Big Sky Network

Showing he is a man of the people, President-elect Obama is putting up a fight for his BlackBerry.  Understandably so.  What person who has used a BlackBerry doesn’t shudder at the thought of not having it within arm’s reach?  Who hasn’t glanced at that seemingly innocent electronic gadget sitting nearby and been propelled into action by its red shining beacon?

It’s not so easy when you’re the president, however.  All official correspondence may be subpoenaed and must be archived and saved.   Prior presidents have elected not to use e-mail.  But then, prior presidents have been from a different generation.  Forget the BlackBerry, who these days could live without any sort of e-mail whatsoever?   But President-Elect Obama, being the lawyer that he is, claims that his personal communications fall outside of the official duties of the office, and thus are not required to be archived.  He’s putting up a fight and is “pretty determined” to keep it, according to senior adviser David Axelrod.

Other BlackBerry news has broken recently; namely the RIM BlackBerry Storm, sold only through Verizon.  This is a touchscreen device similiar to the iPhone, and includes features like GPS, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and that nifty ability to switch from portrait to landscape view by rotating the phone.  However the reviews have been so-so.  “The RIM BlackBerry Storm may blow in a frenzy for Verizon Wireless subscribers wanting a touch screen similar to the Apple iPhone. However, there are bugs and performance issues that prevent the Storm from delivering its full potential.”  cNet Review