Kim Kardashian West can't get enough of BlackBerry.
The device is her "heart and soul." She even keeps extras on hand in case one breaks or the company goes "extinct."
"I love a BlackBerry (BBRY), and every time I say that, people are like horrified that I have a BlackBerry -- and I don't understand that reaction," she said Monday at the Code/Mobile technology conference in California.
Kardashian and BlackBerry aren't exclusive. "I use the iPhone for social media," she conceded. Her online empire includes nearly 25 million Twitter followers, 24 million Facebook friends and 20 million followers on Instagram. She even has a wildly successful app, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.
But when it comes to tapping out email, there's nothing like a BlackBerry.
"I need to feel that board," she said. (Disclosure: This reporter has been accused of rarely putting his down.)
The problem, she said, is that she's fond of an older model that "they don't even have ... in the stores anymore," which leaves her shopping eBay (EBAY) for replacements.
"I have like three lined up in my room so if they break ... and I'm down to two, I search 'til I find that third," she said. "I have anxiety that I will run out."
Related: BlackBerry says it's not about phones anymore
She worries that the company, which has largely lost the smartphone market to companies like Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (SSNLF), will go under and leave her empty-handed.
"I'm afraid that it'll go extinct," she said.
The complete demise of Blackberry, which has a market cap of $5.5 billion, seems unlikely. But it may spin off or abandon the hardware business that Kardashian loves to focus on its software and corporate services.
BlackBerry stock climbed nearly 4% Tuesday morning.
