Netflix, the company which mails out DVD rentals and also offers streamed programming via the internet, saw a 45% jump in profits and 26% rise in consumers to 9.4 million in the fourth quarter.

This was the quarter in which Netflix released Watch Instantly on non-PC platforms. It’s so ubiquitous now I have it on three platforms: a home theater PC, TivoHD, and a Samsung BD-P2500 Blu-Ray player. It looks best on the Samsung, thanks to its HQV video enhancement chip.

The Storm reminds me of the St. Louis Cardinals phenom Rich Ankiel, who was an awesome pitcher till he flamed out, got hurt and came back as an outfielder and a hitter. He scored a lot of runs last seasons, but he isn’t a center fielder like Mickey Mantle. He is just another player. Storm will be that — just another touch-screen smartphone.

He points out that Blackberry excels at text, which is merely adequate on a touch screen. The omission of Wi-Fi makes the Storm unacceptable for me, so I reluctantly got a G1 to replace my lost Blackberry Curve, and I’m not exactly Google’s biggest fan (see next post.)

Ankiel’s OPS, .843, ranks 78th in the National League, BTW, which is the definition of mediocre.