[sazza]

Okay so I had a blackberry bold 9700 on vodafone (UK) but i had nothing but multiple problems with faults (software glitches and a dodgy speakerphone) and managed to terminate my contract early with no charge. I've been without a phone (well using a horrible, old one which broke today) and I'm really missing my blackberry but I really was holding out for the iphone too.

Touch screens CAN drive me crazy and I do love the full physical qwerty keyboard. I'm scared if I get another BB 9700 (white one this time and i'll get it so it doesnt have any operator software on it) then I will want the iphone but on the other hand I'm scared if i get the iphone I'll regret it and want the blackberry! Sooooooo what to do....

Yeah I know the BB's and iPhones kind of appeal to two different markets but to me both have features I want and yet don't want. Also this bold/tourch 9800 that seems to be floating around seems rather appealing but no rumors on release as of yet.

This may seem stupid to most of you but I feel like I'm having one of the biggest dilemmas in my life! :( some imput from others would be very grateful

Thanks in advance!

[TheRinger]

Personal choice is personal choice. Cant rely on us to make a decision that you will have to live with.

I had a blackberry for years (still have it just used very little now) and i finally got an iphone. I havent looked back. (lets not flame either, not making any of you use it lol)

[MidnightDraven]

I wanted to try a touchscreen, after having a BB 9000 because I wanted a qwerty keyboard because I was sick of pressing buttons multiple times.
I got a HD2, because Im a windows user, and figured it would be easier.

I've enjoyed my time with my HD2, however, the touchscreen thing just isn't for me, and Im going back to a qwerty with the Nokia E5 when its released.

My opinion, easiest thing to do, find a working and cheap 1st gen iphone (2G) on ebay, to try out the touchscreen keyboard. Its not going to be vastly different than a 3GS or the 4, so if you use it and find you like it, then go with the iphone.
If you just can't get your head around the touchscreen thing, you know that BB is for you.

[Dubdub]

What do you mean - "no operator software on it" ?

The only one who can answer your question is you, especially if you hate touch screens and want a QWERTY keypad.

I have a BB and an iPhone. Use both. iPhone is great for browsing, BB is better for email. Both about equal as contact and calendar PIMs since I use Google calendar and sync to it on iPhone, BB and computers.

[sazza]

I've used iPhones before, 3g and 3gs and neither I stuck with for too long, I got to the point of hating texting/emailing. I'm an apple user (imac/mbp) and strangely as it sounds i'm not 100% on the compatibility with a BB hooked up to a mac. I mean, I browse the net to look at random stuff but I guess I love the BB for it's instant notifications etc for email etc. I guess I never got the full functions out of my BB either the last time I had one.

[the-economist]

Originally Posted by sazza

Okay so I had a blackberry bold 9700 on vodafone (UK) but i had nothing but multiple problems with faults (software glitches and a dodgy speakerphone) and managed to terminate my contract early with no charge. I've been without a phone

So you had hardware issues and you decided to leave the network? That really doesn't make sense. If you blow a fuse at home do you cancel your electricity provider? Hardware fails you know. Why didn't you just replace the BB? Or even try a completely different hardware vendor if BB wasn't playing nice for you?

This may seem stupid to most of you but I feel like I'm having one of the biggest dilemmas in my life

Consider yourself extremely fortunate that the biggest dilemma you face in life boils down to handset choices.

[rambo47]

Originally Posted by sazza

I've used iPhones before, 3g and 3gs and neither I stuck with for too long, I got to the point of hating texting/emailing. I'm an apple user (imac/mbp) and strangely as it sounds i'm not 100% on the compatibility with a BB hooked up to a mac. I mean, I browse the net to look at random stuff but I guess I love the BB for it's instant notifications etc for email etc. I guess I never got the full functions out of my BB either the last time I had one.

I'm the same way. All Mac-ed up at home. I have probably every Apple product ever made, except the iPhone. Odd, since it's their greatest seller ever. I can't get used to the iPhone on-screen keypad. I tried the HTC EVO 4G's touchscreen and found it very usable, but not as good as the QWERTY physical keypad on my BlackBerry.

With email and communication being my #1 priority, BlackBerry is the only way to go for me.

[TXLady]

Based on everything you've said so far, I think you need to try a Droid. You haven't been completely happy with either iPhone or BB so far so might as well go in a totally different direction.

Of course, I doubt that you will be completely happy with that either.

[sazza]

Originally Posted by the-economist

So you had hardware issues and you decided to leave the network? That really doesn't make sense. If you blow a fuse at home do you cancel your electricity provider? Hardware fails you know. Why didn't you just replace the BB? Or even try a completely different hardware vendor if BB wasn't playing nice for you?



Consider yourself extremely fortunate that the biggest dilemma you face in life boils down to handset choices.

Actually I went through 5 handsets of the bold 9700, yeah at the time I guess I was being fussy over the faults but the last one had a high pitched squeak when you put the phone to your ear (didn't even need to be making a call) and that was just beyond annoying. Secondly I have lots of dilemmas in my life, but luckily not this one anymore.
Oh and if a fuse went, then I'd replace it, if I kept having power outages due to the electricity company then yes I WOULD reconsider but even then all electricity comes from the same place. Comparing problems with a network provider to a electricity company is not the best comparisment. Electricity company doesnt cover our fuse board plus having an electrician in the house kinda rules out any problems.

Originally Posted by rambo47

I'm the same way. All Mac-ed up at home. I have probably every Apple product ever made, except the iPhone. Odd, since it's their greatest seller ever. I can't get used to the iPhone on-screen keypad. I tried the HTC EVO 4G's touchscreen and found it very usable, but not as good as the QWERTY physical keypad on my BlackBerry.

With email and communication being my #1 priority, BlackBerry is the only way to go for me.

I'm glad I'm not the only one here, I love the iMac and i love my MBP but I just know I'm not going to get on with the iPhone. I was looking at videos today of typing on the iPhone and remembered why I hate it, it just WASN'T appealing to me one little bit. People are telling me 'but you'll get used to it' but I know after a few months I'll want to get rid of it and knowing I'll get a good price for it, I would get rid of it.

Originally Posted by TXLady

Based on everything you've said so far, I think you need to try a Droid. You haven't been completely happy with either iPhone or BB so far so might as well go in a totally different direction.

Of course, I doubt that you will be completely happy with that either.

Haha your totally right with that one, I've used an HTC Desire twice now and your correct, i didn't like that either. I found the keyboard to type on worse than the iPhone also I found the battery life to be horrendous and that was with hardly any use!

What can I say, just a hard girl to please. I'm taking delivery of my bold tomorrow (hopefully) if not then Monday!

[billyboy81]

I agree with the personal choice post. Few, if any, persons, places, or things have everything you want and none of what you don't want. My 8520 is my first smartphone. I can see myself "moving up" at some point - to another BB or a touch screen smartphone. I realize if I make the move, I'll probably gain something and lose something in the process.

[SuperECS]

I have had the chance to use all 3 (BlackBerry, iPhone, and HTC). Just about the only thing I have not had the chance to do on the iPhone and HTC phone is testing/email (only because the phone was a demo work device from the parent). I would have to say that if I had the chance to use the HTC EVO to its full capacity, that is the way I would go. But the one thing that keeps me with my BlackBerry is BBM. I couldnt live without it.

The iPhone has a great browser, but will NEVER be able to run flash (The EVO can and RIM is set to release the ability to run it soon). I think that might be a big thing when other smartphones are able to have flash, and the iPhone doesn't.

In closing, I love my BlackBerry, and thats what I'm sticking with. What you pick is up to you.

[rambo47]

The OP should probably get an iPhone. If you're asking about it you're not going to be happy until you try it, so go for it. There are about 50 million happy iPhone users out there so the device has to be the right one for at least SOMEbody! Maybe it's the right choice for you too, and there is only one way to find out. BlackBerry will be here if you decide it's not the right choice for you, so no worries.

[dane_c1987]

I chose my BlackBerry 8520 purely for financial reasons. Here in the UK the iPhone is around twice as much the monthly cost of a BlackBerry, and as I was struggling with money at the time I decided to go for the cheaper smartphone.

Looking back, I wish I'd waited til the iPhone fell into my price bracket. It's price has fallen and my wage has risen, but sadly I'm stuck with the BlackBerry for another 20 months. I'm not saying it's a horrible phone, just that I prefer a touchscreen interface (personal preference), the browser is slower than that of the BB (I've tried both of them in the same areas on the same network and the iPhone was far quicker. I'm aware there are factors though and for some the BB browser may be far quicker) it's not the greatest looking piece of kit (again, personal preference) and the availability/quality of apps on the BB is pretty poor in comparison.
To conclude, if cost is an issue whatsoever then you might want to go for the BlackBerry. If not then it really is down to personal preference.

[the-economist]

Originally Posted by dane_c1987

I'm aware there are factors though and for some the BB browser may be far quicker

No, the BB browser is for nobody quicker compared to a real browser like Safari on iphone. Mainly because the bb browser proxies your web requests to the bb infrastructure, strips and compresses the data and feeds it back to you.

It's at least a generation behind (if not more) as far as browsers go and everybody is aware of it. We know it, RIM knows it, everybody knows it. It's the elephant in the room. RIM has plans to release a webkit browser in the future. Hopefully things will improve then.

If your next question is Why on earth BB users choose to use a sub-par technology the answer is for a number of reasons. Usability, security, qwerty, push mail, bbm, corporate infrastructure integration (BES), security and compliance issues, audit trails etc, even plain monetary reasons like in your case.

The poor performance of the browser and the minimalistic little app store are definitely not on the list. Some of the rest of the things on the list though are far more important for some so they(we) stay with blackberry.

Hope you find something soon that satisfies your usage needs.

[dane_c1987]

Ah, I was under the impression that the browser speed may be subjective to network and/or location.

One thing I should make clear is that I'm not a businessman nor am I a professional, therefore a majority of the BlackBerry's advantages over the iPhone don't appeal to me. I care more about pretending my phone is a pint of beer or a shotgun than implementing corporate infrastructure integration, so understandably I'd prefer the iPhone.

I fully appreciate why the BlackBerry is a favourite amongst the business-minded, and even why it's become such a hit with my fellow consumer. Push mail is useful regardless of your occupation, and BBM is an absolute gem of a communication tool that I'm sure Apple will be soon to copy (if they haven't already).

[the-economist]

Originally Posted by dane_c1987

Ah, I was under the impression that the browser speed may be subjective to network and/or location.

That is correct. Browser performance depends on network access availability and reception on a particular location. Having said that, even under a controlled experiment (or a couple dozen of em) at the same location, using the same network, Safari would outperform the BB browser.
It's the way that the GET reguest is being handled the moment it leaves your handset that really doesn't give the bb a chance. But as i said in the previous post that is what happens *currently*. There are plans for a webkit browser by RIM and things might or might not change.

I care more about pretending my phone is a pint of beer or a shotgun than implementing corporate infrastructure integration, so understandably I'd prefer the iPhone.

iphone 4 is soon to be out in the UK and most carriers have already published priceplans for it. Pick one up.

Push mail is useful regardless of your occupation, and BBM is an absolute gem of a communication tool that I'm sure Apple will be soon to copy (if they haven't already).

Sadly doesn't turn the screen to a pint of beer or a shotgun that seems to be important to you. Identify your usage needs and then choose a handset/carrier combo that fits the bill. It's a rather novice mistake most users make to select a carrier/handset first and then realise it doesn't do what they want it to do. And pay for it dearly having some 20 months left on a 2 year commitment. Research pays.

[dane_c1987]

I was already well aware that the BlackBerry was not the completely ideal smartphone for my requirements (ie anything not business-related, iShotgun and iPint being loose examples of the fun novelty perks that I find unexplicably appealing with the iPhone) having undergone research.

As I said though I wasn't willing to fork out £35 a month when I could have a decent smartphone for a fraction of the price. Pint of beer be damned.