But Americans hooked on the BlackBerry handheld computer, dubbed by wags as the "Crackberry" for the hold it has on users, may soon be tasting cold turkey, if a patent dispute forces its maker to turn off the service.
The BlackBerry, which nestles snugly in the palm of a hand, and has a miniature QWERTY keyboard, is beloved from Silicon Valley to Wall Street and has won over legions of devotees in Washington's corridors of power.
The trendy BlackBerry is an essential executive power toy in its native Canada - and is beginning to make a mark in Asia and Europe, with England soccer captain David Beckham reportedly among its admirers.
Owners take their office with them in their pocket, or on their belt, send and receive e-mail on the move, surf the Web, make mobile phone calls, check their calendars and even schedule a snooze with a built-in alarm clock.
"If somebody is five minutes late for lunch, it is a blessing, you can check and answer a couple of e-mails," said Jeffrey Cole, an Internet expert at the University of Southern California.
"In America you can answer two e-mails between the time the plane lands and gets to the gate."
But a bitter legal battle between BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) and US-based NTP Inc. threatens to bring the love affair of around 2 million US users to an abrupt halt.
If so, get ready for heartache in Washington - where the BlackBerry has become an essential tool of rapid fire politics.
"Many of us will be watching this case in particular with a nervous tick in our thumbs," said Senator Patrick Leahy in June.
President George W. Bush's political guru Karl Rove, has famously been seen, glued to the screen of his BlackBerry on the fringe of political events.
In a city where information is power, it is not unusual to see friends walking down the street, each consulting a BlackBerry - or to catch drivers dashing off an e-mail as they wait at a red light.
Few strategists or journalists dared to venture onto the presidential campaign trail in 2004 without the political junkie's new best friend.
At the White House, some aides ruefully concur with the "CrackBerry" joke, and seem to share concerns over a possible BlackBerry shutdown.
"We're aware of the reports, and we continue to monitor the situation," said spokeswoman Erin Healey.
One of the few politicos in Washington thought not yet to have succumbed is Bush himself.
And he might be saving himself a measure of pain, as the BlackBerry seems to take over the lives of many of its devotees.
For some business types, the idea of being constantly connected to the office is a boon - but others are beginning to see that being at the boss's beck and call 24 hours a day might have a downside.
Cole, the author of a five-year study on Internet use, said that e-mail around the clock was becoming a curse for some people who feel compelled to get up to date every night, before going to bed.
"'What happens if I answer my e-mail just before I go to sleep? While I am sleeping dammit, everybody answers me. It is all sitting there when I wake up!'" Cole said, paraphrasing the complaint at a congressional briefing.
The American Society of Hand Therapists this year warned that repetitive overuse of BlackBerries could cause repetitive strain injuries, swelling or tendonitis or so called "BlackBerry Thumb".
RIM responded at the time that any device could cause problems if overused, and BlackBerry owners should be prepared to adjust their routines if they encountered problems.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that two resorts in Arizona would soon start offering BlackBerry hand massages.
In August Hyatt resorts in California started offering a treatment using balm made of camphor oil, cloves and peppermint, the paper said.
The price - a cool $80 for 25 minutes.
But many BlackBerry users dispute the idea that their handheld companion is turning into an online ball and chain.
"Some people think of it as enslavement - for me it is a liberator. I can now go places and do things and still stay on top of my work," said lawyer Eric Sinrod, who can keep tabs on the office, while hanging out with his kids.
"At the important sports event, I can be there even if I would otherwise be at work. It means I am looking at my BlackBerry here and there, but if I wasn't doing that I would be at my desk," said Sinrod, a San Francisco-based partner with legal firm Duane Morris, who has litigated important Internet, intellectual property and communications lawsuits.
BlackBerry users are still hoping that RIM and NTP will get back to thrashing out a new out of court settlement.
NTP sued RIM for patent infringement in 2002, and then secured an injunction to stop RIM selling and servicing BlackBerries in the United States - an order that was stayed pending an appeal.
BlackBerry users were rocked again this year with news that a $450 million settlement had crumbled, and on November 30, a US judge ruled that there was no valid settlement agreement.
In October the US Court of Appeals in Washington had refused to delay proceedings to enforce the injunction.
Experts say that RIM might now be forced to up its offer or face the shutdown, which would be a devastating blow to a firm that gets 70 percent of its revenue from US sales.
The prospect has sent US BlackBerry users scrambling to assess future services, though RIM has said that it is working on a "software workaround" application that does not infringe patents and would keep the service running.
© 2005 Agence France-Presse
To add a comment,
Please log in:
Don't have an account?
Register now to comment on stories and stay up to date on important events and issues in the Middle East with our newsletter.