Obama to Keep a (Security-Enhanced) BlackBerry; Gets an "Edge" on Government Email

It seems to be final: Barack Obama will keep his beloved BlackBerry, but only for personal use. For all things government, he'll be forced to use the clunky Windows Mobile-based Sectera Edge that I wrote about in 2007.

The Sectera Edge (above) has changed somewhat since then, with an external antenna, which the model I first wrote about did not have (adding still more clunkiness).

Even his BlackBerry will be modified however. According to a report, it's been fitted with a "super-encryption package," probably by the NSA.

We noted earlier that he was trying to change policy so he could keep his BlackBerry. And as we noted, Obama is the first president who is tech-savvy enough to really care about keeping a BlackBerry.

Can you imagine John McCain, who said publicly during the campaign that he didn't even use the Internet in this sort of situation? No, of course not.

So, good for Obama. Now, how about an upgrade to a newer device, like a BlackBerry Bold or Storm?