[Mark Rejhon]

Easy. Let's give credit here. Let's concede that iPaq and Palm's make superior multimedia/GPS/video handhelds, but Blackberry makes superior wireless productivity handhelds, with much better software in many cases (i.e. superior email). That matters far more for enterprise use.

I had a debate with a BrightHand user, of which I am quoting below:

Originally Posted by Mark Rejhon

I am an owner of Palm and iPaq handhelds and I can vouch for you that they make excellent multimedia handhelds but poor productive connectivity. While the iPaq still has a better browser, Blackberries make much more reliable wireless productivity handhelds overall. I carry my great looking Stowaway keyboard, and enjoy Bluetooth GPS with my iPaq 4155. It's an excellent handheld, but TRUST ME, the Blackberry is a better wireless productivity handheld, and I have been using it since 2001.

Software. Yes, the Palm and iPaq software is much more varied, and I enjoy MAME, GPS navigation, MPEG videos, JPEG photos, etc. The reality is that the Blackberry has proven to be a faster PIM to access (and I am a fast Grafittier at 41 words per minute on Grafitti!). But don't forget that the formerly below-100 count of Blackberry compatible software has now exceeded 1,000 recently (when you consider Sony/Nokia/Motorola cellphone software also runs on Blackberries now too). With things like word processors and photo viewers and improving videogames now available on BlackBerry, and finally Shockwave FLASH / JavaScript / Popups / Tables / SVG / animated GIF / background graphics / etc in Blackberry Browser 4.0, the browser is no longer anemic. More info about this on BlackberryClub, of course, among us 4.0 beta testers :D

BlackberryOS It's a Sun Java compatible operating system, and is becoming more and more of a legitimate OS. Multimedia stuff are definitely possible nowadays. It may not be as flexible as Palm/PocketPC in some respects, however, it is much more flexible than you think. The reason is because of security. Formerly, Blackberries did not include a real TCP/IP stack and it was very hard to get Blackberry applications written. But now you can just write in generic Java J2ME. Modern Blackberry software such as http://www.dynoplex.com/eWorks.shtml and truecolor fullscreen videogames with SMOOTH animation at http://www.magmic.com .... see for yourself that these are beginning to resemble REAL smartphone software nowadays. It wasn't before -- Blackberries used to not be real smartphone, but it IS now becoming more and more smartphone, now that you can do generic TCP/IP programming using standard Java J2ME sockets and doing the graphics API's. Without even getting the application signed by RIM anymore! (You still need to, for notifications or accessing addressbook, etc -- for security reasons -- please see below)

Ruggedness I am very clumsy with handhelds. I've even broke an iPaq dropping it, and repaired it myself via buying a broken iPaq off eBay and disassembling it, exchanging good parts, to rescue my iPaq again. But, I dropped my Blackberry many times, even to concrete and asphalt, and my Blackberry 7280 has never broken or cracked. It is a testament to the ruggedness of a Blackberry handheld.

PIM It is more simplistic on Berry but it syncs fine to Outlook, and the 4.0 has categories now. Even for a long time, all I have to do is press the addressbook key shortcut, type a partial name, hit Enter, and it's onscreen. No accidental screentaps, no accidental grafitti errors. I thumbtype at about 60 words per minute, compared to Grafitti at 40 words per minute (am a speed demon at both, many people tell me). I can even do address lookups blind now more easily on Blackberry now using QWERTY muscle memory rather than having to stare at the screen and tap. The performance is a bit slow on some models (I especially do not like the Blackberry 7750 which is even slower than the Blackberry 7280)

Never loss of data. Everything is always stored in flash ROM ON THE FLY. No backup batteries needed. Even yank the battery out, put the battery in a week later, even your partially composed email is still in memory!

Long time proven mission critical reliability. This is why NASA uses slower CPU's, 20 Mhz, radiation hardened, like on Mars Rovers. Mission critical reliability. Blackberry (RIM) uses stable technology that may look a little older in some ways but I prefer that. 60 days uptime WITHOUT a soft reset are common with modern BlackberryOS versions (3.7.3 for example), and you need less reception in order to successfully send an email on a Blackberry -- it will automatically sieze the moment of a one bar reception lasting for only 5 seconds, to successfully send a queued email, and download a couple of small emails pending push to it. Even the best software I've seen on the other handhelds still doesn't provide the persistent reliable push email, even though what I have seen of Good IS getting a lot better than it used to be;

Longer lasting always-on Internet. Also, can you run a server on your handheld for 100 hours nonstop, with the screen always powered on? You cannot do that with a PalmOS or iPaq handheld. Blackberries can run server applications and client applications, and have a built-in firewall that can be turned on/off. For example, WebMessenger, has alerted me to AIM/MSN/Yahoo messages with the screen always on (no standby buttons and no power buttons on BlackBerry, since you can just let it idle fully powered up, and it'd last for days and days).

Security. Even sysadmins can remotely admin Blackberries now, and prevent installation of third party software or any other security breaches, or disable changing the options on the Blackberry from remotely, or even remotely lobotomize the Blackberries when stolen (important for government people too). There are third party solutions that help a Palm and iPaq that helps with some of these, but they are not quite as good.

Keyboard. Thumb keyboards on the Blackberries are known to be the best in the industry, with most people who tried multiple thumb keyboards, preferring the feel of a Blackberry thumb keyboard of a modern BlackBerry. (Mind you, I hated the 957 and 5810 thumb keyboards due to keys being flush, but the 950 was excellent, as is my 7280 with the properly rasied hard keys with excellent tactile feedback). Some thumb keyboards such as those on the iPaq 4350 is fairly good I find, but the 4350 is not GSM/GPRS.

Trust me. I've been using PDA's since 1997, and I am a speed demon with the stylus, and I can assure and agree with you the iPaq and Palm's are amazing and better multimedia handhelds. But the Blackberry are still better wireless productivity handhelds overall, even compared to the best push-email Treo using Goodlink and similiar. In fact, even if the emails were exactly the same, the other factors (battery, ruggedness, security from tampering, never loss of data, etc) guarantees that the Blackberry is better when the whole package is more important than the ability to run over 10,000 different software programs. But Blackberry software is not puny simple applications anymore, they are now 16-bit full color full screen smoothly-animating 30fps graphics applications (Magmic is an excellent example, as well as BlackberryOS 4.0 Brickbreaker, as well as a few new games just recently released) already now running on my handheld; it's not the grandfather's 1-bit monochrome Blackberry. The fact that there are now finally multiple different programs to choose between for one purpose (i.e. four different instant messaging software programs). YES, multiple PIM's now (no longer need to be stuck with Blackberry's own). Yes, now actually several open-source SourceForge projects that now run out of the box -- tested from Over-The-Air download straight to my Blackberry TODAY, is a big improvement over yesterday's Blackberry anemic software listing. Yes, Palm and iPaq still has more software, but you have not taken a look at how Blackberry software has started to really take off lately, and now provides a minimum choice to satisfy wireless productivity essentials (i.e. many choices of instant messaging now, and many telnet/ssh clients now available, etc). This is just mere icing on the cake, since the priority is reliable wireless productivity with better peace of mind of longer battery, ruggedness, security, reliability, easier administration, and safety from data-loss. Even though a few hurdles are being solved with iPaq and Palm, it is still not there.

I argue that Blackberries now belong more in the smartphones category today than simply handheld organizers, unlike yesterday's BlackBerries. Even BrightHand agrees with me, Blackberry is in the photo of the top of the Smartphones link. Yes, Blackberry development trails iPaq/Palm development, but for very good reason as you can read from all the above.

Originally Posted by Mark Rejhon

Only in performance, programming flexibility, and screen quality (although with the exception of newer 77XX transflective 16 bit color screens which look similiar to my iPaq screen, photos in the photo viewer look pretty good now on those; there ARE now photo viewers on Blackberry nowadays)

But definitely not in ruggedness, data-loss prevention, battery life, thumb keyboard, security, idiot-proofing, ease of adminstration, theft security with remotely triggered self-destruct, roaming reliability, etc. Blackberry doesn't even have a power button because the worry is pretty much eliminated. It's always ready for action, far more worry-free. And you never hear of data loss complaints on Blackberry handhelds!

I should update my statistics -- Blackberry subscribers are now at about 1.5 million, according to representatives. An earlier article showed 1.3 million if I remember, but that was a while back. That's active wireless subscribers, not exaggerated number of handhelds (like abandoned older models of Blackberries like the 950 pagers, even though some of those still remain in use today, and does not include upgrades from older Blackberries to newer Blackberries, which means more than 1.5 million units sold, just 1.5 million active subscribers). They are predicting 2 million by end of year, and 3 million by end of 2005. That's a significant marketshare improvement among smartphones (I again argue that Blackberries are smartphones nowadays.)

As for 50% prosumers, that was quoted from a RIM representative at some point. I'd have to dig it up. There was also a news article that mentioned that the ratio of prosumers to corporate is rising as Blackberries start to appeal to consumers more. Obviously, some people will prefer to run MAME or use a cameraphone, but I obviously prefer wirelss productivity (and that's not just email too!)

Did you know that my BlackBerry gets 85% use and my iPaq 15% use, even with GPS?