's addiction with his BlackBerry made him battle Whitehouse bureaucracy. He could thus hang on to his favourite gizmo. And the best part is that he won and so still remains a proud owner of the gadget that's indispensable to many of our own Indian politicians and celebrities.

Vice-president of Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress Vishwajeet Kadam owns a sleek BlackBerry Bold and swears by this phone that helps him manage work while being on the move. “I am travelling consistently but my need is felt at least at 10 places at the same time. As I cannot be everywhere, I need my BlackBerry to stay connected to everybody through email,” says the son of the state revenue minister Patangrao Kadam,” adding, “Even though I am not at office, with the BlackBerry by my side I can receive as well as reply to my mails instantly. It makes life much easier.” The secretary of Bharati Vidyapeeth further adds that most of the young MPs and new generation politicians in Delhi use the super useful gadget due to the same reasons that he does.

And falling in the same league as the BlackBerry addicted politicians are our movie stars, many of whom sport the phone as a style statement. From Pamela Anderson to Madonna, Paris Hilton, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, the BlackBerry can be spotted in the hands or peeping out the pockets of all those belonging to the international glitzy and glamour circuit.

But our Indian counterparts are not far behind as the Bollywood beauties seem to love them too. Actress Soha Ali Khan is all ga-ga over her gadget that keeps her connected even when she's off for a shoot. “It's become my lifeline. I especially love the push mail BlackBerry messenger and QWERTY keyboard features,” confesses the 70mm star. A self-confessed BlackBerry addict, she says, “It hasn't been nicknamed crackberry for nothing. Once you use it, you're totally hooked.”

The wireless hand-held device is very popularly referred to as the 'crackberry', a nickname it earned due to it being infamously addictive. Thus, the pet-name 'crackberry' sprouts from the addictive crack, a form of cocaine. And Soha Ali couldn't agree to this theory more.

While absolutely every sports enthusiast is a fan of this tennis player, Mahesh Bhupathi on the other hand is a fan of his phone. “I use my BlackBerry Bold extensively. Works well for me as I am on the road for most of the time and I have my celebrity management company, Globosport that requires my attention. It sure has made my life easy, and let's me stay connected with the business world. The chat is great as it is real time and helps me in communicating with my team, most of whom own the device for the same purpose. I don't leave home without it,” says Bhupati with the phone in his hand and a racket in the other.