If I am at a meal, and someone starts using a blackberry (or a laptop), I get up and leave. Has nobody got any manners anymore?
Anybody using a laptop or blackberry at breakfast needs to get out more
I'm not so crass as to use a Blackberry when I'm eating with someone, but if I'm on my own I see nothing wrong with using a BB, just like the guy on the next table chooses to read a newspaper while drinking his coffee.
Also, a lot of it depends on how busy you are and how much available time you have. For me, I have a considerable amount of what I refer to as 'dead time' this is time spent in airports, planes and sat on my own eating in hotels and restaurants. I try to use this time as productively as I can and perform tasks which I'm going to have to do at some point anyway. Reading my emails is a tiresome job and something I don't enjoy because 90% of what I get is the normal collection of arse covering rubbish coupled with the 'for info' mails with 15 page attachments.
Anyway, so next time you see someone using a BB don't just assume they need to get out more. Obviously, I agree that anyone using a BB when eating with someone does need a lesson in manners.