Academic

OK, so I'm getting ready to make a very big step here.  I think I'm going to get a new cell phone with some sort of email capability.  I left practice for academia in 1998, right before the advent of the Blackberry.  As part of the "law practice auxiliary," however, I was able to roll my eyes whenever my husband broke out the "crackberry."  We even had to have rules around the house (no Blackberry-ing from 6-8 p.m.).  I remember my 5 year-old daughter coming home from the zoo with the pronouncement that "Daddy checked his Blackberry at the zoo." 

All that being said, I'm tired of having to travel with a laptop just to be able to check email messages for $9.95 a day at the hotel and gosh knows how much at the airport.  Given the new airline luggage fees, I would prefer to leave the laptop at home and carry on my luggage instead.  (Although, according to the Onion, American Airlines will charge me a "leaving laptop at home fee.")  So, I want some sort of Blackberry thingy.

So, tech-savvy readers, what do you think?  iPhone?  Blackberry Storm?  I've read some reviews of the Storm, which seem to say it misses the mark.  But I've heard the iPhone is buggy.  Here are some facts that will skew the calculation:  (1) I use Outlook for email, not gmail; (2) Champaign does not have 3G yet; and (3) I'm currently an AT&T customer for cell, home phone, satellite and Internet.

Advice?

lack