SAN FRANCISCO (Fortune) -- Now that the inaugural balls are over, stylistas are pondering the symbolism behind Barack Obama's Hart Schaffner Marx tuxedo and Michelle Obama's Jason Wu gown. In techland, however, folks are focused on just one item: The BlackBerry.That's President Obama's BlackBerry, and whether he'll keep it. The mobile e-mail device kept him plugged in during the campaign and the transition and burnished his image as the first Internet-savvy president, but in the buildup to the inauguration it wasn't clear whether Obama would hang onto it.
Former President Bush gave up e-mail completely based on Secret Service concerns that it could be hacked, but Obama has pushed the government to work around the security risks.
Obama's attachment to his e-mail has a particular resonance in Silicon Valley, where these days creativity seems to be fueled by mobile gadgets and instant communication as much as anything else.
Read More
