iPhone vs. Blackberry

[SilentJay]

So the epic battle rages on in my head. I've played with both phones, and am now deeply conflicted between the two options. Discuss! Here are my pros/cons:

iPhone - Pro:
========
- Fun phone, lots of apps and games available
- Widespread support and userbase
- Buttery smooth web-browsing, graphics, etc

iPhone - Con:
=========
- Apparently the 3G/3GS suffer from horrid battery life
- iPhones don't compress data like BBs do, Telus/Bell data plans for iPhones suck donkey testicles (500mb/month? Get a life you worthless telecom parasites...)
- No physical keyboard, although I have a BB storm right now and have gotten used to it
- No BB messenger (!!), similar integration into BIS/BES
- Apple makes it very necessary to run jailbreaking/sn0w

================================================== ==

BB 9700 - Pro:
==========
- Fancy new form-factor, more application memory, things run a bit more smoothly
- BB will always be much more stable than an iPhone
- BB App world is slowing starting to gain traction
- BB Messenger!
- BIS/BES push-email
- Physical QWERTY keyboard
- Better battery life

BB 9700 - Con:
==========
- Screen is significantly smaller than what i'm used to (3.5" to a dinky 1.8ish")
- Browser, however improved, still stinks when looking at anything beyond text
- Inferior 3.2MP camera. Even with autofocus (same one as Storm1/2), it still sucks hairy marbles compared to iPhone camera.
- No access to fun apps without forking out $5-$10
- Telus/Bell won't let me bring my unlimited data over to HSPA apparently
- Keys on keyboard are kind of small (I have meaty bear-paws), and close together

[mazda_gurl]

So the epic battle rages on in my head. I've played with both phones, and am now deeply conflicted between the two options. Discuss! Here are my pros/cons:

iPhone - Pro:
========
- Fun phone, lots of apps and games available
- Widespread support and userbase
- Buttery smooth web-browsing, graphics, etc

iPhone - Con:
=========
- Apparently the 3G/3GS suffer from horrid battery life
- iPhones don't compress data like BBs do, Telus/Bell data plans for iPhones suck donkey testicles (500mb/month? Get a life you worthless telecom parasites...)- No physical keyboard, although I have a BB storm right now and have gotten used to it
- No BB messenger (!!), similar integration into BIS/BES
- Apple makes it very necessary to run jailbreaking/sn0w

================================================== ==

BB 9700 - Pro:
==========
- Fancy new form-factor, more application memory, things run a bit more smoothly
- BB will always be much more stable than an iPhone
- BB App world is slowing starting to gain traction
- BB Messenger!
- BIS/BES push-email
- Physical QWERTY keyboard
- Better battery life

BB 9700 - Con:
==========
- Screen is significantly smaller than what i'm used to (3.5" to a dinky 1.8ish")
- Browser, however improved, still stinks when looking at anything beyond text
- Inferior 3.2MP camera. Even with autofocus (same one as Storm1/2), it still sucks hairy marbles compared to iPhone camera.
- No access to fun apps without forking out $5-$10
- Telus/Bell won't let me bring my unlimited data over to HSPA apparently
- Keys on keyboard are kind of small (I have meaty bear-paws), and close together


Telus actually has 4 plans available - 500mb, 1gb, 2gb & 3gb.

Rogers has one - 500mb. They also have the promo 6gb for $30 a month, but Im not sure how one gets it without being a new customer.
And like the berry, iphone apps cost $0.99+ to add some apps to your phone. Apps can come free once you have jailbroken your phone.

[optiklenz13]

I have the 6gb plan. woot woot!!!

IPHONE FTMFW!!!

i know Phil's going to jump into my post and counter attack. LOL.

[SpeedBaby]

having used both for a long period of time, my personal preference is still with the BB.

the 3Gs has improved on quite a few things that were unbearable before, they even came out with 'Ping' (apple's version of bbm). However the lack of a normal keyboard or a proper spell checker is still a deal breaker for me. Every month or so i go back to the iphone just to see if maybe the 'fun factor' outweights the practicality, but up to now i've always went back to my bold.

[SilentJay]

^^^ Yeah, I know they have the alterative plans, but they're really pricey for what they are. I'm actually considering jumping to Rogers for the 6gb @ $30, since i'm on Telus right now, and have been since ClearNet in 97/98.

:) First thing i'd do, if I went iPhone, is get it jailbroken.

[Gizzmo_jr]

And like the berry, iphone apps cost $0.99+ to add some apps to your phone. Apps can come free once you have jailbroken your phone.

Most start free, then the dev realizes they can make money. Even still, 1/4 of all apps sold now are free.
http://148apps.biz/app-store-metrics/?mpage=appprice

[rick@garage16.ca]

I have both BB storm & Iphone 3GS and Im a fan more of the Iphone. Kind of gets me sick of Blackberry/bbm now

[SilentJay]

Thats the thing... I have a work BB (curve 8310) and my storm. Don't get me wrong, I like it's functionality and somewhat stable OS, but I always look enviously at iPhones :chuckle

[sicsol]

I also have both. I perfer the BB but the Iphone is Fun to have around, There's an APP for that, It's so true.

[SilentJay]

When I think about it, not too many of my friends have BBs, just a co-workers, a handful of friends, and some TM3 guys...

[Thrizzl3]

I have the 6gb plan. woot woot!!!

IPHONE FTMFW!!!

i know Phil's going to jump into my post and counter attack. LOL.

which phil? both phil's have either a BB or an iphone lol..what now Ash

[optiklenz13]

^of course i'm referring to you.

what now Phil? LOL.

[SilentJay]

You two, take it outside...


Especially you, Ash :whoa

[Darkfrosty7]

iphone all the way lol love the games and music is ez

[SilentJay]

:S I can safely say that I don't use my phones for music. The only time I ever need a personal music player is when i'm at the gym - I have a 4gb player that I can safely throw around without having to worry too much about breaking it.

[MPS]

be like me i got my rogers BB and Bell iPhone =)

[SilentJay]

:P Just how bad is the data consumption and battery life on a 3GS anyway? That seems to be the major sticking point, no matter where I look.

[redsnoopy04]

I was also considering the iphone yet the battery thing is really what's holding me back..I currently have an HTC Diamond..considering the SE X10 as my next toy..

[PCLoadLetter]

HTC Dream!

[SilentJay]

Hmm... I'm just reading up on HoFo about how people are managing to get their CDMA features and plans over to HSPA...

[gabbygenier]

im considering the hero or the dream. i have a bb and its nice but i dont use half the functions on it, used to for work but not anymore. the iphone. like many ppl said well the battery sucks and i know i would break it.

maybe wait for the second gen storm to come out. hmmm?????

[optiklenz13]

You two, take it outside...


Especially you, Ash :whoa

hater. :P

[S.F.W.]

Hmm... I'm just reading up on HoFo about how people are managing to get their CDMA features and plans over to HSPA...

Bell is moving my CDMA plan with unlimited data over to my new HSPA Bold 9700 without issue.

[SilentJay]

What, what, whaaaat??? :whoa



Most people I read about managed to snag their loyalty freebies, keep their voice plans, but tack on another $25 for data...


Of course, other suggestions are to wait it out for a few weeks for Rogers' rebuttal - perhaps with better plans.

[JovianGhost]

As a user of both, I can tell you each have their advantages and disadvantages. In the end it all comes down to what you prefer.

In the beginning I had an iPhone, because I thought "Hey, now I can carry my music around with me!" But there were a few problems. For one thing, the meager 7.5GB capacity couldn't hold my entire collection, and for another, when I did have the phone with me one day and a call came in, I found myself very self-conscious talking on the phone with the included headphones like that. It felt like I was talking to myself-- and in a public place, it felt very weird.

The other thing is the limited functionality. At the time (I had a first-gen iPhone back in 2007) there was no App Store. The only way to get extra functionality was to use cracked apps on a jailbroken iPhone. I had no problem with this, as I had to jailbreak and unlock anyways to get it to work with Rogers. So at the time there weren't too many of these third-party apps available, which of course is one of the biggest selling points of the iPhone nowadays.

My biggest gripe was the fact that this iPhone, which is supposed to be the most advanced phone on the market, lacked very basic functionality that exists in other phones. Voice dialing being one of them. I had a Bluetooth headset that I used to take incoming calls while I was driving, but I couldn't make any outgoing calls. Keep in mind, even the SECOND gen iPhone didn't have voice dialing. It wasn't until the third gen iPhone came out that voice dialing was included.

Also, MMS. Now I'm not a big MMSer, but for such an advanced device to be lacking such basic functionality seems ridiculous. This phone has a big beautiful screen, great for displaying pics and playing video, but if you can't send or receive these types of media, then what's the point?

Video camera-- that's another thing. How could they not allow this thing to take video? I remember I had a cracked application that would let me take video, and as basic as it was, it got the job done. Shame on Apple for not including something like this from the get-go.

Another thing that bothered me was that the iPhone, despite its name, wasn't that exceptional of a phone. It's more like a handheld device with a phone built into it.

What really got to me was the volume. The volume level on the first gen iPhone was VERY VERY LOW. I couldn't hear that damn thing ring except in the quietest of rooms. I found a hack to increase the volume, but it didn't help too much. I had to keep the thing on vibrate all the time just so I wouldn't miss any calls!

And finally, iTunes. Ooooh how I hate iTunes. Apple really dropped the ball on that one. iTunes was (and today still is, at least on PCs) and extremely clunky piece of software at best. It really is annoying to use to sync music, videos and pictures.

Now, the Blackberry. My wife had one at first, so I was able to try it out. Very nicely polished device. It has great app integration, and works best at what I got it for in the first place-- A PHONE. The ringer is nice and loud, I can drag-and-drop MP3s and other files without using some stupid proprietary syncing software, it has everything I need: calendar, address book, Bluetooth connectivity, voice dialing, and of course, Blackberry Messenger. There's plenty more, of course.

If you want something just for the coolness factor, or the ability to play games and do a lot of other stuff, go for the iPhone.
But if you want something which is a phone first and everything else second, get the Blackberry.

[SilentJay]

im considering the hero or the dream. i have a bb and its nice but i dont use half the functions on it, used to for work but not anymore. the iphone. like many ppl said well the battery sucks and i know i would break it.

maybe wait for the second gen storm to come out. hmmm?????


:S Hate the way Storm2 feels/works. I'm hesitant to move to HTC, since I know quite a few people with HTC units that have had horrid build quality issues.

[SilentJay]

As a user of both, I can tell you each have their advantages and disadvantages. In the end it all comes down to what you prefer.

In the beginning I had an iPhone, because I thought "Hey, now I can carry my music around with me!" But there were a few problems. For one thing, the meager 7.5GB capacity couldn't hold my entire collection, and for another, when I did have the phone with me one day and a call came in, I found myself very self-conscious talking on the phone with the included headphones like that. It felt like I was talking to myself-- and in a public place, it felt very weird.

The other thing is the limited functionality. At the time (I had a first-gen iPhone back in 2007) there was no App Store. The only way to get extra functionality was to use cracked apps on a jailbroken iPhone. I had no problem with this, as I had to jailbreak and unlock anyways to get it to work with Rogers. So at the time there weren't too many of these third-party apps available, which of course is one of the biggest selling points of the iPhone nowadays.

My biggest gripe was the fact that this iPhone, which is supposed to be the most advanced phone on the market, lacked very basic functionality that exists in other phones. Voice dialing being one of them. I had a Bluetooth headset that I used to take incoming calls while I was driving, but I couldn't make any outgoing calls. Keep in mind, even the SECOND gen iPhone didn't have voice dialing. It wasn't until the third gen iPhone came out that voice dialing was included.

Also, MMS. Now I'm not a big MMSer, but for such an advanced device to be lacking such basic functionality seems ridiculous. This phone has a big beautiful screen, great for displaying pics and playing video, but if you can't send or receive these types of media, then what's the point?

Video camera-- that's another thing. How could they not allow this thing to take video? I remember I had a cracked application that would let me take video, and as basic as it was, it got the job done. Shame on Apple for not including something like this from the get-go.

Another thing that bothered me was that the iPhone, despite its name, wasn't that exceptional of a phone. It's more like a handheld device with a phone built into it.

What really got to me was the volume. The volume level on the first gen iPhone was VERY VERY LOW. I couldn't hear that damn thing ring except in the quietest of rooms. I found a hack to increase the volume, but it didn't help too much. I had to keep the thing on vibrate all the time just so I wouldn't miss any calls!

And finally, iTunes. Ooooh how I hate iTunes. Apple really dropped the ball on that one. iTunes was (and today still is, at least on PCs) and extremely clunky piece of software at best. It really is annoying to use to sync music, videos and pictures.

Now, the Blackberry. My wife had one at first, so I was able to try it out. Very nicely polished device. It has great app integration, and works best at what I got it for in the first place-- A PHONE. The ringer is nice and loud, I can drag-and-drop MP3s and other files without using some stupid proprietary syncing software, it has everything I need: calendar, address book, Bluetooth connectivity, voice dialing, and of course, Blackberry Messenger. There's plenty more, of course.

If you want something just for the coolness factor, or the ability to play games and do a lot of other stuff, go for the iPhone.
But if you want something which is a phone first and everything else second, get the Blackberry.

Thanks for your opinion. I think a good number of those issues were addressed, but good to know none-the-less. Funny thing... I use my phone a LOT less for voice (I have 1500 daytime minutes, I usually use around 200) than texting/emailing/bbm/mucking around with apps.

[JovianGhost]

Oh yeah, I forgot something else--

The iPhone in Canada is complete horseshit, pardon my French.

We have The Big 3 to thank for that one. They've completely ruined what should have been a great device, by overcharging through the nose for iPhone voice and data plans.

Well, they overcharge for EVERYTHING. But they certainly capitalized on the fact that they know everyone is gonna want an iPhone.

[5_Alive]

Screw BlackBerry.. I JUST got rid of my Pearl earlier today (Nov. 5) and activated my Nokia 6260 slide.. PIMP phone.. hella' sweet with everything available on it that I need personally.. and it has WiFi for when and if I need it.. I got to keep my plan.. bought a SIM card for $10.00 at the Telus store and away I went..

I'd rather have an iPhone than a BlackBerry again man.. BB's are nothing but problems..

[Boris]

500MB is enough if you dont' watch video online that often (like tv show)
from roger's site, it says that you can read 2500e-mail+2000webpages+100 photo download+50mins of youtube with 500mb with iphone.
and for blackbarry, it can double the amount for almost everything with the same 500mb data plan.
hope it helps.

[swales]

I prefer a BB over the iphone when it comes to email. With my BB I get the email right away, with the iphone I've had delays of over 30min which might not be a huge problem for some, but it's a deaL breaker for me

[sadd16]

I have the iphone from Rogers with the 6gb of data plan. If you have a plan for data over 500mb a month, they give you this service called internet tethering. It's been available for quite some time now, but they say it's only until Dec 31, 2009, and after that, we're not sure if they will continue to let you have internet tethering or not. But I love this feature. It's basically like Rogers' internet on a usb stick. But you use your data plan from your phone.

[sadd16]

For email, the iphone's push technology helps you receive emails faster. In the settings, you can set it to check email every 15 minutes at best. But this setting does decrease battery life. But I do agree, BB's instant email checking is great. Wish Iphones could do that better

[JovianGhost]

Screw BlackBerry.. I JUST got rid of my Pearl earlier today (Nov. 5) and activated my Nokia 6260 slide.. PIMP phone.. hella' sweet with everything available on it that I need personally.. and it has WiFi for when and if I need it.. I got to keep my plan.. bought a SIM card for $10.00 at the Telus store and away I went..

I'd rather have an iPhone than a BlackBerry again man.. BB's are nothing but problems..

Can you back up your claim that "BB's are nothing but problems"?
In all honesty, I find the BlackBerry OS to be quite stable.

Now I have heard problems with the Pearls. And my wife's Bold does seem to crap out every once in a while. But my 8310 Curve is pretty much bulletproof. In all the time I've had it (2+ years) I've only ONCE had to forcefully restart it, and that's because a particular webpage froze the browser.

[SilentJay]

^^^ BB OSes are relatively stable, but i've been through so many different BBs that have had "QC" problems.

[5_Alive]

Can you back up your claim that "BB's are nothing but problems"?
In all honesty, I find the BlackBerry OS to be quite stable.

Now I have heard problems with the Pearls. And my wife's Bold does seem to crap out every once in a while. But my 8310 Curve is pretty much bulletproof. In all the time I've had it (2+ years) I've only ONCE had to forcefully restart it, and that's because a particular webpage froze the browser.

In the first 40 days, my trackball went straight to hell.. then 5 Pearls later, FINALLY the last one got somewhat right, and isn't too retarded. The phone would always restart or freeze, no matter which one they gave me (all refurbs :bang). I even cancelled my data plan because I barely used the phone for anything (I was scared to and it was hard enough to try without the phone trying to kill itself), and it was still horrible.

The one I have in my drawer now I just got as an OTC (over the counter exchange; read; refurb) and it is fine after I updated it.
Mind you, all the ones I had were updated to the latest software, and I still always had problems.

They are great for texting and whatnot, very fast and smart phones, but the way mine worked was just horrible.

Besides, I'm biased towards Nokia :chuckle

[JovianGhost]

In the first 40 days, my trackball went straight to hell.. then 5 Pearls later, FINALLY the last one got somewhat right, and isn't too retarded. The phone would always restart or freeze, no matter which one they gave me (all refurbs :bang). I even cancelled my data plan because I barely used the phone for anything (I was scared to and it was hard enough to try without the phone trying to kill itself), and it was still horrible.

The one I have in my drawer now I just got as an OTC (over the counter exchange; read; refurb) and it is fine after I updated it.
Mind you, all the ones I had were updated to the latest software, and I still always had problems.

They are great for texting and whatnot, very fast and smart phones, but the way mine worked was just horrible.

Besides, I'm biased towards Nokia :chuckle

I'm sorry to hear about your problems. I don't blame you for hating Blackberrys!

As I mentioned, the Pearls were (maybe still are) known to have problems. It sucks you kept on getting refurbs-- IMO that's UNACCEPTABLE for them to give you FIVE refurbs in a row. I would have been furious.

[5_Alive]

I know, trust me. But now that I am running my Nokia, they keep asking me to upgrade free of charge, all I have to do is resign for another 3 year term. I laugh, and say no thanks, as I am coming up to my 2nd year in March, and don't plan on renewing another contract. The only reason I got a contract was because I saved so much on the phone.

Now that I have my own, no need to. I'd rather buy a phone outright.

[JovianGhost]

I know, trust me. But now that I am running my Nokia, they keep asking me to upgrade free of charge, all I have to do is resign for another 3 year term. I laugh, and say no thanks, as I am coming up to my 2nd year in March, and don't plan on renewing another contract.

Good choice.
Best to wait until the new players enter the field (that is, if the friggin' CRTC ever gives their blessing) and go with one of them.

[undftd]

And finally, iTunes. Ooooh how I hate iTunes. Apple really dropped the ball on that one. iTunes was (and today still is, at least on PCs) and extremely clunky piece of software at best. It really is annoying to use to sync music, videos and pictures.

it is because you're using it on a PC, iTunes runs very smooth on my mac, before when I used it on a PC, it would lag when I try to drag album artwork into iTunes, now on a Mac its very smooth and not laggy (even when I add video to it) at all...


Screw BlackBerry.. I JUST got rid of my Pearl earlier today (Nov. 5) and activated my Nokia 6260 slide.. PIMP phone.. hella' sweet with everything available on it that I need personally.. and it has WiFi for when and if I need it.. I got to keep my plan.. bought a SIM card for $10.00 at the Telus store and away I went..

I'd rather have an iPhone than a BlackBerry again man.. BB's are nothing but problems..

I love Nokia phones, they're really nicely built solid phones, I've been using nothing but Nokia's (latest one being N95 8GB) until switching over to a Blackberry Bold. I was initially going to get the N97 but then decided to go with the Bold, because most of my friends were getting Blackberry's and being able to bbm them is really convenient (one of the main reasons I didn't get a blackberry before was no one to bbm with). I've cut my talk time almost in half because most of my daytime calls consisted of "I'm there", "what time?", "where are we meeting" etc. type calls. Now with the very convenient messaging software (bbm and msn), I think I will be using nothing but Blackberry's in the future (unless other phones can have a good msn software). I've never gotten an iPhone solely because I like my iPod and phone to be separate things, I have an iPod touch that does almost everything an iPhone does, which I only use for music really (don't really care for apps), texting and emailing on iPhone is pretty bad too because they like to auto correct things that you type (don't know if that has changed recently) while on a Blackberry you can set what words or abbreviations to auto correct which is really good.