Why BlackBerry Storm Is "Hot": Verizon Subs Have No Choice (RIMM)

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM) says its latest gadget, the BlackBerry Storm, is selling well, and is Verizon's (VZ) best selling phone. This despite many crappy reviews and anecdotal stories of mass returns. (Which Verizon denies.)

Wonder why people are rushing to buy a phone many people think is a hairball? Because Verizon subs basically have no choice.

Thanks in large part to the buzz Apple's (AAPL) superior iPhone has generated, consumers want to buy touchscreen smartphones this year and ditch their Motorola (MOT) Razrs.

And for those tens of millions of people on long-term Verizon contracts -- or Verizon family plans, or Verizon loyalists -- who want a smartphone but can't switch to AT&T (T) for the iPhone, the BlackBerry Storm is their least-bad option.

Check out the other smartphones and touchscreen phones Verizon is offering this Christmas. Most are either running no-name operating systems or Microsoft's (MSFT) clunky Windows Mobile. If you had these choices, you'd buy a Storm, too.