Request for help

Further to my BlackBerry enquiry the other evening:

What would you recommend as a small (ie BlackBerry sized), portable device for someone not massively tech-savvy to use to pick up their email from wherever they happened to be ?

I've got this idea that BlackBerries are somewhat on the "it's a turkey" list, but just now really can't remember why. Opinions (with or without vitriol) welcome.