A friend at work has a blackberry that came bundled with a bunch of stuff included mobile Gmail, so it shouldn't be an issue. I have a Motorola Q but I would not recommend it. If I could do it over again, I would've gotten a Blackberry.

As for the iPhone? Bah humbug. I'm waiting for the 2nd generation phone.

On point two: have you ever thought of getting a bulb of organic garlic and planting the cloves? Garlic needs to overwinter because it is activated by frost. When you harvest in about May, the taste is incredible.

Of course, when it comes to garlic moderation is the key...

I have a Treo that I'm really happy with. And I use gmail on it, but don't have it push to the phone (i.e., it doesn't chime or ring when I have an email.) I actually go on the internet and log on that way. And pretty much any smartphone can get gmail. You actually download the gmail mobile program from gmail themselves (itself?).
The only thing keeping me from getting an iphone, besides $$$, is that I don't want to switch to AT&T. When that changes, I'll consider it.

Okay, the internet capabilities of the iphone are pretty impressive--basically you can enlarge anything. The fact that I can hardly read the type on any other phone really annoys me. Plus, it has a touch pad keyboard. However, like others say, I wouldn't want to switch to AT&T, they'll probably get some bugs out in the next version, and the price is sure to come down. Greg has a Treo. It has a nice big screen--but it is a bulky phone. I guess I like it, but he didn't pay xtra for the windows version--which I'd highly recommend.

iPhone has come down in price by $200! If memory serves, it is now $299. Also, now you can feel cool about having one but also smug about not paying the idiot tax when it first came out. It's the best of both worlds!

PS Miss Mussel doesn't actually own a cell phone, so this suggestion is not at all based on experience or prior use. Just aesthetics. Beautiful aesthetics.

My husband has an iPhone and is sort of a butterfingers type. So far he's managed to hold on to it, but he's also not walking around on the harsh streets of Jackson trying to send an email.

I can't speak to smart phones or PDAs, but I have been using Gmail's "calendar" feature for the last few months, and love it. I can get to it from anywhere I have wireless access but even better, Alex and I have linked ours (you can add as many Gmail addresses as you like) so there's no "I didn't know we/you had plans that night!" Marital harmony--and it's free!

I have a Blackberry Pearl (the small one) and I love it. My gmail comes through no problem, however, one quirk is that when you read a message on the Blackberry, its still marked as "unread" when you log into the account on a computer (and vice versa). But as far as I understand, that's a gmail issue and not a smartphone issue.

The iPhone seems fine but I dunno, I'm happy where I am.

I LOVE my old-school Treo. I loved my Palm Pilot, so that's probably why. So, now I have a newer, fancier RED Palm Pilot that is also a phone. How cool is that? I access gmail via the web browser b/c I didn't want it "pushed" either like someone else mentioned. However, the web browser sucks a bit, and the camera is super crappy. But I had to remind myself that I do already have a digital camera.

If having consistent access to Wifi would be enough to meet your needs, and your current cellphone works fine, get an iPod Touch instead of an iPhone. Everything you've mentioned so far is Internet-based; if you get an iPod Touch, you're getting Wifi access without being locked to what by all accounts is a really slow data carrier plan through AT&T wireless.



If you're leaning to the Apple side at all, take the time to go to an Apple store and actually test-drive the product. You'll know if it's for you or not once you get your hands on it, especially the touch-keyboard. (One tip: the touch keyboard works a lot better for many people if you type using your ring finger, rather than your index finger. Equally quick, but for mysterious reasons, quite a bit more accurate.)

After much pushing and whining for one, I finally got my company to spring for a Blackberry and I looooooove it. I use my outlook calendar for absolutely everything. And I also access Gmail from the browser, but I downloaded it as an application and it works great. Plus I have an application for google maps so I can find my way anywhere. So I would say go with the BB.

i second the google calendar - sam and i use it for the same reason and deb and alex, and you can have the calendar text you appointment reminders or text it to see what your next appointment is - its great!

With both the BB and the iPhone, you can set up any email accounts you want and they'll just come in on the phone (you may have to do some tinkering on the email's end, like setting it up for POP). Benefits of the iPhone: good camera, iPod, more web-related features, bigger/nicer screen. BB: easier to check email (I think, as all the emails go into one screen rather than having to check accounts separately, though you can do it separately if you wish, better battery life).