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Mobile devices, especially BlackBerrys, are great for staying connected. The problem is, many people are so attached to their handhelds, the RIM variety, in particular, they rarely put them down, even when on vacation. Hence, the somewhat derisive CrackBerry nickname.

A general manager at a Sheraton Chicago Hotel recently got a handle on his BlackBerry addition by trading his in for a traditional cell phone. "I was really addicted to my BlackBerry. I had an obsession with e-mail," Rick Ueno explained to Reuters. "Morning and night. There came a time when I didn't think it was healthy. ... I quit cold turkey."

Without being constantly connected to e-mail and the Web, the manager of 900 employees and thousands of guests said he's more effective, feels better and his family likes his post-BlackBerry existence.

Spurred to action by his own 'recovery,' Rick Ueno told Reuters that he offers guests at his hotel the option of having their BlackBerrys locked up for the duration of their stays...or at least for a day or two.

He would hold them securely for no charge and return them upon request.

Chicago's CBS 2 watched Ueno make his pitch to BlackBerry users shortly after the Reuters broke. One guest said, "sounds interesting, but not today." And, according to the TV station, most BlackBerry users weren't ready to give up their lifelines to the outer world; or, and this sometimes gets lost in these types of stories, important company data.

And isn't this what BlackBerrys are all about, in the first place? Staying connected.

Brands
Brandimensions measured consumer sentiment for specific devices, including Palm's Treo smartphones, RIM's BlackBerry handhelds and Motorola's Q communicator a few months ago. Brandimensions said it searched over 150 million Internet sites and analyzed relevant consumer comments posted online between April 2005 and February 2006 (before the Q shipped, which was just a couple of weeks ago).

The results concluded that while BlackBerry has the largest market share in this segment, it lacks a strong brand loyalty among its customers. This is surprising when you consider their reputation for being so addictive.

Overall, consumers felt that Treo - which generated far more discussion than BlackBerry - is perceived as a superior device; citing greater functionality, including camera and video playback. The analyst said the impact of the RIM lawsuit was small, but people believed the company mishandled it. RIM ponied up $612.5 million to patent holding company NTP in March.

It also said the iPAQ's Wi-Fi capability makes those Pocket PC Phone models a favorite, even though they generated only a small level of discussion, and the Motorola Q is perceived well even though it produced the least amount of buzz. Again, surprising at the time, considering how much the Internet rumor mill and blogs have covered every spec of information about the Q since its inception.

Today, the Q is the most talked about smartphone on the market, along with Palm’s latest Treo, the 700p. RIM is also working hard on expanding its market beyond its traditional professional and corporate users with the 7100 series, particular with the 7130 models. Cingular just launched the phone-like 7130c last week for its high-speed EDGE network, for example.

Perhaps, what Brandimensions is telling us is that BlackBerry users aren't so enamored of their devices as much as what they do for them, whereas Treo users are equally enamored of their smartphones and their capabilities. And the slick new Q, the wild card, has yet to make its true impact known.