I had lunch with some friends the other day back in Canada, and in a brief moment of geeking-out, one of them mentioned to me about how Android hadn't really caught on that much in Canada. I commented on how in the US, it seemed to be the in-thing right now, perhaps right up there with the iPhone.

I didn't think much of this until I was at Square One (a major mall in the Greater Toronto Area) later the next day. I saw a group of teenage girls who were probably still in highschool, if not just finishing junior high. And of course in the US you'd probably expect them to all be toting LG or Motorola feature phones with QWERTY keyboards for quick texting. Nothing too fancy, just a basic phone with a keyboard. If they were older, maybe they'd be toting iPhones or Android devices. But in Canada, no, they'd all be toting Blackberries.

I always knew that Blackberries were popular in Waterloo, but I had always attributed it to the fact that RIM was just next door. But maybe it's more of a Canadian phenomenon than an actual Waterloo one.

I rarely see Blackberries here in the US. But I always see basic "texting phones" or if it's a "smartphone" then it's of the Android or iOS variety.

One day at work my colleagues were gawking a bit at Blackberry Messenger, and how they felt that it was quite silly. Having had contact with many friends who actually use BBM, I tried to give a reasonable answer on its merits. But all of these were shot down rather quickly.

So it seems that in the US, Android and "texting" phones form the iconic "social butterfly" device. In Canada, however, I'd say it's the Blackberry.

When 16-year-old girls are openly sporting Blackberries at the mall, you know that it's no longer just a boring business device.

Or maybe Canadians are just loyal that way.

It's no different here anyway - here in Ohio I can't tell you how much pride and emphasis there is on industry that is built by and built for Ohioans.