My "Fun" Blackberry

RIM made a bunch of announcements today. MySpace, Tivo, Slacker ... they already had Facebook. Years ago the only people you saw using a Blackberry were overly serious investment bankers from Wall Street. It's fun now. It comes in colors. It has fun applications and a decent camera.

I was at a business dinner last night in San Francisco. There were a lot of suits around, but also some jeans - it's the left coast after all. There was an executive named Greg sitting next to me. He couldn't put his Blackberry down for more than a few minutes. He kept picking it up, pressing a few buttons, and then setting it back down. I glanced over a few times ... it wasn't email he was checking - it was his Facebook account. He was posting and checking to see what his friends were doing.

My friends are getting Blackberries now ... I think it's a sign that a device is mainstream when middle-aged women with children are regular users of a device or a service. And, they come in fun colors loaded with fun stuff to do.