But the president-elect, who will take office next week, said his favorite smartphone was an important tool for him to keep in touch.

"It's just one tool among a number of tools that I'm trying to use, to break out of the bubble, to make sure that people can still reach me," he told CNN.

"If I'm doing something stupid, somebody in Chicago can send me an e-mail and say, 'What are you doing?'"

"I want to be able to have voices, other than the people who are immediately working for me, be able to reach out and send me a message about what's happening in America."

The security question was inadvertently highlighted on Friday as Obama's BlackBerry tumbled from his belt as he exited his limousine and got onto his plane in Washington D.C., .