I do not have a cell phone and do not plan on getting one, yet if I were too, I highly recommend getting one with internet access for all of the reasons above and more. They have come a long way and are very usable. It will take some getting used too and you may need a teenager or otherwise experienced user to help you with apps and other vagarities.
One item thing that should go into your decission is the amount of on board memory. I am not referring to how much memory that can be added on, but built into the device. This will be your practical limit and certain apps have to live there along with all the crapware of your service provider (unless you are lucky enough to be able to jailbreak it - another job for the young). As to how much is needed depends on what is preloaded, and what you want to do with the device. Research it on the internet (or have a teenager do it that is not swayed by wanting the best that is out there - then again, with the best you will have fewer issues.
