To Switch or Not to Switch
There are a number of iPhone reviews on the Web; a good overview of the pros and cons of the device can be found here and here, and a very detailed breakdown of device features is available here. Rather than add to what’s widely available, this review of Apple’s 2nd generation iPhone caters to those considering switching from a RIM Blackberry. In my case, a Blackberry 8820.
I’ve been a heavy Blackberry user for about 5 years, long enough to grow forgiving of its shortfalls and fond of its quirks, like an old pair of tennis shoes you have every reason to throw away, but just can’t. I played around quite a bit with the first gen iPhone, but without 3G support and a bona-fide email client, it was easy to resist. The 2nd gen iPhone fixed these problems, and further resistance was futile.
Setting up email was a snap. For me. As in, NOT my Exchange administrator. I was able to set it up in the Apple Store, in under one minute. This is a huge plus for those familiar with having to offer gifts of frankincense and myrrh to an IT department so that they will configure a BES server account for you (just kidding guys, no, seriously… hey wait a second… why is my email bouncing all of a sudden?).
The email client is different. Visually, email looks like it does on a computer (especially if you use an Apple computer), and not some stripped down version for a mobile device. If you’ve grown used to opening email on your Blackberry and reading code, you will be pleased to know that Apple’s iPhone email client supports HTML email. This is more important to me than I expected - I don’t waste as much of my productive time in front of a computer reading HTML email (which is comprised mostly of newsletters), I can do this on the go now.
Scrolling through email is better with a touchscreen than a trackwheel. I could try to explain why - that anticipating the acceleration and deceleration of the scrolling is very intuitive (it’s not a one notch to one email ratio, which is immensely satisfying), but it’s one of those things you’ll get instantly once you try it, and probably not until then. You open an email by simply touching it, and there is no hidden drop down menu, just five simple soft keys on the bottom. You’ll find this is a recurring theme through the entire UI, the elimination of drop down menus in favor of soft keys that only appear when you need them. It is a superior experience.
While the iPhone has made reading email much more enjoyable, in stock format the Blackberry makes it much easier to manipulate your inbox (sort/search/filter). This problem is apparently covered by some third party apps - jump ahead to the apps section if you’ve just broken into a nervous sweat, but I haven’t yet played around with them.
Edge: iPhone. Surprising, considering this is supposed to be RIM’s sweet spot.
Browsing
Wow. The 3G network is fast. The browser works in both landscape and portrait mode based on the orientation of the device. You can have multiple windows open at the same time. You can use your finger tips to enlarge and shrink and scroll left to right, up and down. The browser can render video and is an extremely rich experience using HTML. This does NOT, in my opinion, relinquish the smart marketer from developing a presence specifically for mobile users (as I wrote here), but it certainly makes doing so much easier. It doesn’t make pork ‘n beans, but that’s about it.
Edge: iPhone. Even if you’re an EVDO Verizon RIM user already accustomed to high speed browsing, going back to your Blackberry browser will make you want to punch babies. I promise.
SMS
I had set up my Blackberry so that SMS messages came into my normal inbox. I liked the unified inbox. Still do. That said, I like the experience of having text messages appear like threaded IM chat windows too. Even more, I like how I don’t see each individual text message in my inbox, and instead have them rolled up into conversations.
Edge: iPhone, though I’m willing to concede that this one is subjective.
MMS
Blackberry supports it; Apple does not.
Edge: Blackberry. Though, it’s still a crapshoot if you’re talking intercarrier MMS.
Keyboard
Apple’s virtual keyboard is where Blackberry apologists can make hay. Let’s get one thing out of the way: I am faster on my Blackberry than I am on my iPhone. Furthermore, I do not expect to EVER get to be as quick.
Great, now let’s talk about what it’s like to type an email on the iPhone. The virtual keypad is actually better than I expected. It does useful things like autocorrection (provided you don’t butcher words too badly) and word anticipation. Getting to numbers and special characters is easy too - just click the button on the bottom left to convert your letters keypad into a numbers/symbols keypad. It’s not quite as single stop as the Blackberry shift process, but it didn’t bother me.
I overvalued tactile response when switching to the iPhone. It is nice to feel the click, but hearing the click (it sounds like a typewriter) provides a similar satisfaction. I found that I was most accurate in typing when I suspended the desire to actually see the letter as I pressed it. Once I did this, my typing was fast enough for me.
Edge: Blackberry, though not as much as you might think. Women with long fingernails might have a more difficult time.
Phone
I don’t love the iPhone phone. Voicemail is vastly superior (you get to scroll through it with your eyes, playing only what you want), and the earphones/mic combo is neat (if you’re listening to the iPod, you can dump it by clicking on the mic attached to answer a call, only to automatically resume the music once you end the call), but the voice quality is just ok. I’ve dropped a couple calls. I don’t like dropping calls.
Edge: Blackberry. Though, it’s no show stopper either. I’ve found that the best voice quality phones are usually the ones without many other features, so my success criteria is lower than the average consumer, probably.
Applications
There are a staggering number of applications available for the iPhone. They are easy to download through iTunes - no goofy applications loader - and fun. iPhone users spend a lot of time (and money, though there are loads of freebies) downloading apps and playing with them, and doing so really helps you get the most out of your iPhone. I do more things with my iPhone than any other mobile device I’ve ever had.
Edge: iPhone. Comparing them would be like booing at the Special Olympics; the fight is that lopsided.
Battery Life
RIM should probably be consulted in any serious talks about energy conservation. They are absolute MASTERS of battery life. Even though as they expand on the functionality of their devices their stranglehold on power stewardship is slipping a bit, it is vastly superior to the iPhone. If you are ALWAYS out of the office, and NEVER around a charging option, iPhone is not for you. Heavy iPhone usage will require frequent mid-day charging. That said, if you don’t use the iPod, turn off the 3G (use WiFi), and rub your stomach while patting your head chanting “iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiPPPPPPHHHHHHHOOOOOONNNNNEEEEEEE” you might get your battery to last all day.
Edge: Blackberry. Though, I don’t expect my laptop to last all day, so it’s not fair to expect that the better functionality of the iPhone should last as long as Blackberry.
Other Stuff
The iPhone obviously does music. My 8820 supposedly does too -kind of like a 5 year old does art, but I never fooled myself into thinking my Blackberry would ever replace my iPod. IMHO, RIM shouldn’t even try to go after music, because it will fail; only Apple wins in the phone/mp3 player market. Form factor is up to you, but I love the iPhone’s design - there is no wasted space, the icons are big and colorful, the screen is huge, etc.
Edge: iPhone.
There you have it, for those of you still awake. The only reasons I can see staying with the Blackberry are the following:
- You are never around a charging environment;
- Your company won’t let you have one;
- You have really long fingernails
The iPhone is in a whole new category. To call it a smartphone isn’t really fair, it’s really a computer with a phone. There are many people who will probably still say, “I just want my phone to be a phone.” I’m not trying to persuade them. These were probably the same people that stared into a computer screen in 1994 and said, “I just need my computer to do word processing.”
Tags: Blackberry, iPhone, iPhone Comparison, Review