BlackBerry versus iPhone 3.0 - Deathmatch rematch

The new iPhone 3.0 OS is now old news, but does its enhancements overcome any advantages that the BlackBerry has over the iPhone? In May, I pitted the BlackBerry Bold in a head-to-head competition against the iPhone 3G, which handily beat RIM's business standard in most areas. After all, the iPhone 3.0 OS enhances the e-mail, calendar, and search functions that many BlackBerry users focus on and that IT loves about the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES).

So, here I revisit the original iPhone-versus-BlackBerry deathmatch, updating it based on the iPhone 3.0 OS's changes. That original comparison said it was time to bury the BlackBerry; the iPhone OS 3.0 simply piles more dirt onto the grave. (If you're curious how the new Palm Pre stacks up against the iPhone, check out our new Pre-versus-iPhone deathmatch.)

[ Dive deep into mobile 2.0 technology with InfoWorld's "mobile 2.0" PDF special report. | Check out the slideshow "Rematch: BlackBerry vs. iPhone, side by side." | BlackBerry fans tell us why they still prefer the BlackBerry over the iPhone. ]

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?

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