Blackberry v I-phone

[Beady]

Need some advice / thoughts / sarcastic comments - but dont get all technical on me.

I currently have a Blackberry and have done for several years. I dont use the blackberry server software so emails / calendar etc all need to be synchronised with my laptop via USB connection every day or two.

Last time i renewed my contract i stuck with the BB as it always worked fine and the new phone just turned up, synchronised and didnt need any effort to make it work.

Contract now up for renewal again so question is do i stick with BB or switch to I-phone?

The BB gets heavy use for work - i get at close on 50 emails a day and i am out and about most of the time, sometimes internationally including Europe and Caribbean - so it must work perfectly there.

It is essentially for business use.

My laptop is a PC not a Mac by the way- so i use MS outlook generally - will an I-phone work with this ?

Any thougths on the pros / cons of each ?

Has anyone used both - which do you prefer?

And finally - is there a new BB or iphone out soon? (ie should i wait a few weeks / months?)

cheers

[Bibs]

I doubt it's that relevant but I had a BB for 3 months before I couldn't take any more and went to the iPhone mainly due to the BB keyboard. Having switched it feels generations ahead of the BB I had which was top of the range at the time and I find that for business use I can often leave my laptop at home now I've got the iPhone, it's that useful!

Allegedly there's a new iPhone out in June/July this year.

/fanboy off

[Backmarker]

I'm an Apple fan and never did use a BB

My iPhone syncs via MobileMe with my Mac and Outlook so that works fine. MobileMe costs £59pa

People tell me that BB is a better business e-mail tool but not having used one, I can't really comment. iPhone e-mail works fine for me though.

Rumour has it that a new iPhone 4G is on the way but not sure when, you could be waiting a long time.

[[email protected]]

Iphone all the way, but really really worth while to get mac.me subscription (basically if you lose/break your iphone then all contacts,mails,calendar, photos are not lost...AND this without having to remember to sync !!!)

[Jonathan]

Apple said they would always update the phone pretty much yearly - the nasty thing is mosy people have 18month contracts.

I'd hold out - Apple might be gaining a reputation for bringing out new products that arn't really new and featureless (iphone 3Gs is nothing more than an overclocked 3G....oh wait, it has a compass in it...woooopy dooo - iPad is nothing more than a huge itouch).

The 4G is rumored to be a step in generation as opposed to milking the product by making it a different colour, calling it a different name.

Lets hope so, I do want to buy another iPhone but Apple as well as a few other money grabbing companies are starting to drift more towards pumping downloadable content out instead of pushing boundries (which is ironically what the iPhone stood for)

iPhone does sync with outlook, you need to use 2003 though as I found out.

It syncs better imo with Yahoo mail which I now use exclusivly to do all my stuff with, there are some niggles but nothing major, nothing I have found to be an obstacle.

My main grief with it is when you try and use it for things it was designed to do over and above being a fancy PDA / phone which is where the iPhone should shine.

I would seriously give it 2-3 months - Apple usually launch in June/July, if no word of a new iPhone then go with the one you feel best with.

iPhone can work but you have to be very forgiving and overlook the miles of un-tapped potential sitting in your palm.

(Note above post - Perfectly illustrates the way Apple seem to be going, features that are implimented in the kit you already paid for are marketed as seperate purchase extras. I refuse to go this route with any product. You can sync for free using yahoo and so on, but luckily the iphone spends 1/2 it's time, I kid not, on charge anways so you can always use it as an excuse to sync the data whilst plugged in charging off the PC/Laptop)

Edited March 2, 2010 by Jonathan

[Paul C]

Blackberry is good as you can keep it in your pocket.

For some reason people with Iphones have to have them in their hand while eating, drinking, pissing, pooing, shopping, walking, and whenever anyone asks them what they are doing next they have to check with it first. As a brand, and how people act and live with them, they have almost reached a BMW like status of undesirability for me. I'd rather (honestly) be ginger than be seen gazing into one in public.

Pity, as i'm running out of choice for phones without sliding parts/rollerballs/navigation joysticks, i do like a phone i can get an all over site cover for and the Iphone (by it's design) will pretty much soon be the only phone you can totally wrap and still 100% use. I can totally disemble my blackberry, take apart the rollerball assembly, clean the magnetic rollers of all my site dirt and dust and reassemble so it works like new, it's a PITA i grant you, but at least i don't have an Iphone, or ginger hair come to that.

[red vtec]

If its for Personal use, your own business i.e just you, go IPhone.

Blackberry is big in the Enterprise business setups due to its link up with exchange and the abilty to set permissions, lock downs etc at the enterprise level. i.e stop the users installing unwanted crap.

I have been told that if you visit the Far East you will need 3G. I'm currently looking to get into BB support.

[Petrol feet driven]

I own an I-phone 3GS and its by far the best phone I have owned. I don't have it in my hand 24-7 but yes some people do, and that goes for any phone as the idea is to use it and to keep using it. But as the new phone and its apps wear off it stays in your pocket. I like the I phone for a lot of its apps and so on, but the best is it has a Airplane mode. On the setting your able to turn it to off what takes you off wi-fi and notifications, so it wont ring and puts you in Do Not Dusturb mode. Great for going out to dinner ETC. Its the closest I can get to a PC in my pocket.

[Backmarker]

Just to correct Jonathon's post. The 3GS did not simply add a compass. The 3GS also has a video capacity and most importantly for me, is much quicker whether web browsing or flitting between the various programmes

[esprit22]

Used a BB for one week, worst user unfriendly phone that I have EVER used, still in the box if anyone wants it.

[TrapperJohn]

Pretty happy with my iphone. Bought it when they first came out, still have it. It's survived a couple of drops (fortunately in the case) with just a few scuffs and dings, the screen didn't break. Easy to charge, all you need is a USB port. With wi-fi turned off, the battery life is impressive. Smooth operation, you can learn how to work it very quickly.

I like it for the bright clear screen, and the magnify feature. You can actually read emails on it without a magnifying glass. Keyboard works well, though it takes a bit of getting used to.

Got some fun games. One of my favorites is Warship, sailing ships around 1800. Pretty decent race car games, too.

[obione]

I have had my iphone for around a year now, use it for work, around 30 emails a day, syncs with outlook etc, and its pretty much idiot proof - thats why I like it!!!

[gghc87]

It seems the US army prefer the iphone

Going to war? We’ve got an app for that

[Boots]

Hmmm is this the first April fool of the day?

[gghc87]

just a suggestion, but with a bit simple research it is easy to find the source of the orginal story and that it has nothing to do with the 1st April.

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/23/us-army-meets-with-apple-discusses-tech-for-soldiers/

[theelanman]

sony ericsson X10.....

http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/overview/xperiax10?cc=gb&lc=en