Beware. There are CrackBerries among us. The first time I heard the term was over a drink with an out-of-state attorney following a mediation. He kept reading and returning e-mails on a wireless device he was holding in his hand. Finally, he figured out that I recognized he really wasn’t paying attention to our conversation. “I’m sorry, but I’m addicted to CrackBerry,” he said. Say what?
Upon further interrogation, I learned the term refers to an addiction suffered by people who cannot put down their handheld BlackBerry devices. The BlackBerry, from Canada’s Research in Motion, is a handheld, wireless PDA (personal digital assistant) that combines services for voice, wireless e-mail, Web access and calendaring.
