

2009 is set to be an historic year worldwide, but it seems as though my beloved Canada is failing to play a role. The Sens still suck, the Raptors still suck, and no one wants another federal election. With President Obama’s visit to our nation’s capital drawing ever nearer, I’ve decided to put my own stamp of change on the New Year. To that effect, as of this Friday I will no longer be Editor-in-Chief of BlackBerry Cool.
During my time at the ‘Cool, much has changed in the BlackBerry space. I can remember back in the early days writing an editorial (one of my first, in fact) in favor of the then much-rumored Apple/RIM device we had dubbed the ‘iBerry’ — we all know how that worked out. BlackBerry Cool has changed quite a bit in that time as well: we’re prettier, faster, and with writers like Kyle McInnes, Nan Palmero, and Jonathan Brandon, filled with new blood and fresh opinions. In the end, I guess that’s why leaving BlackBerry Cool, a site that I’ve grown with and has grown with me, doesn’t seem as heartbreaking as it should. With the new BBCool team and the myriad BlackBerry sites on the web now (remember when it was just BlackBerry Forums, and BBCool?), I know I leave things in good hands.
As for my part? I’ve had the opportunity to meet with many industry luminaries (see above photos), broken some pretty major news, launched a cool mobile application, hosted breakthrough industry events, and played with so many pre-release BlackBerrys that you should be jealous. I leave BlackBerry Cool with no regrets and many fond memories.
I will be thanking many people for their help in this journey during the next few weeks, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to you, the reader. Thank you for your constant support, encouragement, and proving the impetus to forgo sleep for just one more post. If you’re ever looking to chat BlackBerry, you know where to find me.
Douglas Soltys
Editor-in-Chief
BlackBerry Cool