Crackberry Addiction

The Richmmond Times-Dispatch writes about the habit-forming qualities of the the BlackBerry, which has led many to dub heavy users of the device, "Crackberry" addicts.

Research in Motion (RIM) claims the number of BlackBerry subscribers has risen to 3.11 million in the latest quarter. According to Gartner Inc, RIM leads the PDA market with a 20.8 percent share ahead of Palm at 18 percent.

Analyst Todd Kort at Gartner credited the BlackBerry's market success to "its unique "push" technology that allows instant access to e-mail, the keyboard, the security that protects it from viruses and worms, and its manageability." He also pointed out RIM's successful business strategy of partnering with some 200 wireless carriers around the globe.

The Blackberry is a great example of a handheld device that is designed to do one thing really well. If you need a great smartphone then go somewhere else, but if you must have instant mobile email access and synchronization then the Blackberry has been always been a top choice for some time now.

The network operators are probably even more addicted to the Crackberry. It allows them to sell high margin data packages with usage spread over the month, which is less taxing on the network than the highs and lows of voice traffic. They gotta love that steady ARPU buzz it brings....