BlackBerry vs. iPhone

[Stitch]

They call it the CrackBerry, but is it really the prevalent device in the business and enterprise demographic? Does President Obama's endorsement give it more mind share?

The iPhone is the trendy trend setter. Combining the functions of an iPod and a cell phone, it is seen as the quintessential convergent device amongst high school and college students, and people who just equate it to "the" multimedia handset. The iPhone is arguably benefiting the most from mind share right now.

So, what are your thoughts? Which do you prefer? What are the pros vs. cons in your opinion? How do the two differentiate themselves in your opinion? How do they overlap? Etc., etc.

Thank you for keeping it civil.

[darkshadow]

I don't like the blackberry cause of its "social networking" status, always being able to update something or receive messages from others. When I'm not at my pc... I'm not available, if you do need me just call. I don't want to walk around having the thing in my hands all the time.

I dislike the iPhone as well, but only because its apple and I despise iTunes. The device itself is pretty cool and I really its abilities, especially on the gaming front. But because of the price, iTunes and lack of a physical keyboard, I shun it as a phone. I'd much rather get an iPod then just to enjoy all the apps and games.

This leaves me with Nokia, I'm a big fan of Nokia and migrating from one phone to another is as easy as pressing a button, this is why I currently have a Nokia N97 and I still love it after 6 months of use ;D.

[Psyke]

I got an iPhone recently, and it's never been easier to get on the forums or on Facebook, or check the mail. Games and apps wise, there's heaps to try and I've only gotten a few :)

[Animeniax]

I own Palm stock so I recommend you get a Pre. That will help make Palm more marketable for a buyout from Dell or another company that wants to be a player in the phone/handheld market and I can finally sell this stock.

[rockmanj]

I don't really like the feel or design of the BB; also it seems annoying (because like 90% of the people I know have one, and don't really need one in the 1st place). I feel that unless you need it for business, you do not need a Blackberry. The iPhone is in sort of a different category, since it is more of an integrated communication and entertainment tool.

The only problem I have with the iPhone is that I live in America, which only has one service provider that although (apparently through tests) has the best data network, cannot handle the data needs of the iPhone (and apparently no major U.S. carrier currently does). I am also not a fan of AT&T's voice services.

[Animeniax]

The only problem I have with the iPhone is that I live in America, which only has one service provider that although (apparently through tests) has the best data network, cannot handle the data needs of the iPhone (and apparently no major U.S. carrier currently does). I am also not a fan of AT&T's voice services.
Weird, I heard the same thing from a friend today concerning AT&T and their voice service on the iPhone. He was saying how he gets dropped calls all the time on his iPhone with AT&T.

And I thought you lived in Korea?

[rockmanj]

Weird, I heard the same thing from a friend today concerning AT&T and their voice service on the iPhone. He was saying how he gets dropped calls all the time on his iPhone with AT&T.

And I thought you lived in Korea?

I did. I have been back in the States for a few months now. And the iPhone situation in Korea is even worse! They make you pay a premium to own one, and most foreigners cannot obtain one at all. But their economic policies regarding a lot of services is super protectionist and isolationist, so I am not surprised.

[Assertn]

Ive owned both.

First of all, if you don't want push notifications, you can disable them for both phones, so that's not an excuse (*cough* DS).

I still find the iphone's keyboard to be pretty frustrating. I can type much faster on the BB. If texting is your thing, this is probably important for you. I do like MMS way better on iphone, though... the interface feels more like a chat program.

Push notifications tend to be a bit more reliable on BB, mostly because it was an afterthought on the iphone and most apps don't use it properly.

Iphone has WAYYY more apps, and is way easier to set up. Its nice to be on the road somewhere and be able to just pop open the app store and find an app for exactly what you need.

Iphone has a prettier interface, and doesn't rely on a stupid little pearl thing that loses accuracy after a few months. There a lot of little gestures and features in the 1st party apps for iphone that are much more refined than BB.

BB lets you set up your own mp3s as ringtones, Iphone doesn't. (shitty)

BB's camera sucks hardcore. Iphone's camera is awesome and can also do video.

I'll think of some more comparisons....

[Assassin]

I have a crackberry, and i love it. I used to have a similar mindset as rockmanj, that most people dont actually need blackberry's and in many ways that still holds true. I personally dont use it as a business oriented organizational device. That being said, they dont call it a crackberry for no reason. I dont know how, but RIM somehow managed to infuse highly addictive drugs into the plastic moulds that make the blackberry. Ask anyone who owns one how many times they'll pick up thier device during the course of the day. I know for me, it finds its way to my hands atleast 5-10 times every hour.

Now as far as the Blackberry vs iPhone debate goes, its really a personal choice. The thing is, they're two very different types of devices so its really isn't fair to compare them. They were created for different purposes, and in an ideal world i would love to have both.

As a multimedia device the iPhone stands out. And i would get it not as a phone, but just cuz its a really kool gadget to have. However, if you're someone who works at a big company and gets paid the big money, its very rare that you'll have a iPhone in your hand, and thats no coincidence. Like DS pointed out, the lack of a physical keyboard makes it kinda meh as a phone....the phone is really just another feature that the device itself is capable of. Add to that the fact that it's not a one-handed device (a major downside in my opinion) and you begin to see why it can't replace a blackberry in the business world. Not to mention that Apple designed it as an object which inevitably means that what you see is what you get. When you're battery runs out, you can't just pop in a new one like with a BB. When you're free space is used up, you're stuck having to delete or transfer stuff......with the BB you can easily have an extra emergency battery in your suitcase/luggage/backpack. You can even get 3rd party extended batteries which almost double the standby/talk time of your device. And with the ability to swap out SD cards, you effectively have infinite memory.

So BB vs iPhone? well if i want a phone, i'd rather reach for the BB...then if i have some extra cash, i'd pick up the iPhone, simply as a really nifty gadget to have.

[Assertn]

Some app-specific comparisons:

Maps is way better on the iphone. Shows more detailed traffic info, and factors traffic into ETA estimates. Has satellite view. Compass mode which rotates the map to match the direction you're facing. Directions for driving, public transportation, and walking. More accurate GPS. There's also a feature that lets you seamlessly transition into street view.

Facebook is a toss-up. On BB you get push notifications, which is nice, but there are more features on the iphone version.

AIM is definitely better on the iphone. BB only shows your "general" list, which is retarded.

Iphone has youtube, shazam, skype, woot... I don't believe BB does.

[David75]

I use an iPhone to organise my appointments, take notes, be up to date anywhere with my e-mails, do some light webbrowsing, use the GPS for the last kilometer problem, and use it as an iPod.

It does the job well.

Regarding the non replaçable battery, it's a problem, you can get some king of workaround with an external batterie you use to charge the one in the iphone.

Regarding the storage space, it's true too, but you can use some kind of workaround too if you store your files on a external server... although there's the data cost problem and free-wifi isn't that common.

I can't say anything about the blackberry, only had an old gen one for 30 minutes, so I can't compare.

Other than that, I really don't care it's an iPhone.
any android or other system smartphone doing the same functions even better, or/and having other useful that I can use and have a use for functions, will probably interrest me.

I'll see next september/november when that iPhone gets too old (2 years then)

[darkshadow]

St33v all the things you mentioned, my n97 does too, actually it does lots of multimedia stuff better then the iPhone even and its camera is far superior also. The iPhone just has the fancier menu's ( which I actually really like, also cause of its speed ) and the extra speed in processing power which allows for some pretty nifty apps and some very cool games.

And what is the point of turning off push notifications on a BB? Isn't the whole point of a BB to constantly "ping" each other and constantly update twitter/facebook whatever?
If you aren't going to use that, then it just reverts to some mediocre qwerty phone.

I also don't think the iPhone actually supports flash via the browser? IIRC youtube is just an app, not actual in browser flash playing... what the n97 does without a problem.
And correct me if I'm wrong, but the iPhone can't multitask either.

I say the n97 and htc touch pro2 are overall better phones then both, though the iPhone still holds the crown for some very nifty apps like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3KrFV0-WFw).

[Psyke]

BB lets you set up your own mp3s as ringtones, Iphone doesn't. (shitty)

I was shocked to learn that I can't assign custom sounds to my ringtone or messages. Still, there are work arounds which isn't too troublesome but more customization features without the need for 3rd party apps would have been better.

[Kraco]

I was shocked to learn that I can't assign custom sounds to my ringtone or messages.

How the heck can that be true? Haha, whoever was responsible for that bug surely got no severance pay when he was promptly fired. I can't believe it went unnoticed by the testers, though.

If I was going to get a smartphone, this alone would exclude iPhone for good. I've had custom ringtones from the times phones could only store monotone sounds.

[David75]

It is possible to create your own ringtones, a number of website can make the process really easy for free...
Or it is also very easy to do it with basic tools and just a file renaming.

It is more of a money bug, apple wants to milk their customers to the max... and offering easy ringtone conversion from a "free" mp3 is against their milking rules it seems...

[Assertn]

Facebook is a toss-up. On BB you get push notifications, which is nice, but there are more features on the iphone version.
As of yesterday, Facebook for iPhone now supports push notifications and contact-list syncing...which basically means it does everything the BB version does and more.

[Alhuin]

I did a few board searches and didn't find anything regarding this, so what does everyone think of the Motorola Droid in comparison to the Blackberry and the iPhone?

I watched some Youtube video over the holidays that put both the BB and the Droid through some basic tests in real life time and the Droid beat the BB in every aspect (which including internet browsing on both wireless and the 3g network, texting/typing in general on both the touchscreen keyboard and physical keyboard, the apps, the customization, and some more that I don't remember at the moment), with one exception: the guy running the video didn't like the Droid's physical keyboard, so leaned more towards the BB for easier typing. He also claimed the BB's email service cannot be beaten since that's generally what it was made for.

However, I have yet to read anything comparing it to the iPhone. I personally hate the iPhone, but I have to admit it is the leading smartphone at the moment. So I was just wondering if anyone had any comparisons.

[Stitch]

I came in here to ask if anyone knows of a phone that comes with an unlimited data plan that allows tethering to a laptop? For the longest time the iPhone's been rumored to be getting it but I guess there's just political cockblocking on AT&T's part. However, I will seriously dump both the BlackBerry and the iPhone for a phone that allows tethering even if it's a clunky Google phone or a Motorola "Droid".

[itadakimasu]

Tethering for the iphone was rumored.... but i'm not so sure that's ever going to happen. ATT's network is under enough stress as is, and the last thing they want is people to be using even more bandwidth.

[Assassin]

I came in here to ask if anyone knows of a phone that comes with an unlimited data plan that allows tethering to a laptop? For the longest time the iPhone's been rumored to be getting it but I guess there's just political cockblocking on AT&T's part. However, I will seriously dump both the BlackBerry and the iPhone for a phone that allows tethering even if it's a clunky Google phone or a Motorola "Droid".


Blackberry's allow tethering. I have two friends who are on an unlimited data plan with Telus, but its no longer available as far as i know. It was one time promotional thing. I dont know if any service provider offers unlimited anymore, though i've heard rumors that Wind Mobile mite have something. I dunno if that company is available where you are though, as i reside in Canada.

[David75]

Well, you can always use a proxy or equivalent method in the iPhone, although not a solution the operator and Apple permits. I do not know about the legality though since I've not heard about a case where an operator or Apple sues for using the iPhone in such a way and not paying the huge cost of official tethering.

Doing this is very easy through well documented methods and software, everything works as if it was the iPhone accessing the network, you can thus benefit from the iPhone unlimited dataplan... well in the limits of fair use.

I use this when I'm on hollidays or jump from a hotel to another for work, but I'm very cautious on the use as fair use it 500MB for my unlimited data plan. After that, max speed is caped very low.

[Munsu]

I think I'm going to get the rumored HTC Supersonic for Sprint that should be coming in a couple of months. Looks pretty good.

[LaZie]

I think I'm going to get the rumored HTC Supersonic for Sprint that should be coming in a couple of months. Looks pretty good.
Same here. I've been waiting to get off this Blackberry Curve for quite a while so while searching for upcoming phones, I came across the rumored HTC Supersonic. It looks so sweet. I just hope its not HTC TouchPro2 price on release. Sprint really needs to get on their asses on new technology.

[Assassin]

no HTC phone will ever compare to a Blackberry. Believe me, you're way better off with a curve. Or perhaps the storm, if you want a touch interface. I hear the storm 2.0 is not bad.

[Rekeco]

no HTC phone will ever compare to a Blackberry. Believe me, you're way better off with a curve. Or perhaps the storm, if you want a touch interface. I hear the storm 2.0 is not bad.

I actually second this. I took a lot of time to research between a curve and the current HTC phone, and I really enjoyed the curve and how much more responsive it was compared to the HTC phone.

I would 98% (or whatever) of the time recommend a blackberry phone over any other phone. It does what you need to do and can be used in a casual setting and professional. It may be me, but when someone at work pulls out an iphone, it doesn't look 100% professional.

[Assassin]

It may be me, but when someone at work pulls out an iphone, it doesn't look 100% professional.

haha ya definitely! The blackberry has corporate kahonay that no other phone has.