BlackBerry users work longer, earn more

BlackBerry users may put in more hours than your average employee but they also earn more money.

Nearly one-fifth (19 per cent) of people who own a BlackBerry, Palm Treo or similar smart phone device work more than 50 hours per week, while only 11 per cent of the rest of the workforce puts in the same hours, research reveals.

The average household income of smart phone owners is $94,000 per year, about 50 per cent higher than the national US average, according to a study from research house Digital Life America.

Kaan Yigit, study director at Digital Life America, told silicon.com: "The early adopters of BlackBerry in North America and also indeed the UK are typically professionals who are more likely to be in higher-earning professions."

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The survey portrays the average smart phone owner as a 35-year-old, educated, family person. Just over half (54 per cent) have completed university and 61 per cent have children, according to the survey of more than 2,600 Americans.

When asked if devices such as the BlackBerry 'chain you to work more than they liberate you', a third of respondents agreed, a third remained neutral and a third disagreed with the statement.

Yigit said in many cases people do not realise when the line between work and home begins to blur.

In a separate study released earlier in the month, BlackBerry users said they want customer relationship management apps on their devices more than anything else.

Many members of silicon.com's CIO Jury have admitted their addiction to BlackBerrys. Last year when RIM thought it may have to shut down BlackBerry service because of an ongoing patent dispute, the 12-strong CIO Jury was split on whether to look into alternative wireless devices.

Half said they would evaluate BlackBerry alternatives while the other half said they would not.

Nicholas Evans, European IT director at Key Equipment Finance, said: "I can't think of life without the BlackBerry."