When Canada, famous for its carrier oligopoly, becomes a more open cell-phone market than the US, you know there's a problem with the way our market is set up. North America is, of course, home to the iPhone monopolies: if you want an iPhone, you're stuck with AT&T or Rogers. People in other countries, meanwhile, often have a choice of carriers for their iPhones.

But that won't be the case with the Blackberry Storm. While Storm watchers in the US will be stuck with just one carrier, Verizon Wireless, Canadians will get a choice of two: both Bell and Telus are getting Stormy, according to BlackberryCool.com and the Canadian Press.

This isn't the only case of a big US 'exclusive' getting more promiscuous north of the border. The Samsung Instinct, Sprint's fastest-selling phone ev-ah, is also playing with both Bell and Telus.

What US carriers gleefully call "differentiation," many users call "lack of choices." Come on, guys, can't you just compete on network quality, price, content and services?