Ellen Barone

Once upon a time my basic needs were simple: food, water, travel… Now, I can’t live without my Verizon BlackBerry 8830? What the heck happened?

24/7 wireless e-mail connectivity, worldwide voice and data coverage, GPS navigation − THAT’S what happened.  They don’t call it CrackBerry for nothing.

I used to snicker at the corporate drones tethered by their techy-umbilical cords to bosses and work, while I, the foot-loose freelancer, jetted off to some remote destination with a flippant “catch-you-when-I-get-back” e-mail auto-response and phone message.

That was pre-BlackBerry. Today, you’ll find me right there with the corporate schmucks, checking e-mail and thumbing back responses before the plane has even pulled up to the jetway. I hardly recognize myself.

But just when I’m ready to go cold turkey, I’ll need to Google a hotel phone number, e-mail the airport shuttle with delayed flight details, find my way to an important meeting with audible turn-by-turn directions, or score a dream assignment from the beach in Rio just because I was able to dash off a quick “I’ll do it!” on the BlackBerry, and I’m hooked all over again.

Sound familiar? To keep the scales tipped to technical god-send rather than compulsive addiction, follow these simple Rules to Blackberry By at Forbes.com.

Update on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 11:00AM by Ellen Barone

FOR TRAVELERS ON THE GO - BUY A NEW BLACKBERRY SMARTPHONE AND EARN 4,000 AADVANTAGE MILES FROM AMERICAN AIRLINES.

If you can’t do without your BlackBerry(R) smartphone and just have to have those American Airlines AAdvantage(R) miles, then now you can have the best of both worlds. Now, you can earn AAdvantage miles when you purchase and activate a BlackBerry smartphone on any of the nation’s major service providers.

Earn 4,000 AAdvantage miles with activation of a new wireless rate plan.

Earn 4,000 AAdvantage miles when you upgrade your existing rate plan, and upgrade to a new device.

Contact Information:
To earn AAdvantage miles, your BlackBerry smartphone must be purchased through this link www.blackberry.com/aa* or by calling 1-877-337-0136.