BlackBerry vs. iPhone

It's the battle of the century between Research In Motion's BlackBerry, and Apple's iPhone.  Each phone holds its own as business users love the operating system of the BlackBerry and know how to achieve total usability, while other users love the advanced technology of the iPhone as well as the ability to find an application for anything imaginable. 

Sure there are other great competing devices like the Nokia N96, the Samsung Instinct, or the Palm Treo Pro, but to me it's always been about BlackBerry vs. iPhone.  While some users will tell you that the BlackBerry can't compare to the iPhone, other users will counter right back letting you know that the BlackBerry can't be outdone by the iPhone.  It's really a consumer battle that is drawn right down the middle.  That's right!  Everywhere you look it's 50/50 between the BlackBerry and the iPhone. 

Add your say in the poll below as to which device is really number one overall.   

When you look at the new Bold there are three things that you see; the screen, the keyboard, and the body. For BlackBerry lovers all of these features are excellent. The 480×320 screen of the Bold is so stunning with its pixel density you almost need to watch a movie on it, instead of doing a bunch of that other boring stuff. You could say that the keyboard is RIM’s bread and butter. It’s perfect in size, it makes texting fun, and the backlighting is wonderful. As far as looks go, the body of the Bold is the best yet out of any other BlackBerry, and it really does look like a professional business device.

Email is one of the best parts of any BlackBerry device, and as far as the Bold goes, it is no different. Veiwing attachments, full HTML, and pictures makes emailing a near perfect experience on the Bold.

Browsing the web is now even better than before on any previous BlackBerry device, and once you get used to using the trackball you can quickly and easily make your way around the net.

The battery lasts at least as long as any previous model, and even with all of the functions you might use from day to day, you should be able to expect to make it throughout the day.

You should have no trouble with the operating system on the Bold if you have used other BlackBerrys, and even if you are not familiar with any BlackBerry, you should get the hang of it fairly quickly. With a 624MHz processor the Bold will run smoothly right after startup.

What more could you want from a BlackBerry device?

The Bold is the best looking BlackBerry device to date. If you love BlackBerry, then you will most likely enjoy all that the Bold can do. Don't forget about videos. The speaker is great, and so is the on screen appearance. Dowload a video on the Bold, sit back, and enjoy.

The iPhone 3G is a newer improved model that came out about a year after the original iPhone. There is only a slight difference in appearance, but there is a big improvement in what the device can do.

The iPhone has access to a much better 3G network, as well as Microsoft Exchange server email, and tons of variety from the iPhone Application Store. You've probably seen the commercial, "There's an App for that", as there is a good chance that you can find an application for anything imaginable.

The call quality and reception are also improved on the iPhone, background noise is no longer a big deal, and you will also find that music and vidoes are better than ever.

You should be able to expect download speeds to be twice as fast as the original, but it will all depend on the coverage in your area. If you can get decent 3G coverage in your area then the iPhone 3G will be able to take care of all your needs, from calling, to email, to entertainment.

The Nokia N96 is a total multimedia device, equipped with a 5 megapixel camera on the back, and another smaller camera on the front. The N96 records video, has the ability to connect to the internet in multiple ways, has a 2.8" video display, and stores 16BG of memory which can be expanded. It also has a kickstand in the back which allows for a hands free video experience.

The N96 comes with a high price tag, but is an incredible device that actually looks like a camera. It should be able to keep up with the other devices in its class, yet there are some obvious drawbacks that you may notice right away.

If you fold out the keyboard on the bottom you will notice that it is a T9, which means that you need to push the buttons multiple times to sometimes get the letter you want. Doing a lot of typing on the N96 might be a pain, unless of course you enjoy the T9. There is, however, an optional wireless keyboard that you can get to go with the N96, but it's not cheap either.

Unless you get decent 3G or WiMAX coverage in your area you may be able to expect a slower downloading and browsing experience, and even if you do get better coverage, the battery on the N96 is only 950mAh which means that it will probably drain very quickly based on the things that you can do with this device.

The N96 is a great device, but you will have to reconcile that with the quick draining battery, the T9 keyboard, and the reliability of better service in your area.

The Samsung Instinct may just be the best device to date coming from Samsung, or Sprint, and although it looks a lot like the iPhone, that is actually one of the only things that they both have in common.

The Instinct offers visual voice mail, work email support, GPS, video recording, voice dialing, multimedia messaging, and 3G network compatibility, however, it struggles in other areas. Web browsing on the Instinct has received very low marks, the camera is average at best and lacks editing, and the video and calling quality were a bit disappointing.

Just looking at the Instinct, it appears to be similar to the iPhone, however, the touch phone is just a bit larger as well as slimmer. The display looks excellent with 262,000 colors and a 432/240 pixel resolution. The display is 3.25", which just happens to be a quarter of an inch smaller than that of the iPhone, which may give the user a bit of a cramped feeling when watching videos or surfing the net.

The menu screen is organized and easy to use. The Fun and Web menus allow for user customization, which is a nice way to organize the apps you like to use and the areas you like to visit. You will also know when you have chosen anything on screen with the haptic tactile feedback, meaning you get a slight vibration when you choose an on screen option.

When typing on the Instinct you can use the horizontal or vertical position, and there even happens to be a graffiti mode for actually drawing your text. Not sure why you would need to use that, but perhaps it comes in handy sometimes.

The phone book will hold a total of 600 contacts with 5 numbers each, 1 email, 1 url, and some notes. You can also save those callers to groups, add a photo, and add 1 of 27 different ringtones to be assigned to that caller, or group.

Overall the Instinct is a great feature phone and gets the job done in many areas even though it is not in the smartphone category. I'm sure they were hoping that it would compete with the iPhone 3G, but it really only beats the original iPhone, which was never really much of a concern.