
It's that time again. The
first time we cheered and jeered the participants in the battle of the smartphones, there was no clear winner. Since then, more stars have thrown their dialing fingers into the ring and aligned themselves with a BlackBerry or an iPhone.
You know, I really never thought I'd be handcuffed and shackled to my best friend in a cell inside Alcatraz prison. But that's exactly what happened on one of the most fun days of my life. On Saturday, I competed in the Verizon Wireless/BlackBerry Curve Challenge:
Destination Alcatraz!
BlackBerry has put on these Amazing Race-style events in Boston, Minneapolis, and Portland before, and San Francisco was chosen for the championships.

My phone is attached to my hip, and if I ever happen to lose it (knock on wood), I would be lost. Especially since I use my cell to do so many more than just make calls and send texts!
I use it to remember shopping lists, find out where I'm going, and wake my butt up after a late-night bender. It's amazing what our phones can do these days.

We're in the homestretch now of our
Sex and the City Movie premiere, and I can honestly say, Christmas came early this year. We've already jogged our memories on
tech from past seasons, and last week we learned about some of the
gadget gear from the movie. So
Samantha has an iPhone, Louise (Carrie's assistant, played by Jennifer Hudson) uses a
Sidekick, and Carrie likes to mix it up between
cell phones and pay phones.

Lisa Loeb is not only a talented singer, songwriter and actress (she has a new album coming out on Tuesday), but she's much more tech savvy then I would have ever imagined — BlackBerrys and MacBooks and iPods, oh my. AOL's
Switched recently chatted with her about all her tech habits — including her favorite websites (Facebook made the list), her love for her MacBook Pro and BlackBerry Curve, and how she is a big fan of puzzles like the
Rubik's cube.
Here are some of the highlights from the interview:

I'm kind of a timer fanatic. I set my timer when I put my laundry in the wash, I set my timer when I put the chicken in the oven . .

OK John, I get it. You're buddy buddy with
Apple and have huge
BlackBerry connections. So I'm not shocked whatsoever to see that you've scored yourself the best of the best, the
BlackBerry Bold.

The mysterious
BlackBerry 8xxx has officially been released and given a proper name — the
BlackBerry Bold. This BlackBerry 9000 device is said to be available
this Summer on AT&T 3G with T-Mobile 3G to follow. With built-in GPS capabilities, BlackBerry Maps, interchangeable color back plates (yay!), five hours of talk time, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and powerful speakers, the "Bold" is certainly living up to its name.

I don't know why this excites me as much as it does, but Research in Motion (RIM), the creators of the BlackBerry, showed off their very first commercial on NBC last night. In case you happened to miss it, here it is in all of its vibrant glory. You can also check it out on the
BlackBerry website.

In the May issue of
Elle, Madonna discusses life, love, and her close relationship with her beloved BlackBerry. How close you ask. The Queen of Pop admits that her and her husband Guy Ritchie love their BlackBerry's so much that they to sleep with them under their pillows.