The nifty thing about the calculator in the BlackBerry is that it will do all the metric to English and English to metric conversions that you need. After selecting the Calculator, type in a number then, press the menu button and select either "To Metric" or "From Metric." You'll then be prompted to select the units, such as inches to centimeters or Fahrenheit to Celsius.

Even more impressive, if you type in a number for the miles per gallon your car gets, you can select "US mpg' L/100km" to get how many liters per 100 kilometers that is. This built in feature is clearly intended for people who travel internationally or work across different countries. Or, more precisely, for people dealing with the United States and other countries.

Canada-based Research in Motion perhaps included it in recognition of the frequent conversions necessary when dealing with Americans. Whatever the motive, it means you no longer have to remember that 2.54 centimeters are in an inch or 2.2 kilograms in a pound. And when you're abroad and the weather forecast is all in Celsius, you can quickly figure out whether you need a warm coat.

Then again, maybe it's just another crutch to keep Americans from making the ultimate conversion-to the system used nearly every place else on the globe.