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iPhone 3GS vs Blackberry Bold 9700
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doesn't matter for the vast majority of users.
Neither system is perfect. The right solution is one-touch switching between inboxes. I would hate to have my personal email integrated into my work inbox. I also hate having texts in the same folder as emails.
don't know what else to say to this but... no.
hate to say it but im thinking about this switch also....
im very bored with my iphone...very tired of the battery...
thanks apple for letting me know i have to shut every thing off so i can get one day out of this battery...really ?
lets not forget the font size is adjustable on the bb...and auto sleep...(shuts off and on option)
i too text allot and would like my emails on time not an hour later just to save battery life..
im a huge apple fan but this is getting old with not enough updates to the iphone..its now lagging behind the competition..
im very bored with my iphone...very tired of the battery...
thanks apple for letting me know i have to shut every thing off so i can get one day out of this battery...really ?
lets not forget the font size is adjustable on the bb...and auto sleep...(shuts off and on option)
i too text allot and would like my emails on time not an hour later just to save battery life..
im a huge apple fan but this is getting old with not enough updates to the iphone..its now lagging behind the competition..
I've been contemplating switching to the Bold for a while now also. I can't get myself to do it though and I'm going to try to stick it out until the new iPhone is announced and then decide then.
Late Reply
I'm sure this is a late reply to your original post, but I'm actually going through your problem opposite right now. I currently have the iPhone 3G and am about to switch over to the 9700. I've gotten so used to having touch screens my whole life (my first phone was the original Palm Pre and then I got the LGDare). I use email a ridiculous amount and text over five thousand a month (and am in love with the iChat format of texting). I'd love to know whether or not you think the app part of the iPhone succeeds the Blackberry, even though I will be getting an iTouch if I switch over.
I'm sure this is a late reply to your original post, but I'm actually going through your problem opposite right now. I currently have the iPhone 3G and am about to switch over to the 9700. I've gotten so used to having touch screens my whole life (my first phone was the original Palm Pre and then I got the LGDare). I use email a ridiculous amount and text over five thousand a month (and am in love with the iChat format of texting). I'd love to know whether or not you think the app part of the iPhone succeeds the Blackberry, even though I will be getting an iTouch if I switch over.
Emails a hour later? Are you serious? Dude I have Push Email from MobileMe and get emails under a minute from launch and if you don't want to pay for it, Google has free Push too and that doesn't even include all the Push Email apps in the AppStore. Heck if you don't want them instantly the iPhone has built in Fetch which can be as low as 15 minutes.
Auto sleep? Is it really that hard to turn off the iPhone and turn it back on?
I receive lots and lots of emails everyday. It is definitely more then capable. You have the option to Fetch the emails (15,30,60 minutes) or you can get them instantly with Push with either MobileMe,Google or Yahoo (Yahoo is not too good for Push) and download a Push Mail program from the AppStore such as Mail Notifier (I used it since release and was nearly instant too).
Go ahead buddy, you'll be fine
- eh.. yes it does. it matters, maybe just not to you. paying for something that is free on another platform should matter. having push on ALL of your e-mail boxes should be the norm now when it comes to e-mails. having to fetch for some, and only one being pushed is nonsense.
- no. by default, blackberry creates a separate folder for every mail, sms, or mms mailbox you create. you can then group these e-mails into another folder if you'd like, or group them all into "messages" like most people do. color coded messages tell u exactly where they came from, and a particularly useful function for some people is that you can enable filters, so any message from a specific person, or any other "rules" will go into another "hidden" folder which you can password protect.
- apps. i don't know what to say. do i need 1000 apps to do the same thing? hm.... can't multi-task? hm....
can't agree more.
my colleagues laugh at me when they seem me rocking the blackberry just because they're too used to me selling the apple juice to everybody i know. but when it comes to the iphone... hm. i just don't want one. it does nothing in particular exceptionally well on the road, well, not nothing... i do see herds of chatterboxes showing each other photos in cafes.
umm your wrong. 9700 is a GSM phone but im hoping you're smart enough to know att isn't the only gsm phone available. lets take it a step further. A blackberry is a world phone is the apple? Can you go to europe, canada, mexico on your iphone??? yea didn't think so
yea it's supported if that's where you bought it and that's where you live. If you are taking your USA iphone overseas good luck making a call. Blackberry would have no problems
you must be the stupid one since numerous iphone users complain about the horrible push email on the Iphone. Blackberry will push any email account to your phone and it will do it instantly! Don't make yourself look so stupid in your biased opinion filled opinions.
and by the way the threaded text on the bold 9700 is leaps ahead of the Iphones crappy looking threaded texts. And lets not even get into blackberry messaging. If you are trying to sit here and say the Iphone is a better messaging device than a blackberry then you need to seriously wake up.
To the OP each phone has it's advantages over the other. The Iphone's main advantages over the Bold9700 is well a big screen with a better browser. if that's important to you on a cell phone then you might want to consider what you are shopping for. Seriously who buys a phone to surf the damn net? you're going to pay 200 plus 100 a month to surf the net from you phone? you can buy a netbook for 200 and kick the iphones ass in webrowsing and multitasking along with working on emails and documents. Buy a phone that does what YOU NEED IT TO DO. Like i said each phone has it's advantages over the other. I'm switching from blackberry to Iphone in a couple weeks simply for a change. if i don't like it i am going back to RIM.
well FYI, I just got back from Australia and my iPhone worked just fine there, and a friend called me from UK using an iPhone that he bought from Japan. Did you actually think that iPhones are only sold for US market? It's a global thing, and it's not a rocket science.
wrong. if you're talking bout making a call with your USA iPhone outside USA, try to visit: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/affordable-world-packages.jsp
It's all depend on the carrier, not the iPhone. Some countries sell iPhone outright from the Apple Store (www.apple.com.hk , www.apple.com.au)
I'm using both, BB 9000 and iPhone 3Gs, so dont get me wrong here. Just today, I experienced that my BB push email didnt work. I was waiting for an email all day long from a very important client, when finally I opened Gmail from the browser, and there it was..sent at 10.21 AM. Whats wrong? was there something wrong with my BB? or do you ever think that it's simply provider's network fault?
AGREE. Blackberry is the best messaging device ever exist, and that's why i use it.
couldnt agree more. what you want isnt always what you need.
have both phones right in front of me. while i agree with your other points, i prefer the ichat style sms on the iphone over the 9700's. its just more pleasant to look at, even though its a bit less functional (every sms on the iphone doesn't have a time stamp, which kinda sucks)
to each their own, but I don't think the iphone's sms chat compares to the bolds 9700
To the original poster:
I think you should stay with a blackberry. I had a curve for 2 years and recently switched to an iPhone after much debate. It's now 25 days into the phone and I'm about to head back to AT&T to exchange for the 9700.
Some of my observations and opinions:
Many people who LOVE the iPhone and create such a hype are people who either never had a smart phone or are terrible at using electronics (ie. old) and need a giant screen with very few button choices so its very obvious which button to push to accomplish something. For this reason, the iPhone is great. It gives you very little options for anything you're trying to do. It's called the Apple way and its AMAZING for a lot of people.
But coming from a BB, you should be aware of options you can't control- (or I haven't found a way, after talking with ATT and visiting the Apple store)
1. Your text and ringer sounds are linked. Turn one down and it turns the other down.
2. You can't set one sound for one email account and a different sound for another.
3. You can't set the ringer or text volume or vibrating state for when the phone is locked versus when it's open and you're using it.
4. You don't know by looking at the phone if you've gotten a text/email, you have to slide it, then unlock it to check - very annoying if you're in class and want to quickly glance at it to see if you have action.
5. Like all have mentioned, the battery life is pretty bad. Granted I went from a curve which is non-3G or wifi, but still, to make my iPhone battery last till 3, or 4p I have to dim the screen, turn off wifi, and push email every hour. Basically turn off all the cool features I need my phone for!
6. Like someone mentioned, you have to go through multiple screens to check your different email accounts. You should have a personal email account (linked to FB and other social sites) plus a school email for classmates and teachers which you dont want linked to FB, plus eventually a work email address. BB wins out in this department, iPhone people just refuse to admit it. Where is the "mark as read" option on iPhone? How do I highlight 30 emails and delete at once?
7. MY BIGGEST ANNOYANCE - iPhone doesn't have an AutoText list. Apple fans love to tell you how smart the phone is that it learns what you text, but why can't they just include a list the user can edit like BB does? That would be smarter! There is no way to teach an iPhone these shortcuts -
il and hit space = I'll
hel = he'll
shel = she'll
wer = we're
It's the one reason why I'll never believe all these people that say they can type faster on an iPhone. It seems physically impossible when they have to access a second and sometimes a third screen to find characters! Sure they can type, "my name is blank" but try typing out a full page email...
8. Sometimes you can turn the screen for a bigger keyboard, but lots of times you can't. Inconsistent.
9. It's much more difficult to text and drive. I know, YOU SHOULD NOT TEXT AND DRIVE. But if you have to, use a BB b/c you can feel the keys and look down much less.
10. This isn't a huge deal, but the charger cord from Apple is 2ft long and you either have to bend over to use the phone while its charging, hang off the side of your bed, or make some other awkward gesture to use it while its charging (which is all the time). Unless you buy another brand cord (geffen?) This is crap considering its supposed to be a $600 phone.
11. If you use "Notes" or "Notepad" here's a caution- iPhone sorts notes by last updated and BB sorts alphabetical. No clue why either doesn't have the option to change how you want it sorted. Maybe the new BB does, but iPhone you'd have to download a different app for that.
In conclusion, I'm not trying to bash the iPhone at all. Its so effin slick and sweet for browsing, playing games, swiping through a picture album, listening to your iPod, etc. But its not a BB and it's not more efficient for doing the things you listed. Many people got off topic as far as what you were concerned with, although they stuck to a helpful debate on the two devices. Anyway, my opinion is you don't need an iPhone and you'll be happier with the 9700. I'm on my way to get one now!
I think you should stay with a blackberry. I had a curve for 2 years and recently switched to an iPhone after much debate. It's now 25 days into the phone and I'm about to head back to AT&T to exchange for the 9700.
Some of my observations and opinions:
Many people who LOVE the iPhone and create such a hype are people who either never had a smart phone or are terrible at using electronics (ie. old) and need a giant screen with very few button choices so its very obvious which button to push to accomplish something. For this reason, the iPhone is great. It gives you very little options for anything you're trying to do. It's called the Apple way and its AMAZING for a lot of people.
But coming from a BB, you should be aware of options you can't control- (or I haven't found a way, after talking with ATT and visiting the Apple store)
1. Your text and ringer sounds are linked. Turn one down and it turns the other down.
2. You can't set one sound for one email account and a different sound for another.
3. You can't set the ringer or text volume or vibrating state for when the phone is locked versus when it's open and you're using it.
4. You don't know by looking at the phone if you've gotten a text/email, you have to slide it, then unlock it to check - very annoying if you're in class and want to quickly glance at it to see if you have action.
5. Like all have mentioned, the battery life is pretty bad. Granted I went from a curve which is non-3G or wifi, but still, to make my iPhone battery last till 3, or 4p I have to dim the screen, turn off wifi, and push email every hour. Basically turn off all the cool features I need my phone for!
6. Like someone mentioned, you have to go through multiple screens to check your different email accounts. You should have a personal email account (linked to FB and other social sites) plus a school email for classmates and teachers which you dont want linked to FB, plus eventually a work email address. BB wins out in this department, iPhone people just refuse to admit it. Where is the "mark as read" option on iPhone? How do I highlight 30 emails and delete at once?
7. MY BIGGEST ANNOYANCE - iPhone doesn't have an AutoText list. Apple fans love to tell you how smart the phone is that it learns what you text, but why can't they just include a list the user can edit like BB does? That would be smarter! There is no way to teach an iPhone these shortcuts -
il and hit space = I'll
hel = he'll
shel = she'll
wer = we're
It's the one reason why I'll never believe all these people that say they can type faster on an iPhone. It seems physically impossible when they have to access a second and sometimes a third screen to find characters! Sure they can type, "my name is blank" but try typing out a full page email...
8. Sometimes you can turn the screen for a bigger keyboard, but lots of times you can't. Inconsistent.
9. It's much more difficult to text and drive. I know, YOU SHOULD NOT TEXT AND DRIVE. But if you have to, use a BB b/c you can feel the keys and look down much less.
10. This isn't a huge deal, but the charger cord from Apple is 2ft long and you either have to bend over to use the phone while its charging, hang off the side of your bed, or make some other awkward gesture to use it while its charging (which is all the time). Unless you buy another brand cord (geffen?) This is crap considering its supposed to be a $600 phone.
11. If you use "Notes" or "Notepad" here's a caution- iPhone sorts notes by last updated and BB sorts alphabetical. No clue why either doesn't have the option to change how you want it sorted. Maybe the new BB does, but iPhone you'd have to download a different app for that.
In conclusion, I'm not trying to bash the iPhone at all. Its so effin slick and sweet for browsing, playing games, swiping through a picture album, listening to your iPod, etc. But its not a BB and it's not more efficient for doing the things you listed. Many people got off topic as far as what you were concerned with, although they stuck to a helpful debate on the two devices. Anyway, my opinion is you don't need an iPhone and you'll be happier with the 9700. I'm on my way to get one now!
Keeping location setting on, Bluetooth, wifi etc etc would have an effect on all batterys on cell phones wouldn't they? If I had a blackberry or any other smartphone I would be turning all that stuff off too, so I don't see much of a problem there. You guys wouldn't do the same on another device?
I'm in the same boat as far as trying to decide which phone to get. I currently have an motorola izar. I've had it since it first came out and I love it. That's part of the reason it's taking me so long to switch. I work for at&t but since the store is an authorized retailer, it doesn't carry the iphone, probably never will so as far as hands on playing with the phones I have more experience with the BB 9700, but I've spent a little time playing w/ the iphone at corporate stores. Whats keeping me from the iphone is the fact I have an ipod and a laptop already. I rarely am on the internet when I'm away from my laptop. I think all the apps would be cool for awhile, but would become boring and I've never had a touchscreen. I don't think it would be hard to get used to, I just don't think its for me. But I do like the fact I could get a refurb 16 gig 3gs for only 149, I'd be spending 200 after the rebate on the 9700. So I'm guessing I should get a 9700? I hate not being able to make up my mind lol
sorry nice try but i have twitter, wifi, pandora, BBM, web browsing, and google maps turned on about 3 or 4 times a day to find an office, and along with my texts and phone calls and after and 8hr day at work my battery on my blackberry is about 70%
The battery is THE LAST thing blackberry users worry about. I'd bet most berry users don't even have a car charger and maybe some have a charger at work just in case they forget to charge at home. and a full charge on a completely dead blackberry takes about 30 minutes.
if web browsing is not an issue (which on a cell phone it shouldn't be. People buying a phone to surf the web need their brains checked) then get a blackberry and you can thank me later
BTW you can go to walmart and get the 9700 for free! that's what my gf did
just curious, why do you prefer the 9700's to the iphones?
(i went back my 9700 as the primary)
if you go up a few posts and reads IrishPeril3's post he summed it up pretty good. The battery life is also huge along with multi-tasking capabilities. the trackpad is really nice and smooth. The effectiveness of push email is also a huge plus! But with that being said i'm leaving RIM after 5 years to buy an Iphone. The change is simply for a change and nothing more. I don't think the iphone is better than the bold 9700, but i need a change! If i find myself missing the many things the berry could do i'll return the iphone.