Deathmatch: BlackBerry versus iPhone

9 comments | 18I like it!
May 26, 2009, 10:06 AM —  InfoWorld — 

Look at any major analyst firm report since the Apple iPhone was released, and you'll see the earnest intoning to stick with the buttoned-down and pinstriped BlackBerry -- widely admired in executive corridors for its safety and security -- and beware that odd, colorful, possibly dangerous Apple device that consumers may love but professionals should avoid. If the iPhone were meant for work, it wouldn't be so much fun to use, would it?

Yes, it was Mac versus PC all over again: The iPhone was quickly pigeonholed as a fun, polished device for the cool kids to play with versus the RIM BlackBerry's rep as a corporate standard designed to get work done. As with the Mac-versus-PC dichotomy, Apple's focus on visual interface, exotic technologies like touch, and fun stuff (music, video, and games), coupled with its lack of "serious" capabilities such as encryption, let that perception take root as the conventional wisdom.

[ Dive deep into mobile 2.0 technology with InfoWorld's "mobile 2.0" PDF special report. | Get the scoop on all tech mobile in Tom Yager's Mobile Edge blog. ]

I didn't grow up in my corporate life with either an iPhone or a BlackBerry. For me, a phone is something to make calls with, and a PDA handles my contacts and calendar. But a year ago, I replaced my nearly dead Handspring Palm-based PDA with an iPod Touch and quickly grasped the significance of the "modern" PDA -- the importance, from both a personal and a professional point of view, of having the Web, e-mail, and more at my fingertips. To me the iPod Touch, and by extension the iPhone, was about as productive as a PDA could be, yet I saw BlackBerrys everywhere in conferences and business meetings.

What was it about the BlackBerry that I was missing? Would the iPhone really fall short in a business setting?

To find out, I spent a month with an iPhone 3G and a BlackBerry 9000 Bold (the professional model that RIM recommended as the best to compare to an iPhone) to see how well each would fare in my daily grind. (For the answers to that, see my upcoming stories later this week at InfoWorld.com.) In doing so, I also had the chance to compare the two devices in depth: mail to mail, phone to phone, browser to browser, and thumb stroke to touch-tap. In short, I evaluated them based on everything from classic PDA functionality and usability to location-based services and availability of third-party apps.

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Blackberry VS Iphone

I am a Mac user and a Blackbery user. Here's why.

The iphone is unable to data tether at all because of the agreement Apple made with AT&T. Not only can you not tether you are stuck with horrible service plans. My Tmobile Blackberry is $60 a month and the same tether capable plan for a comparable handset with AT&T is over $160 a month from a carrier with inferior customer service.

While the iphone does have a slick and sexy interface try using it with one hand. You have to have one hand to hold the phone and the other to type on the keyboard. The Blackberry's keyboard and trackball allows for one handed operation. While the Blackberry's OS is not as pretty as the iphone's its functional rather than just eye candy with most functions just a few finger movements away.

And then of course there's the app store process. In order to get an application of any kind on your phone you have to get "permission" from Apple and AT&T. Many apps that are "competitive technology" have been banned. This is something I would expect to see from Microsoft not Apple.

Apple is a bit late here with e-mail on the phone. I had my first RIM device in 1999 and have not looked back since. Until Apple provides a usable product at a reasonable price I see no reason to downgrade just because its the hip thing.
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Latest Technology Mobiles Blackberry or iPhone

Dear friends in today's scenario the people can't live without Cell Phone because it has a great importance for human life. Now a days touchscreen and 3G technology mobiles has covered the mobile market. But the iPhone has its own importance in this communication world. Currently the brand Apple has launced a 16GB Apple iPhone. It has many cool features with 16GB memory.
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Bad criticism

You are obviously a RIM fanatic who has grown used to the BBerrys. I have no problem what so ever in using everything in my iPhone with the thumb of one hand, without having to use the other hand. Your criticism based on the fact that the interface looks cool and saying that it is eye candy is like stereotyping blondes... The iPhone is not just eye candy: it is fast and I can surf the internet just like I would do in the computer (except for flash, which in fact is a welcome feature because most internet ads are in flash)
RIM has had e-mail since 1999. Great, so what? The iPhone has email too. The fact that a feature offered is not affected by how long one of the providers has been offering it. They both have it now ("Apple is late". I say,'Better late than never').
I can't comment on your service plan, since I live in another country and have a different plan, but I am quite happy with my bills. There is no need to critize a product just because you can't afford it. People are buying it, so that means the price is right for it, not just because it's 'cool'.
How about the capacity to read internet pages as they are meant to be viewed, is your BBerry better than the iPhone at this?
The iPhone is the first Apple product I have ever owned and I am very happy with it. Maybe you should try it seriously (and get surgery in your thumb, it's not normal you need two hands to use the iPhone)
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