It was time to change my cell phone and indulge my craving for the sexy BlackBerry 7100t BlackBerry® from Research In Motion (RIM). Desire became reality at the Macworld Conference and Expo 2005 in San Francisco when I heard about the PocketMac BlackBerry, which allows Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) connectivity with the Mac. Their catchy slogan "BlackBerry Handhelds — not just for Windows any more" piqued my curiosity. What could be better than an apples-and-blackberries salad at last? This company has not ignored the Mac market.

You install the PocketMac software on your computer and set the preferences before connecting the BlackBerry cell phone to the computer, via a USB cable. It will not work with Bluetooth but a call to their tech support assured me they're working on it. This is a big drawback for me because I prefer wireless connectivity.

The software interface shows five tabs: Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Notes, and Connection. You then choose which Contacts you want it to sync with� EntourageContacts, AddressBookContacts, or NowContacts. There is also and Address Preference for either Home or Work. You have a choice of three calendars to sync with: EntourageCalendar, iCalCalendar, or NowCalendar; the same with Tasks. The Notes tab give you the choices of EntourageNotes and StickiesNotes. For the Connection setting you have a choice of USB or Serial Port. There is no Bluetooth option at this time. The clear and easy to understand User's Guide includes instructions for many BlackBerry phone models

Another drawback about the PocketMac for BlackBerry is that it doesn't put Mac BlackBerry owners on an even footing with PC owners. It doesn't have a desktop mail redirectory or mail sync options for Macs. There is no way to back up the handheld's databases, and no way to install new Java programs, features which may not be used by every PC owner, but that come with every handheld.

PocketMac doesn't take advantage of all the fields in the BlackBerry PIM application either. It only syncs one of the two street addresses available. Address book categories get lost along the way, as do IM addresses, URLs, and phone numbers marked "Other"; all could have been placed in the four user-defined contact fields.

If you've ever wanted to have a BlackBerry but couldn't because you are a Mac user, your dream has finally become a reality with the PocketMac for BlackBerry. I give this product 3.5 out of 5 apples because of its limitations for Mac users but I expect that it will keep improving as it matures.