iPhone vs. BlackBerry Curve

I’ve been coveting the iPhone 3G for it’s sleek interface, slim frame, fully functional browser and especially for visual voice mail. But I was also unwilling to stand in line for several hours to get one. I get why the thing is so cool but after realizing that the ability to get any mail easily pushed would not work (with out Apple’s “Mobile Me“) and the blissful business functionality that comes with the BlackBerry I’ve decided to stick with my Curve 8310 for now. I’ll probably switch eventually but I’ll give them time to work out more of the kinks.

To be sure, the iPhone interface kills anything else out there but the essential functionality for me is great email, messaging and a great phone, all of which the 8310 does with ease. I never thought that day would come when my need for reliable and practical (at least in a phone/PDA) would outstrip my need to feel cool!

The other downer about the I phone is expandability. I can drop a micro SD card into the 8310 to expand the memory but no such luck on the iPhone. And given the nominal cost of memory these days it bothers me that Apple charges such a premium for 16GB vs 8GB. I probably wouldn’t carry quite that much media on the device at onetime anyway but it really is the principal of the matter. I’ve already paid for Apple “coolness” when I chunk down $200 for the device, why should doubling the memory add $200? Of course they got it by selling millions of the things in the first weekend so I guess I’d take everyone’s money too but it seems to me to be a short sighted purchase by many consumers and a bit pompous on Apple’s part.

I may eventually get one because they are so damn cool but then again I might just want to see what those Google guys pull off with Android. I love disruptive technology and Google might just make the iPhone popularity a  short-lived event in it’s current form. Plus I like Google’s “Don’t be evil” philosophy, and I’ll bet I can add extra memory.

All of that said, this might have changed my mind. It’s WordPress for iPhone and as a big WordPress user this is a major turn on.

http://venturebeat.com/2008/07/21/mobile-bloggings-next-step-wordpress-for-the-iphone-about-to-launch/

Blackberry Curve 8310

I’ve been an avid Blackberry user for years now. Despite some of the limitations and the fact that it doesn’t have the cool appeal of an iPhone, for the combination of business and personal use, speed, efficiency, form-factor and reliability I’ve yet to find anything to beat it. While my 7290 was getting a bit tired, and historically Blackberry’s were not great phones, it was still a great device overall.

With the Curve, RIM has really outdone themselves. I got the 8310 about a month ago now and the only changes have been positive. Internet applications, which I rarely use save for Google Maps when I get confused in downtown Dallas are exponentially faster, the screen is several magnitudes brighter and even the little trackball, which I thought I would be challenging has turned out to be faster and a easer to use than the old scroll wheel with an adjustment curve of about a day. The keypad is still a full QWERTY board but a bit smaller than before so typing is a touch more challenging but it’s really a small trade off. If anything, it’s encouraged me to be even more succinct it my e-mail and text messages which is probably a good thing.

The 8310 has embedded GPS which I have yet to use and the camera is acceptably good for a phone camera, which I almost never use anyway. I haven’t used the media player extensively and don’t foresee it replacing my iPod anytime soon but I can imagine it being useful in some instances and I’m glad to have one on-board; it’s a feature I’ve felt belonged on all phones for sometime. The built in speaker-phone is surprisingly clear and loud which again, as a business user is quite nice. It’s got push-to-talk, ala the old Nextel phones but I could care less about that.

As mobile devices go you would be hard pressed to beat the 8310 on almost any account so if you have been on the fence about the Curve, I would recommend it. If you are a more casual user and have been pondering an iPhone that might be a preferable choice for you. I’ll re-investigate the iPhone once they get it on 3G and speed up the data side. At that point the iPhone could become pretty compelling even for business users but until then, Blackberry still wins.