Last year in October I bought my daughter an older 2005 BlackBerry 7290 for my daughter. When I saw it I was so impressed I bought a BlackBerry 7250, a slightly different model for Verizon's CDMA phone network.

I bought the 7250 for the full 33 key keyboard, and the display: a reflective LCD display that can be easily read in direct sunlight.

To use a "smart phone" like the BlackBerry Verizon's network requires you pay an extra $25 a month for BlackBerry Data Service which has true Internet access, an always on email account, and other data services that you can easily add like Google Maps which has a GPS locator, maps and satellite photos.

I use my BlackBerry easily several hours a day. In the morning after eating breakfast I surf the Internet websites of the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and even the Los Angeles Times to find out what happened while I was "away". Being well informed in these times is priceless.

At work I use the Calendar to schedule and track manufacturing orders, the Internet Browser to Google things I need to look up, the NotePad to write notes to myself and the SMS and Email Editor for unlimited, effortless texting to family and friends and Internet Email (@blackberry.net).

For those times when time is hanging heavy I have WattPad, an e-book reader that has access to thousands of books. A library that fits in my pocket.

The BlackBerry 7250 is an older, 2005 year model which only cost me $32 on ebaY. It only has 32 megs of memory but that's actually enough to have plenty of message storage, the applications I like, and acceptable performance in a less than 5 ounce package.

There is a unique power-saving feature. When the 'Berry is in the holster the screen is banked and the keyboard automatically locks. A magnet in the holster triggers a magnetic switch. It has "Out of Holster" and "In Holster" settings in the Profiles that allow complete customisation of the 'Berry's alert tones, rings and vibrates.

Battery life is excellent, the phone is a bit weird to hold to your ear but it works well, and it can even survive a drop from waist height to a concrete floor.

There is a thing or two that is a bit weak about the 7250. The ringer isn't very loud, I usually can't hear it at work. The ringer is also a single note MIDI type that only really plays one note at a time. No cords, no drum tacks, no instrument sounds. When talking on the phone it really eats the battery up fast, not a real biggy for me 'cause I rarely talk on the phone.

This is a device that in only 5½ months has become a major part of my existence. It is really a hard-core text communication device. It would be hard for me to go back to to a ordinary cell phone.

BlackBerry's maker, Research In Motion, has a really nice syncing software that syncs with Microsoft Outlook over a standard USB cable. I installed the the software on my laptop and it works perfectly.

Someday I'll have to get a Bluetooth earpiece to use the wireless headset feature, just as soon as I find the "borg" model with the built in red laser pointer ;-)