Hundreds wait at Verizon stores for BlackBerry Storm

Hundreds of people lined up at some Verizon Wireless stores on Friday to buy the BlackBerry Storm, the first touch-screen phone from Research In Motion that aims to compete with Apple's iPhone.

More than 200 people had waited at a Verizon store in mid-town Manhattan early in the morning, many of whom were turned away after it ran out of the new phones less than an hour after opening at 8 a.m. The angry customers caused a ruckus and police came to restore order.

Verizon said hundreds of others were in lines outside its stores up and down the U.S. east coast, but added that it had "plenty of phones" and would keep getting more shipments. It declined to give specifics on inventory levels.

Anthony Lewis, who was at a Verizon store near New York's Bryant Park, at first tried to get the Storm at electronics stores nearby. But he was disappointed, despite putting his name on a list ahead of the Friday debut.

"I had two pre-orders at Best Buy and Circuit City. Now I'm here and I'm hearing it's sold out," said Lewis, 28, of Brooklyn, New York. "I guess 8 a.m. in the morning is too late."

A Verizon employee at the store told customers that if they ordered the phone online or in the store, they would get the gadget in five to seven days.

Vodafone Group Plc, part owner of Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone, had said on Thursday that it was struggling to meet demand for the Storm, which it launched on November 14.

Vodafone, which is giving away the phone to UK customers who sign a contract, had said it had thousands of pre-orders.