BlackBerry or iPhone? Or maybe something else?

I am on the market for a 'smart phone'. It will be used for business purposes my uses will include:

Accessing the internet to log into my shopping cart admin to process orders & develop my shopping cart software.
Logging into my email. This is browser based email since my ISP (Sky) no longer allows pop or smtp.
Posting on forums to communicate with customers.
So I guess I would need Wi-Fi for free spots around the city and another setup for travelling.

Extras I would like:
GPS - Ideally street and road navigation. So when I am walking around a city such as London it can give me directions including pedestrian streets and tube directions. Also I can switch to car navigation for road travel.

Basically I need a small PC/mac that I can use when away from the office. I was on holiday last week and didn't access my work. I had a backlog of over 100 emails that I now need to process. If I had something described above I could have dealt with many of the emails and stuff quickly and wouldn't be playing catch up now.

I have been looking at the IPhone for months but the setup in the UK is really expensive when compared to what else is out there. I found Blackberry's have way more functions but I have never used them.

So I am considering a blackberry instead. I guess many people who go for the IPhone are in a similar dilemma so I would really like some advice or opinions.

Thanks

Logging into my email. This is browser based email since my ISP (Sky) no longer allows pop or smtp.
Posting on forums to communicate with customers.
So I guess I would need Wi-Fi for free spots around the city and another setup for travelling.

With o2 you get free WI FI access to cloud networks. Also unlimited data on GPRS, Edge etc.

Extras I would like:
GPS - Ideally street and road navigation. So when I am walking around a city such as London it can give me directions including pedestrian streets and tube directions. Also I can switch to car navigation for road travel.

It includes Google maps. Although not GPS based it can do routing.

The next firmware update should include push E-mail the same as the Blackberry.

Hope this helps.

Your up early Mike!

Thanks for the advice. I am after some sort of smartphone. I only learned about an hour ago thats the type I need!

Its a minefield of jargon out there.

It would be better in a few decades when hopefully we will no longer need to be IT technicians to choose a phone and things will be integrated and standardised!

Accessing the internet to log into my shopping cart admin to process orders & develop my shopping cart software.
Logging into my email. This is browser based email since my ISP (Sky) no longer allows pop or smtp.
Posting on forums to communicate with customers.

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Both devices would work equally well for this, although some (not me) would argue the BB will be easier to type on.
Oh and ISP based webmail? Get a new email provider: Gmail is free, offers IMAP and POP and works great from any platform. If you have your own business domain look into Gmail for my domain.

So I guess I would need Wi-Fi for free spots around the city and another setup for travelling.

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As mentioned the iPhone lets you access the cloud Wifi network and when you're out of range of a wifi hotspot you'll use O2's EDGE / GPRS service.

GPS - Ideally street and road navigation. So when I am walking around a city such as London it can give me directions including pedestrian streets and tube directions. Also I can switch to car navigation for road travel.

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The iPhone's Google Maps feature is nice and can do step-by-step directions, but it's not really a full GPS navigation replacement. For pedestrian use it's good enough, but not whilst driving.

All-in-all I'd say the internet / forum / browsing experience will definitely be better on the iPhone, but the GPS stuff will be better on the BB.

I've been using a BB for 2.5 years now for work and absolutely hate it. For example, I hate how it shows Word docos and excel worksheets. I always get the "download more" message.

Part of my distaste for the BB might be the fact at how it's locked down due to work requirements, but overall I can't stand the thing and resent the fact that I have to use it.

My iPhone on the other hand is something that I can not live without. Aside from the GPS an iPhone should give you what you are looking for.

Have recently switched from BB to iPhone, I would recommend the iphone. Right now the BB has enterprise and exchange email capabilities, in a few months iPhone will as well. Outside of that, the iPhone displays the best web pages, google maps, etc. Being a Mac user, it syncs with my home Mac and my work Mac. I can't say that about my blackberry.

That's interesting you are all leaning to the Iphone.

I thought the BB would be the preferred option. The Iphone is seriously expensive if you go the standard route so I would probably be looking at an unlocked version or even possibly using an Ipod touch so I can get on Wi-Fi.

If I fork out about £100 or so more then I can get an unlocked version but then I face the prospect of being locked out if I were to update the software in the future.

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Should I get another mobile phone, and a touch to keep me in gadget heaven?

I recently purchased a Palm Centro to last me until my contract ran out and I can get an iPhone (next July). But I have to admit, I am really impressed with the features it has. I hope by next July iPhone will have all the bells and whistles because otherwise it will be a tough decision.

I was leaning to a Blackberry with a touch as well, but once you've played around with the iPhone and have gotten used to the features, you just don't want to miss it.

I think it's a typical case of the Blackberry being capable of doing more, but the iPhone letting you get more done.

My Dad has a Blackberry and emails with it and that's IT. Within 2 minutes of using the iPhone he was surfing on the web, emailing pictures and adding appointments.

powermacj7 said:

Have recently switched from BB to iPhone, I would recommend the iphone. Right now the BB has enterprise and exchange email capabilities, in a few months iPhone will as well. Outside of that, the iPhone displays the best web pages, google maps, etc. Being a Mac user, it syncs with my home Mac and my work Mac. I can't say that about my blackberry.

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I agree, I too recently switched. I've been a crackberry addict for the past 9+ years and after one week with the iPhone I am kicking myself for not switching last year when I had the opportunity.

I liked my Blackberry for email/text, calendar and notes functions. That's it. I despised its to do/task list, was horrified by its absolutely RIDICULOUS internet surfing ability and I never was able to watch movies or listen to music due to the import process being a pain in the neck. Aside from these things Blackberry's didn't do a whole lot more for me. I tried adding numerous software titles but never found anything I liked or was useful other than games.

Now the iPhone...in the past week I have done more on this device than I have ever DREAMED I'd do on a mobile device (aside from a macbook). Apple just about thought of 'everything' when engineering this device. The hardest thing for me to get used to in switching from a Blackberry was the keyboard. I am a little slower but definitely increasing daily with more and more use. The only things I hope improve with the next update are the sync'ing of tasks and notes in Outlook. I am forced to sync with a PC because it is what I have to use at work. Other than that I would just about call the iPhone the "perfect device".

Good luck!

The iPhone(current version) is a toy. The BlackBerry is a tool.

I've used both. the iPhone keyboard takes some getting used to, but it's very user friendly, and customizable. The BlackBerry... nah. I hated the OS and I hated the clunky-clicky micro buttons that were squished together.

My problem is AT&T coverage sucks bad here. I love my iPhone but get dropped calls everywhere and the internet is so slow my phone goes to sleep before it pulls up a web page

yeah my friend has an iPhone. his room is an AT&T dead zone. he has to use his bluetooth headset and put the phone by the window when he talks on it. It's pretty ridiculous.

SamoanDude said:

My problem is AT&T coverage sucks bad here. I love my iPhone but get dropped calls everywhere and the internet is so slow my phone goes to sleep before it pulls up a web page

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That,then, should make your decision easier. Find the carrier(s) that give the best reception and then isolate the phone down that would meet your needs. An iPhone will not do you any good if your reception is lousy. Go to a kiosk/store and "play" with the phones a little. For example: I was initially turned off by the small keys on the Centro until someone told me it didn't matter because they were "peaked" i.e., they came to a point making it very easy for my large fingers to find the key I wanted. Blackberry looks good but I prefer the Palm myself. Good hunting!

I am a cell user for 20 years. first, pick a carrier that meets your requirements then hardware. I have carried Palm phones, windows mobile phones and BB. I am considering changing right now to an Iphone. But AT&T's coverage here is not equal to Verizon. What I am trying to determine is whether the AT&T coverage is good enough. I am also waiting to see how this new AT&T G3 network operates. With modern handhelds the data coverage/plans are almost as important as the voice coverage/plans.

IMHO the BB is a pure tool and does what it does exceptionally well. It is the ultimate email tool. The Iphone is not as strong as the BB on email but a better overall wireless device. The Iphone is more fun.

If AT&T is the carrier of choice in your area, then I would go for the Iphone. The Iphone s superior to the BB on Web apps. Curently, I sometimes travel with my Ipod Touch and BB because it provides the best of both worlds if there is a wireless network in the hotel and airports. However, it is not the same as traveling with a laptop.

I would suggest you make a list of functions you need and use this to evaluate the different carriers and hand helds. Also, today I would look at more than just the BB and the Iphone. You may find a different device that would work better for your requirements.

Good luck here, unfortuantely there are no really easy answers here. Also, if you are looking @ more than 6 phones most of the carriers offer corporate accounts which will save you money. I would call the carriers and see if they will send you a sample handheld for evaluation. If you are looking @ 20+ phones they will go a long way to capture your business.