Blackberry

Review: The multi-task BlackBerry has created quite an addiction. Some people have even taken to calling them “CrackBerrys” because of the inability of users to put them down anywhere, whether at home or in an important staff meeting.

“Some people were leery of them at first, but now they say that I’d have to break their arm to take them away,” says Paul Grone, vice president for infrastructure management for the Kroger grocery store chain, where 100 workers use BlackBerrys.

“It is very, very addictive, because it grounds you and keeps you connected,” he says. “And that keeps you in the loop, and you never want to get out.”

Canadian firm Research In Motion ( www.rim.com) makes BlackBerrys, and now boasts about 1.3 million BlackBerry subscribers. It signed up 270,000 new users just last quarter. It’s slowly taking market share away from Palm or Pocket PC PDAs as well as laptop makers. Many users say they will sit at their desks and use the BlackBerry for e-mail, while their desktop computer sits idle. Others find the devices indispensable no matter the time of day or their location.

BlackBerries cost from $100 to $400, depending on whether the device can double as a cell phone and whether you want a color or less expensive black-and-white screen.

Ron Porter, who sells the devices through The Wireless Store chain in Kentucky, says demand is exploding for the device, even though RIM has not really advertised much.

The most expensive models include voice-calling capabilities and a color screen. The least expensive models are data-only and have a black-and-white screen. When you buy a BlackBerry, you’ll also have to buy a service plan. These run about $40 per month for unlimited messaging.

RIM doesn’t sell direct to consumers, but your wireless provider might. T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Nextel and many smaller providers sell BlackBerry devices and service.