# Blackberry vs. iPhone



## bgw (Jan 8, 2008)

Interesting article about the Blackberry and iPhone.

The end quote of the article is interesting:



> There are no signs that RIM has the engineering chops on either side of the ball — hardware or software — to compete with where the iPhone is now, let alone where it’s going to be. We know that Apple has an OS that can scale to take advantage of faster (and multi-core) processors, because OS X is doing that already. If a two-years-away 2010 iPhone might be like having a 2003 PowerBook G4 in your pocket, for RIM’s sake a 2010 BlackBerry had better be something more than a BlackBerry with a brighter screen.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

The iPhone is totally different from any other "smart" phone in ways which we can't yet even imagine. We are witnessing the evolution of a completely new kind of communication platform... This, is gonna be huge!


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

Bjornbro has it exactly right.

The Blackberry is great at what it's meant to do -- handle email, open excel docs -- but it's not really a very good PHONE.

The iPhone is first and foremost a perfect fusing of a good phone and a good iPod. Then it builds out from there and does its selected tasks very well. But the real innovation of the iPhone is that its the first "naturalistic" smart phone.

Blackberry actually surpasses the iPhone in some areas, but its interface and overall philosophy are about as far away from "natural" as you can get. Holding a key combo to get to a "z" name in your contacts may actually be more ergonomic, but flicking your finger across the screen and having natural physics "roll the listings past you -- that's intuitive, natural and instantly grok-able.*

*"grok-able" shows just how much of a nerd I really am, don't you think? 

Anyway, this is why the iPod thrives in the face of competitors that are generally cheaper and often have a feature or three that the iPod doesn't -- that integrated, unified, human-friendly interface. That's why nobody else can catch them.


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

People just love Apples. Having an iPod means you are cool. Owning an a blackberry means you are an OCD freak who wants nothing more than that 1000 dollar/per month performance bonus so you can afford your data package on your crackberry.


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## PoliceDog (May 1, 2008)

Adrian. said:


> People just love Apples. Having an iPod means you are cool. Owning an a blackberry means you are an OCD freak who wants nothing more than that 1000 dollar/per month performance bonus so you can afford your data package on your crackberry.


Apple = Consumer (yet Gadget and Computer Literate)
BlackBerry = Corporate (yet Gadget and Computer Illiterate)

My wife is a very senior government executive bringing foreign investment into Ontario. She doesn't even get the state of the art (?) Crackberry - she's issued an older, obsolete model. She's on this curse every hour of the day - the same woman who hasn't figured out in 25 years how to change the alarm time on our Bose bedroom radio can send three emails to Tokyo between refills of coffee at our local diner! 

The sweeping thumb-slide page changes on my son's iPhone or daughter's iTouch? Big deal. To her, and every other "corporate", that's just "toy kiddie stuff".

She loves the BB for what it can do for her job - she rarely uses it as a cellphone. In fact, I bought her a PAYG phone just so family members can reach her.

OTOH, my son and I are writers, producers, etc. and we are gadget freaks of the highest order. We have every current iPod you can have. He's been using an iPhone in Canada since last year. I don't like it enough to bother with.

Yet.

I also use a BlackBerry Curve (My 4th BB). Came back from a Treo-650 (who would blow everyone else out of the water if they had a brain. They don't. End of discussion.)

I'm not a big TXT'er. I'm not a huge cellphone user. I'm a huge email user/responder.

My decision: the moment I can type or TXT regularly as quickly (and I HATE 'predictive'!) on an iPhone as I can on my BB - I'll have an iPhone.


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## Veej (Feb 16, 2006)

Check the new BB Bold out looks suspiciously like something  ..now if they could only be as smart and get rid of those plastic buttons...


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## JumboJones (Feb 21, 2001)

Apple also has had the advantage of learning from their past failings i.e. the Newton, which I think played a huge part in the developement of the iPhone. The BB up until last year had the advantage of being widely adopted and a leader of this type of technology, but now have been forced to play catch up. It will be interesting to see if they can handle this type of pressure.


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## outty (Sep 21, 2007)

It is crazy how many people currently own a blackberry, including myself. It will be interesting to see how many people actually switch from the BB to the iPhone when it arrives in Canada.


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

Veej said:


> Check the new BB Bold out looks suspiciously like something  ..now if they could only be as smart and get rid of those plastic buttons...


Jiminy, that picture is a PERFECT example of how Blackberry is getting it all wrong.

The "usable screen" portion of that model looks sooo tiny after you get past the icons, the date/time and that huge keyboard.

For the guy who hates "predictive" ... I do too. I struggled with the iPhone for a day or two because I'm very anal about spelling and such.

I finally called a guy I know at Apple to complain. He simply said "use the force."

It took me a while, but I finally got what he meant. He meant "let go and just type." It's hard for some people (like me) to do, but once I did -- wow what do you know, 98-99 percent accuracy! It's pretty amazing.


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

outty said:


> It is crazy how many people currently own a blackberry, including myself.


It's not that crazy. RIM is a Canadian company, and a world-class corporation. There is (and properly so) a certain amount of national pride involved as well as the fact that Blackberries exist in a market space they have -- until recently -- had more or less to themselves.


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## Andrew Pratt (Feb 16, 2007)

I'd consider switching from my BB Pearl to the iPhone..but 1) I'm tied into a 3 year contract 2) it would mean switching to Rogers and 3) I actually like my Pearl. Given the data rates we're currently saddled with the fact that the iPhone has a better web experience doesn't carry much weight as I don't use the web browser on my Pearl...I do use it for email though and the BB's do that well enough.


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

It would be nice if Apple just sold an unlocked iPhone off their website.


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

Adrian. said:


> It would be nice if Apple just sold an unlocked iPhone off their website.


ISTR that we soon starting Year Two of AT&T's three year exclusive agreement. So two years from now, you'll get your wish.


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## outty (Sep 21, 2007)

chas_m said:


> ISTR that we soon starting Year Two of AT&T's three year exclusive agreement. So two years from now, you'll get your wish.


I'd imagine that there will be quite an uproar from AT&T if and when that happens. Imagine other companies following suit and the change the cell phone market will face here in North America.


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