iPhone 3G vs Verizon Blackberry Curve

I am thinking of getting my first smart phone and can't decide on what I should get. Right now I have Verizon and the service is great. I have very few dropped calls, voice quality is pretty good, and I am overall happy with the service. If I stay with Verizon I was thinking of getting the Blackberry curve. Blackberry offers mac software to sync it with my mac, and I can get true push in my email. The cost would be less for me and my wife to go with the Curve.

But then there is the iPhone. Very sexy and has full html internet, has the best iPod features, and the 3rd party software makes it just that much cooler. The down side is it is on AT&T. I had Cingular in the past and was not happy with the service at all. Dropped calls left and right. Has the service improved since they merged with AT&T? The price is the same for service with the iPhone until you add in the SMS messages, that will be 40 more a month for that!

So ex blackberry users that now have iPhones, was it worth the switch?

I too am in almost the exact same situation although I have the Ipod Touch for my music, so the blackberry does not have to have that capability. Also, I have a Blackberry for work, so I am very familiar with how it operates.

I just switched to AT&T from Verizon. I had a Palm Treo 700P on my Verizon plan and I will admit that while the phone was lacking (mostly due to Verizon's lockdown) the network and reliability were as good as Verizon claimed.

I've only had my iPhone a few days but have had no issues with dropped call so far and reception seems quite good everywhere except my living-room. I'm in a full 3G zone pretty much everywhere I go (I live in greater Southern California) except in my living-room I'm lucky if I even get Edge service and 2 bars. Fortunately my wireless network makes up for it but it is annoying. My el-cheapo work phone is AT&T as well and gets just as poor service in my living-room as well. Verizon always got me at least 4 bars.

I actually suspect I am in a blind spot for the cell tower that I can see outside my front Window (half a mile away) because when I go out my front door I get 4 bars and it jumps between Edge and 3G and if I walk 2 houses down I get 3G and 5 bars just fine.

jdevleerjr said:

I had Cingular in the past and was not happy with the service at all. Dropped calls left and right. Has the service improved since they merged with AT&T? The price is the same for service with the iPhone until you add in the SMS messages, that will be 40 more a month for that!

So ex blackberry users that now have iPhones, was it worth the switch?

Click to expand...

I switched to Cingular a few years ago after having had Verizon for a short while. My Verizon service sucked where I lived. I've had no problems with Cingular/ATT. Fact is, no single provider is capable of providing uniform service everywhere you may be. Unless ATT has done upgrades to address the deficiencies you had with Cingular in the area YOU had problems with, then nothing's changed. I'm sure my Verizon experience would have been different back then if I lived in a different area.

As for Blackberry vs iPhone... I never quite took a liking to my BB. Switched to an iPhone... I've never been happier.

So maybe I need to find someone who owns an iphone or at least an AT&T phone and try it out in my house. One of the biggest concerns is that I do not have a land line, I have been using just a cell phone for the last 2 years and I do not want to get a land line again.

The other thing is that if I do get an iPhone I have to wait till March when my contract ends. If I were to get a Blackberry I can get one at any time.

A my contract expiration date with Sprint approaches I am fighting the same battle. I currently use a Palm Centro and have been looking at the Instinct and iPhone. Some thoughts: Will the iPhone do everything you want it to do, i.e., 3rd party apps, etc. Will the Blackberry? What I found out was that in the case of the Instinct the answer is NO. They did not use a lot of brain power to bring it out so quickly with 3rd party support. Why would you purchase a beautiful (and it is FAST!!) PDA that can only be used as a phone. I would suggest you do the same thing with the iPhone. See if it has the apps you need/want. But having said all that - I know how you feel - I want that iPhone ssssooooooo badly!!

I hear you, my contract with Verizon isn't up until Dec but I can get the Blackberry in August.

How about the iPod touch? Anyone carry 2 devices? A touch and a blackberry?

I have a black berry pearl and would reccomend it. I know its slightly differrent to the curve but most is similar. The software is great and yes there is no app store but there are plenty of apps on various sites for the blackberry. I'm typing this on it now and its just as fast with the qwerty keyboard. The web is full html just select the full html version and not the default mobile version, or do what I do and use opera mobile which is way better than the default browser with the iphone style zooming in on a section of the page just obviously not touch.

Any questions just pm me.


Chris

Chirs

How well does it sync with your ilife apps? iCal, Address book, notes, etc? I also know its not an ipod what so ever but will it play video and music pretty well?

Thanks

I actually ended up dropping my VZW Blackberry Curve in favor of the iPhone. I thought the Curve was a great phone and the Verizon network is clearly superior when it comes to not getting dropped calls, and coverage (in most cases). But, its not the iPhone. iPhone is just a nicer, cooler, better device. And the 3G is definitely faster than Verizons EV-DO. I'm a big fan, and happy I made the switch. I'll take a dropped call here and there in trade.

jdevleerjr,

I'm not 100% sure if this applies to the iPhone, but I know that the last time I looked at switching carriers, the carrier would allow you a grace period to ensure that the phone worked in the places you called from (that was actually switching from pre-Cingular AT&T to Verizon). I'm sure AT&T would offer something similar - I'd give them a call.

I just traded in my Blackberry Curve for a iPhone 3G. If you can afford it, I would say hands down go for the iPhone.

With the Apps store, it is truly amazing what you can do with a iPhone.

What about the BB Thunder (to be release possibly Oct 13) vs. the iPhone?

Touchscreen vs. touchscreen and AT&T vs. Verizon.

The BlackBerry Thunder could possibly be the uggliest touch screen phone. You cannot compare any other phone to the iPhone when it comes to its Screen Response. Typing will not be the same, scrolling, browsing, etc.

Comparing the iPhone VS the BB Curve would pretty much mean your only comparing the Keyboard and Media Player. Obviously if you want to type faster, and write longer emails, the blackberry is the choice for you. The iPhone's Media Player is superb, and no phone can really compare to it. The only other real comparison is the Browser on the iPhone vs the Curve. We all know the difference, so its really your decision on what you want to sacrifice. I don't think the Blackberry has any advantage other than the Keyboard...

Oh and this is an iPhone Forum =] Responses probably wont vary

jdevleerjr said:

Has the service improved since they merged with AT&T? The price is the same for service with the iPhone until you add in the SMS messages, that will be 40 more a month for that!

Click to expand...

Big carriers like AT&T & Verizon are always installing new sites to improve coverage, check AT&Ts latest coverage map. I think you'd be suprised how agressive the larger carriers site build plans are. (Even for 2G/Edge!)

And 40$ a month for a SMS package? Please. It's 20$ for an unlimited single-user SMS plan, or 30$ for Unlimited FamilyTalk SMS.

I liked my BB Curve (which I owned for a week), but it felt like stepping into the stone age coming from the iPhone. The way email is handled is quite poor compared to the iPhone. Couldn't even view html email or manage IMAP folders out of the box. Handango is garbage compared to the app store, as it's such a convoluted mess and the apps are overpriced. I would've had to pay $30 to view html emails. Thanks, but no thanks. The web browser, though better than typical phones, was still not in the same league as mobile safari. Overall, the UI could not come close to the iPhone either. Lastly, it was on Verizon so of course it didn't have Wi-Fi which also stunk.

Unless there's something you really need that the BB can do but the iPhone can't, or AT&T service is poor in your area, the choice is easy.

just looked at the BB Curve, dont like the interface (perhaps me and my anti Windows bla bla bla, anyway) and I just dont like how you use it, trying out Sony ericssons M600i, getting me crazy oO

I dont like the interface and the small buttons, the design, not a phone for me.

Plus a like to have my MP3 player and phone in one

Anyone else having problems with the PocketMac SyncManager that syncs the Blackberry with the Mac? Mine just stopped syncing with my address book.

I have had my 3g I-phone for a week now and so far so good the addiction
to this gadget is crazy I find myself using this thing as much as my laptop.