As prices start to fall, more and more people will use such handhelds as miniature substitutes for their desktop computers, said Neil Strother, a senior analyst with Instat/MDR.
The proliferation seems to have a viral effect -- accelerating the general pace of business, compelling others to get things done even faster.
People write e-mail anywhere with Blackberrys.
(Justin Sullivan -- AP)
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"There's competitive pressure if you're not responsive to e-mail," said Wilhelm, who is a telecommunications lawyer. He acquired a BlackBerry early last year because his clients and colleagues -- all of whom had some type of wireless e-mail device -- began expecting immediate responses.
BlackBerrys also have changed the dynamic of many business meetings.
Doug Poretz, a public relations executive at Qorvis Communications LLC in McLean, says he often sees employees hunched over, typing below the table. "I have mixed feelings about it," he said. "If they're checking on client business, that's okay." But for all he can tell, his co-workers may be making weekend plans.
In a Washington law office, attorney Chris Rhee often participates in meetings in a conference room walled with thick concrete slabs that block most wireless signals. Around him -- in the middle of meetings -- attorneys lean back and wave their BlackBerrys in the air, trying to catch a stray signal through the window.
Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said that at one recent conference, she slid her BlackBerry out during a droning presentation and under the table typed out an e-mail to a colleague: "This speaker is just awful." When she looked up, the man seated next to her was doing the same thing.
Such activities can unnerve others. "I've been in depositions where opposing counsel will pull it out and check it," said Brian Moffett, a Baltimore litigator who puts his Treo -- a cell phone with an oversize screen and keypad -- on vibrate and doesn't allow himself to glance at it in meetings. "It raises issues with me, like jeez, someone thought it was important to show up to the meeting but not enough to pay attention."
Jacqueline Whitmore, a technology etiquette consultant for Sprint, said, "As a speaker, you know who's not paying attention. Their eyes are not on you. That means they're disinterested. That's when you start to feel edgy."
James L. Balsillie, co-chief executive at Research in Motion, the BlackBerry maker, is unapologetic. "Some would say we've subverted meetings, but I would say we've liberated people from boring meetings," he said. It puts the onus on the speaker to be interesting, he said.
