Photo by jagosaurus

Last week at Digital Capital Week events, iPhone fans reportedly outnumbered Blackberry users by a margin of 10 percent, at roughly 400 out of the 4,000 attendees. Meanwhile, throughout House of Representatives offices, there are reportedly fewer than 100 total iPhones out of more than 9,000 smart phones.

Is there any one reason why Washingtonians would cling to their Blackberrys longer than their counterparts in, say, San Francisco or New York City?

Hill staffers have a long-standing affection for even some of the ugliest Blackberry designs of yesteryear. Most users never needed a phone to do more than send emails and keep a calendar. Particularly for lower-paid staffers, a Blackberry was a badge of significance. President Barack Obama famously refused to give up his Blackberry from his days in the Senate.