Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM), the company behind the super popular BlackBerry messaging device, delivered strong forecasts that topped what analysts were expecting. In spite of what many fear to be a very dour situation for technology companies, and particularly those focused on the consumer electronics, RIMM put up some very impressive numbers, propelling the stock upwards in pre-market trading.

Instead of paring back spending, consumers seem to be continuing its spending (at least on Crackberries) as the company reported that it had nearly doubled its revenues in the last year.

There are now officially 14 million RIMM devices out there. ``The BlackBerry has moved from being an enterprise tool to being something that soccer moms are using," said one analyst interviewed by Bloomberg.

As armchair analysts, we should ask ourselves why does RIMM continue to perform even in the face of recession/depression/chicken-little-sky-is-caving-in scenarios?

I think obsession is the word to describe it.

Readers should be intrigued to know that the BBC reported that mega-star Madonna "sleeps with her BlackBerry" under her pillow, just in case she "remembers something during the night."

Um, ever heard of paper and pen?

For those addicted to the aptly-nicknamed Crackberry, they just can't stop. Try to get their attention over dinner? Sorry, their shifty eyes are always glancing down. Want a quiet, intimate time alone with the family? Oops, I forgot, someone is attached by what I call "the world's longest leash."

And what if that someone is yours truly? Guilty as charged...

Zack Miller is the managing editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund.

As Peter Cohan wrote yesterday, BlackBerry users in the US were unable to send or receive messages for about 12 hours on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. Service has now been restored. But for millions of BlackBerry users, this loss of service was a painful nightmare that shook them to their core. In this communications black hole, they saw the depths of their addiction -- and some didn't like what they saw.

The BlackBerry is no ordinary device. Nicknamed 'CrackBerry', the tiny machine made by Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) has over eight million subscribers, many of whom are hopelessly addicted to the constant sending and receiving of oh-so-important electronic messages. If you've never spent time with a CrackBerry addict, consider yourself lucky. They spend at least as much time staring at their device as they do interacting with the flesh and blood humans around them. Sometimes they mutter and hold imaginary conversations, or madly jam their fingers against the keys as they compose the essential electronic messages that keep the world going and without which the world would no doubt end.