crackberry

English

Alternative forms

• Crackberry

Etymology

Blend of crack +‎ BlackBerry, suggesting the addictive nature of crack cocaine.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

crackberry (plural crackberries)

1. (slang) A BlackBerry, a handheld device considered addictive for its networking capability.
   • 2001 May 16, Steve Pyles, “Blackberry^[sic] Service around WDW”, in rec.arts.disney.parks (Usenet):

     many people call theirs a CrackBerry. This thing is absolutely addictive! This unit can websurf, send/receive email, ...

   • 2003 December 1, Greg Brown, Latin Trade, Freedom Magazines, Inc.

     BlackBerry 7210

     Phone and handheld computer US$449 www.blackberry.com

     The corporate gold standard, once called "crackberries" in Silicon Valley because executives seemed addicted to them.

   • 2005 March 1, Ron Seigneur (interviewee), Rick Telberg (author), Journal of Accountancy, American Institute of CPA's

     I just moved to a Treo 600 to replace my old cell phone and my Palm Pilot. Not quite a "Crackberry," but I just cannot stand those who have to check e-mail every five minutes.

   • 2005 October 1, Waxer, Cindy, Chief Executive (U.S.), Chief Executive Publishing

     Today, over 50,000 organizations and 3 million subscribers count on BlackBerry, dubbed 'crackberry' for its addictiveness, to receive and deliver email messages on the spot.

   • 2005 October, Paul Cunningham, M. Cunningham, editors, Innovation and the Knowledge Economy: Issues, Applications, Case Studies, IOS Press, page 1368:

     The Blackberry^[sic] mobile office typifies this workstyle with...levels of stress generated in the individual such that productivity may be quantitative but not necessarily qualitative (the “Crackberry” syndrome).

   • 2006 February, Bill Sammon, Strategery: How George W. Bush Is Defeating Terrorists, Outwitting Democrats, and Confounding the Mainstream Media, Regnery Publishing:

     Roberts seemed driven to distraction by whatever was on the screen of his "crackberry"—which is what the infernal devices were nicknamed by their hopelessly addicted users.

   • 2006 May, Thomas Louis Ampeliotis, Pursuit of a Perfectionist, iUniverse, page 9:

     It is a goal that...I have been obsessing over, and emailing myself on my crackberry so I don’t forget ideas, and one that I bother my friends with constantly.