing someone's thunder! RIM has done just that this morning.

This afternoon, when anxious buyers are finally able to take their "world changing" iPhones home and play around with them, Apple will be the hottest thing on the block. But this morning ... RIMM is the king of the playground!

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer. DISCLOSURE: Mr. Fowlkes owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that include holdings in RIMM.

When will the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone be released? When will AT&T (NYSE: T)/Cingular stores have it available for sale? How much will customers pay if they're signing up for two-year contracts? Will it be delayed? If it will, what does that even mean?

Although it appears that the iPhone will be available for sale in AT&T/Cingular stores and website, and on the Apple web site [update: and Apple stores] sometime between June 11 and June 30, there still is no solid date --

Update: The iPhone release date of June 29 has been confirmed as of June 3, 2007.

-- what's more, customers won't be able to pre-order and so will have to (in all likelihood) stand in line on a day yet-to-be-determined in order to get their hands on one of the hot items. I know I'll be in line, but here's the ironic part: I won't be able to live blog from my iPhone, because I won't have it yet. Click through our gallery to learn everything there is to know about the iPhone and its projected launch date!

Everyone wants an iPhone. Well, maybe not everyone, but I've been startled by the number of completely non-tech-focused blogs where I've seen dreamy love directed to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s soon-to-be category-killer. You may think the iPhone craze was a flash in the pan? Nope. This seems to have some major staying power.

Take my friend Citymama, who (I'm sure she'd admit happily), is not the sort to be normally found toting around the latest and geekiest tech gear. She sings the iPhone's praises on a parent-focused blog, mentioning the ability to play Laurie Berkner and is thrilled about "plenty of space to store my grainy pictures of soccer dads losing their shit, nannies behaving badly ...and photos of my kids, of course." Best of all: you can baby blog from the playground. Awesome.

The knitting blogs, never the height of gadget culture, have been all abuzz. At Paideia's Closet, the potential issues with the iPhone are innumerated but when it comes right down to it: "I can't help being wowed. It just looks so beautiful, so elegant, so intuitive, and, like most current Apple products, would be such an upgrade from what I currently have, that I still want one." Friends of mine who spend most of their blog space analyzing an imperfect sweater pattern or debating the merits of Manos del Uruguay over Malabrigo yarn? They can't help talking about the iPhone.

Blogs as divergent from tech as JacketFlap, the Children's Book Publishing Blog are even in on the fun. Amidst posts on home libraries and stealing books? Ian says, "I want an iPhone ... I want it now."

I want it now, too. But it's still 107 days until the announced June 1 launch. Yes. I am counting. Are you?