Got a BlackBerry?

Are You Taking Notes or Sending E-mail? ... I walked out of a morning meeting recently with my friend Charlie Corson of the Staubach Company. As I'm waiting for a cab, Charlie starts raving about a little wireless device that he's holding. So I said, "Sounds very cool. Tell me more. Send me an e-mail." So here's what he tells me.

"I recently purchased a new gadget that has greatly increased my productivity and communication with both clients and fellow associates. It's a service called GoAmerica that uses a wireless device called a BlackBerry that enables a user to send and receive e-mail. You can customize the unit to instantly pull news, sports, weather and business and financial information, stock quotes and much more. ... The hardware is made by RIM (Research in Motion), is a little bigger than a pager, and fits nicely into a holster/belt clip.

"The unit cost $399 and the monthly service is $59.95 per month for unlimited use. You can order it online. To give you an example of how I use it, I was in a lengthy seminar the other day and was able to silently send and receive about 20 messages and, of course, get instant stock quotes. [Pike: Was that when I was presenting?] Being in real time contact with my clients, secretary and fellow associates has made me a lot more productive. Best of all, I now spend much less time on the cell phone."

--Peter