BlackBerry, BlackBerry, Don't Be Down

Dear BlackBerry,

I know that you are having more than your fair share of problems these days with the United States Patent Office, NTP, the United States Supreme Court and a certain judge that will remain nameless, but don't let all these problems get you down. You know as well as I do that while e-mail changed the world we live in, you my dear BlackBerry friend changed e-mail for ever. Notebooks may have freed man from the cords that bound them to their desktops at work, allowing them to travel to parts far and wide; but you my dear friend, you freed them from their 10 pounds of notebook, cables, cases and long boot-up times all in an effort to see if the important deal was done or if Johnny got a home run in the big game against the home town rival.

You my dear friend, you made it possible without cords, bags or boot-up time. Yes, as in the days of old when cowboys ruled the land, man can once again reach for his hip and snuff out a problem faster than a salesman can explain how he sat on his notebook, cracking it in two. If only he had had you by his side. Had he had you sitting in your trusty holster he would not have been caught off guard by the news that his biggest customer was leaving his firm. All because he couldn't respond to their repeated e-mails for help because he had not way to dial home and fetch his e-mail. You could have done all that, happily holding them until he landed only to gently buzz him letting him know you had his mail ready to read.

Think of it my trusted friend, you really have changed the world. You have created a loyal base of fans, second only to the followers of Steve and his jolly OS called X. A relationship so real and true, they call you by a pet name "CrackBerry." They mean no disrespect, they know what you have done for them. It isn't your fault their spouses left them and their children don't even know their names. You are simply the messenger. Civilization as we know it won't end because Tom can't stop communicating with Beijing, Moscow and Cabot Cove. In fact the world is a better place. Business can now be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All you need is a bar or two of strength and you can send our messages to the far corners of the globe. When the bell strikes five and we head home, we don't have to stop reading, sending, replying, responding, forwarding our many e-mails. Business doesn't have to stop at the waters edge, it can now continue on and on and on.

Don't pay attention to those nay sayers who call your creators thieves and criminals. Besides, the US Patent Office keeps ruling in your favor. The world is behind you. The world is with you my black and blue friend. Yes the judge who shall not be named doesn't seem to care that your patent case is pending. Yes NTP is asking for not just huge sums of money, but more money than most of us can even dream of seeing, much less being handed over.

So my dear friend. Don't leave me here, all alone without my e-mail or access to the web. Don't leave me to try and find a replacement for you? A friend such as you can not be replaced. Yes, I may find a friend that comes close and in time you will be but only a memory; but you will never be fully replaced. Should it come to an end though, feel strong in knowing that our time together these past few years has not just been wonderful but very fulfilling. Our friendship was worth the sleepless nights, the annoying buzzing, the sharp ringing, the constant bother, the wishing for shorter battery life, the tiny keys, the longing for silence, the demand for more and more and more... Wait.... February 24th they may pull the plug... CAN I HELP!