Who has owned both iPhone and Blackberry?

[Robin]

I have never owned any smartphone/pda. I am going to get one within the next few months. I was originally only looking at the iPhone and was really excited about the new one being released, but then I found out about the Blackberry Bold. I am torn between the two, but am now leaning towards the BB because of the email, and calendar features. I wanted to get some opinions from those who have actually used both and can compare them.

Are there any features that only the iPhone can do?
Does it have a good calendar functionality so that I can maintain different calendars (work, school, personal) for different people?
Can you maintain multiple phone numbers and email addresses for one contact?
Does it allow reminders to be set?
Does it show missed calls and details about them?
What about call quality?

I have heard a lot of good things about the iPhone from a co-worker, but he really doesn't use it for more than making calls, and occasionally checking the internet.

I really appreciate all the advise I can get to make a decision as to which one would best suit my needs.

I have to add that I am not much of a music listener, but I do like to catch up on my TV shows via the internet so that is a functionality I am interested in. and I am with AT&T.

[hermdog]

Robin,

I have owned a Blackberry 7250 and 7100i. I do not have an iPhone yet. But plan to purchase one on July 11th when the 3G is released. In my opinion the BB is the king when it comes to push email and calendering. That's why I held of buying an iPhone when it was first released because it did not do this for corporate environments (Exchange Server).

With the new release of the firmware version 2.0, Apple has remedied that. From the demos I have seen it will work pretty much like the push email and calendering available on the windows mobile platform which work very well.

The reason I'm so excited for the iPhone is not because it does video and music (which is very cool). But because it has a full browser and you can have a slew of different applications on it. It really is a little computer with full web browsing in your pocket.

Will you be able to watch live TV over the internet? I don't think that is an option at this time. But you can download via iTunes a wealth of tv shows and movies and load them up on the iPhone.

For me Blackberry to iPhone is like Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. The advancement was revolutionary. Sure there are problems with the iPhone one that remains elusive and no one knows if it's fixed in the new firmware is that copy and paste do not exist. Also no Adobe Flash support.

Disclaimer: Sorry, at the time I couldn't think of a more revolutionary comparison than Windows 95.

Hermdog

[patcom8]

I have the Blackberry 8820, which only came out last October. So i have a very new blackberry. It has wifi, and gps. I originally chose the blackberry because it had these features and also had the amazing push email. If you are an email fiend and spend your whole day writing emails, you might want to consider the blackberry. I love it, the phone is wonderful and there really a joy to work with. I am buying my iphone on July 11th though because i've had enough of paying the $30 a month not to get full internet browsing that the iphone has, as well as the 3G speeds. You are making a really tough decision and you will be happy with whatever you do. But from my personal standpoint you are going to be just a little bit happier if you get an iphone. having the ability to not only have an emailing phone you have so much more.

So again, maybe you belong with a blackberry if you write long emails all day and are continuously having to go back and forth with those emails. BUT if you can deal with the only SLIGHTLY worse iphone email, and i mean slightly because i hear people say it works great all the time, and you can see yourself using the internet on your phone often. Go with the iphone.

Apologies for the rambling.

[dstrauss]

I have owned both the BB Curve 8310 and an iPhone. Bottom line:

iPhone has superior interface; vastly superior internet browsing; and much better media performance;

Curve has vastly superior email, calendar, address book; if using Exchange, you can also synch tasks and notes (won' even be able to do that on iPhone 3g).

HOWEVER, with inclusion of Exchange Activesync, I'll be switching back to iPhone 3g in July because of the UI and Internet experience. There were more than a few times I'd swap SIM with the iPhone just to get back to the internet, even on EDGE. In fact, after the iPhone, I just refuse to use internet access on Curve anymore.

[CrazEtooN]

I have been a BlackBerry user for a long time, and I am leaving it behind for the iPhone.

Why?

Potential!

The iPhone is full of potential while the BlackBerry grows more and more stale each year. The BlackBerry OS that is currently in RIM's phones (the Bold included) runs on the same basic core architecture as BlackBerry devices from 3-4 years ago. I can grab my 8703e that was released in 2006 and put it next to my Curve 8310 that was released at the end of 2007, and there will be next to no difference between the two outside of the casing and a few hardware features. Worse than that, I can compare my Curve to a coworker's 7250 from even longer ago, and the same thing applies. Sure, they have added a couple software features, like some mini-menus and video recording, but the core is what determines the OS's future, and the core of the BB OS is old and weak at this point.

The BlackBerry OS is old and is getting outdated. It presents a huge hurdle for future development, and for any sort of strong third party application support. The iPhone, on the other hand, runs a desktop class OS and has the hardware power to back it up. The iPhone OS allows for amazing third party development, and that reason right there makes the future of the OS a very bright one.

If you sign up for the optional MobileMe service and you will get push mail, push calendar, and push contacts. The only one of those things that you can get on a personal use BlackBerry is the push mail.

The built in iPhone calendar doesn't support separate calendars for different classifications (like business, personal, family, etc), but Outlook does, and if you use the MobileMe service, it will push the separated calendars to your phone in different colors, just like it shows up in your Outlook or iCal calendar.

The BlackBerry does not have a stronger calendaring application, and it is easily one of the devices weakest points. If you compare the BlackBerry calendar to the iPhone's calendar without MobileMe, they are about identical in functionality. When BlackBerry OS 4.5 finally gets released, it will finally allow categorization to the BlackBerry calendar, which is something that it has lacked on personal BB devices up until this point. The Bold should have this as well. The iPhone calendar does not support categorization without MobileMe, but it is far, far easier to look at. The one major downfall of the iPhone calendar is that it doesn't have a week view.

In short, when it comes to stock Calendars, neither of them excel. The BlackBerry has week view and will have categorization soon, the iPhone is easier to use and easier to look at. With MobileMe, the iPhone calendar becomes more functional than a personal use BlackBerry calendar due to push services. It is mostly a wash in this department.

Address book/contact management? The iPhone is just as capable as the BlackBerry. They both support contact search, they both allow for multiple phone numbers, addresses, emails, etc; for each contact. They both support categorization. Where the iPhone wins this department is with the addition of MobileMe. MobileMe will allow for push contact support, and push contacts is something you can't get on a personal use BlackBerry.

Email? Email LOOKs a million times better on the iPhone because it is full HTML. HTML email is coming to BlackBerry, but it requires server side changes on the part of your carrier, and nobody knows how well it is going to work as of yet. The iPhone dominates the BlackBerry in the area of attachment viewing as well. The BlackBerry has push email included with the data plan, so you will get your email instantly without the need to subscribe to a MobileMe type service (keep in mind that MobileMe gives you far more than just email though). On the flipside, the iPhone supports full IMAP, which the BlackBerry doesn't. This means when you delete an email on the iPhone, it also deletes on your mail server inbox, if you move an email from one folder to another on the iPhone, the change also happens on the mail server inbox. The shortest interval you can set your iPhone to check for mail without MobileMe is 15 minutes. To me, I can wait 15 minutes to have a much more viewable email experience, attachments I can actually read, and IMAP support. MobileMe, of course, negates the 15 minutes by providing push mail services.

Features? The BlackBerry has more. BlackBerrys have MMS, A2DP, and cut/paste, while the iPhone is lacking these things. All three of them can come via firmware updates however, so discounting them as future possibilities shouldn't be done. These three things also depend on how important they are to you. MMS and A2DP mean absolutely nothing to me, but I do miss cut/paste. I am hopeful that it will still come as well, so that eases the pain of not having it a little bit... How important are they to you?

I would also like to mention that there is a very real, and very easy work around to the missing MMS functionality. You can use email to receive and send MMS messages in the exact same fashion you would use the MMS client. You just need to tell the people that MMS you to send it to your email address. If they add your email address to your contact info on their phone, they simply need to choose it, instead of your phone number, when they send you an MMS as usual.

When you receive the MMS, you will also get to see your friends' phones' MMS email addresses. Add this address to their contact info, and if you want to send them an MMS, all you have to do is open the picture you want to send, choose send via email, choose their phone's MMS email address instead of their phone number, and hit send. It is the exact same number of steps as sending a normal MMS, and they will not know the difference when they receive it. The ONLY thing that changes is swapping their phone number for an email address, and them swapping yours for an email address. It is very, very simple, and it works 98% of the time. Yeah, there are times it doesn't work, but it seems to be carrier specific, and it also seems that the people that can't receive MMS in this fashion have trouble even receiving it the old fashioned way, unless it was sent from their carrier.

Hardware? The iPhone beats the BlackBerry. It is a better built device, and has stronger internals. The Bold has a 624mhz processor, 128mb of RAM, 128mb of flash storage (used to store/run the OS AND any third party applications), and 1 gig of strictly storage space (can only be used for media). The Bold does support up to 32gig micro SD cards, but the SD card can only be used for media storage as well. Third party applications can't be installed to the SD card, and nothing can be run from there. Not to mention, 32 gig cards aren't available yet, and they are bound to be stupid expensive. A Best Buy bought 8 gig card currently runs about $150...

The iPhone has a 624mhz processor as well, but it has 512mb of RAM. It, as you know, has 8 or 16 gigs of storage that is all inclusive. The 8/16 gigs stores/runs the OS, third party applications, and is used to store media. You are not limited to a measly 128mb of flash memory to house the OS AND your third party applications.

The keyboard is hit or miss. You will either like it, or you won't. If you approach it with an open mind and actually take the time to learn it, I am sure you will be fine. Even if you don't come to love it, you will become adept at using it, and the rest of the features of the iPhone should outweigh your distaste for the keyboard. Only you can decide how your experience with the keyboard pans out...

For me, the iPhone wins hands down. It has an OS that packs a massive punch and gives it absolutely amazing future potential. MobileMe gives Exchange level support to all individual users, and the user interface is second to none. IMAP support is great, and actually being able to read my attachments goes a very, very long way. To me, all of these things far, far outweigh the small list of missing "features."

You do whatever you need to, but I will take the potential and incredible user experience of the iPhone over RIM's famous push email, outdated OS, and extra couple of features any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

I would also like to say again that I am not a 3 week BlackBerry user. Unlike most of the BlackBerry fanboys, I have actually used one for about 2 years, and I have taken the time to learn the device inside and out.

[eugarps]

Hi,

I owned a BB Curve until I purchased a refurbished iPhone. I'll simply echo what's been said here alread. The web browsing on the iPhone is much better than the really feeble web experience on the BB. On the other hand BB with AT&T has a better GPS. (Than the iPhone 2G).

Email on the BB is very easy and quick using the hard keyboard. Once I got used to the iPhone's interface an the fact I wasn't dexterous enough to thumb type, I liked the iPhone a bit better. (YMMV).

The visual voice mail on the iPhone is really good and selecting and responding to calls couldn't be easier.

Hope this helps,

Bill

[volsfan0911]

Currently have a BB 8310 Curve, will be switching to a 3G iPhone when available (I'm not camping, so it's not going to be 7/11). Won't duplicate what many have already written (all good stuff) although I will add that I'm in the "need Exchange sync" capability. My cheap arse company has chopped off BES access to only top brass due to costs (BES ain't cheap). Not being high enough on the totem pole to rate access, I'm stuck using BIS and manually syncing with Outlook on the desktop via USB. Which absolutely sucks.

I've done WinBlowz previously and will never own/use/pay money for WinMo anything as long as I live. Having said that, ActiveSync is the one part of WinBlowz that works like a charm so when that became announced for the software upgrade, along with 3G and GPS, that's all I needed.

Great smartphone round robin over on crackberry.com and it provides excellent perspective for each platform & phone. Best line from there is that the "Curve is the anti-iPhone" and that's true in many ways. A lot of the Bold versus 3G iPhone is going to come down to user preference I think. If you want a physical keyboard or need a CDMA flavor, then the Bold will be your best option (I'm assuming VZW will get a BB Bold version 12-18 months after ATT as usual).

Summary - Curve has been a very worthy road warrior and is the current king of mobile email & messaging. But the browser is a joke, Operamini only helps a little, the screen pales compared to the iPhone, it desperately needs 3G and I wanted GPS over wi-fi (although I now realize I want both). The OS is in serious need of an overhaul. And I have nothing to hold me back from an iPhone now so I'm getting one 'cause it is just the coolest piece of technology I've ever seen. And, like others above, the potential of this platform is going to take off with 3rd party apps coming to the party IMHO. Try getting an OS update for BB out of AT&T!

Also - what's so great about a smartphone in the first place? Phone? Music? Email & messaging on the fly? Internet Access with a real browser anywhere? Games? Watch a movie while stuck on a plane back in cattle car section? iPhone does all of that and better than any other device currently. And is easily the coolest design. As frequently in the past - Apple just turned the industry on it's head and over the past 12 months, you've seen every other cellular handset manufacturer scrambling like heck to try and catch up. Apple left out a lot of stuff they should have included this time around but overall, it's just drool worthy.

[edcar]

CrazEToon is right on with his evaluation with a few exceptions (in my opinion) that might make a difference to a potential iphone purchaser. I too have had a Blackberry for years.

When comparing the iphone to the BB, I have found that the RF performance of the Blackberry is much better than the iphone. Signal levels are always stronger, the audio is about twice as loud in both the earpiece and speaker phone.

The Iphone does not have a real usable reminder or alert for email messages. The existing alert tone for emails on the iphone is feeble at best.

When I operate both my curve and the iphone side by side, the EDGE performance is always better on the blackberry ( most likely due to better antenna and radio)

The Blackberry also has the great auto text feature where you can tap just a few characters that will ultimately fill the screen with any text you like. This feature alone would help make the iphone a better business tool. Especially seeing that there is no "cut and paste" on the iphone.

I would have to admit that the Iphone's screen is fantastic. Browsing the web has the Blackberry beat by a mile.

If the new touch screen blackberry can match the Iphones multi touch interface and gorgeous display, it would be the new top dog....

I just saying...


Ed

[WatersWest]

I will over-simplify here:

If mobile web browsing, music, and videos are you're focus, then go with iPhone. If e-mail is your focus (particularly corporate e-mail), then go with Blackberry. Personally, IMHO, the only reason to go with Blackberry is if you're a corporate user and have a distinct need for a very powerful e-mail device. Otherwise, go with iPhone .. it is a beautiful device which is a joy to use.

[CrazEtooN]

Originally Posted by edcar

CrazEToon is right on with his evaluation with a few exceptions (in my opinion) that might make a difference to a potential iphone purchaser. I too have had a Blackberry for years.

When comparing the iphone to the BB, I have found that the RF performance of the Blackberry is much better than the iphone. Signal levels are always stronger, the audio is about twice as loud in both the earpiece and speaker phone.

The Iphone does not have a real usable reminder or alert for email messages. The existing alert tone for emails on the iphone is feeble at best.

When I operate both my curve and the iphone side by side, the EDGE performance is always better on the blackberry ( most likely due to better antenna and radio)

The Blackberry also has the great auto text feature where you can tap just a few characters that will ultimately fill the screen with any text you like. This feature alone would help make the iphone a better business tool. Especially seeing that there is no "cut and paste" on the iphone.

I would have to admit that the Iphone's screen is fantastic. Browsing the web has the Blackberry beat by a mile.

If the new touch screen blackberry can match the Iphones multi touch interface and gorgeous display, it would be the new top dog....

I just saying...


Ed

The plastic back is rumored to improve signal reception significantly. Only time will tell though...

I think your browser comparison had the results it did for two reasons. First is that the BB Browser first bounces through BIS, and in doing so, it strips and reformats websites to a more friendly mobile view that doesn't require as much data. Safari is a "real" web browser, and doesn't do this.

The second is like you said, reception.

The audio problems are supposed to be remedied as well. All the speakers on the iPhone supposedly got upgraded for the 3G model, which means alerts will probably be better, and earpiece volume should be much improved.

I do agree that the iPhone could benefit from some sort of secondary, or continuing reminder, for new messages though.

I know my Berry has a dictionary that will correct any misspellings that are in its memory, but I was unaware of the auto-complete. I thought it only worked for certain words, like "month?" If I am wrong, please correct me.