My wife gets discounts for both, wondering what kind of experience others have had using it for work email via windows outlook, etc..? I know iphone has a better browser, has wi-fi, etc.. but my question is strictly for work... I think she's looking at the blackberry storm? to be specific.
Well, not a ton of difference between the storm and the Iphone since they are both all touch. The BB has better tools for e-mail, so that could be a consideration point. I would opt for the Bold or the new 8900. Something with a keypad is the best bet for a lot of office use.
My Iphone does everything I need it to do for work, which is get push email from my work email account (microsoft outlook).
I had a Blackberry. Switched to iPhone. I'm back to Blackberry after a month. iPhone does not have push email...it only retrieves mail every 15 minutes. BB push email is near instant which to me is a big deal. BB is much better for email. iPhone is much better at web surfing and the apps are neat I suppose. iPhone battery life is terrrrrible, BB is better. Depends on what your core use will be I guess.
If you are a casual phone user (I'm finding I am), then IMO, you'd be better off with a conventional clamshell. I was an early adopter of the storm and regret the decision. I wanted the "cool" phona and LOVE Verizon, so I thought it was a match made in heaven. Wrong. For me, at least. The text messaging is a mess, the phone has already gone schitzo, and I've had to replace, I have no clue what half the features are and opviously, I don't need them. I cannot get some of the features that I would have on a conventional flip that I miss (proprietary Blackberry). I do love the email, but that is it. I thought I would be surfng the inetrnet all the time - hardly do. Again, for me, the phone is just too much for my casual needs and the fact that it has so many bugs that render the device a brick, make choosing anything other than the storm a no brainer.
Maybe the email retrieval time is set at 15 minutes. I receive Outlook email on the phone as soon as it hits the system. Battery life is terrible, but I have Wunder Radio on the Ticket most of the day so that drains it in about 30-minutes if not plugged in.
Switched from a smartphone to blackberry to iphone, and stuck with iphone. I'm not sure what Craig is talking about. I get e-mail on my iphone before it hits my computer at work. I've noticed the same thing when I'm logged in remotely. Maybe with respect to battery life you guys haven't updated the firmware? When I first got it, I was recharging 3x a day and sometimes more. I easily go the whole day now and sometimes almost 2 days. I don't see any difference now between my iphone's battery life and that of my smartphone or blackberry. My vote is iphone, not that it matters.
Thanks for the input so far. I guess I'm also worried about my wife dropping it and then having to pay $400 for a new iphone since you can't insure them. Isn't the Iphone text pad a pain in the *** to type on if you're sending and receiving alot of emails? I thought that was the point of the blackberry "keyboards". Granted, they seem to small for me.
I have this case and Ultimate Screen Guard:The Link Dropped my phone at least a dozen times with no problems with the phone (cracked the case the last time and just bought another case). They also sell a sturdier case, but it's thicker. Also, Squaretrade offers insurance for iPhones:The Link I can't personally vouch for it, but one of my friends has it and had no problems after he accidentally backed his car over it and destroyed the screen. As with everything, I'd really scrutinize them closely before making a decision.
do not get the Storm, my sister in law got it and it sucks. the clicky thing that they are trying to sell as a benefit actually sucks and slows you down. ACurie said it all regarding the iphone. it's way better than the blackberry and treo. the only thing nice about BB is the IM feature.
I do not turn off 3G, but from what I understand (and there's a good chance I misunderstood), the new firmware automatically turns 3G "off" when you're not using anything 3G and/or when the phone goes into sleep mode. As for the keyboard, it took some getting used to but I like it better than what I had on my smartphone and blackberry. Part of my difficulty with any keyboard is that I have these gigantic Germanic hands that are about the size of the average bowling ball, with proportionally-sized fingers and thumbs. I have the hands of a mountain gorilla. Really. So all telephone keyboards take some getting used to for me. If you have normal hands, it probably won't make a difference other than the fact that there's just really weak sensory feedback when you "press" a key. Keyboard's largely a matter of personal preference, though. Mrs. ACuriae is hesitant to switch to iphone because she likes her blackberry keyboard and doesn't like virtual keyboards.
I've heard that blackberries are better for buisness use. Apple announced a bunch of new features today that is supposed to close the gap such as cut/paste and e-mail searching. I myself don't use the iphone for business, nor have I ever used a blackberry, so I won't personally compare the two. I do want to commet on this:
Depends on what you use it for. Blackberry hands down beats iphone for email. If you do heavy typing, you'll hate the iphone. I've used my wife's and it's basically useless for anything but quick texts. I hit the wrong letter at least 50% of the time on the LCD. I have the Blackberry Bold. I've been a Blackberry user for 9 years, and the Blackberry Bold keyboard is the best they've ever had. If your focus is on web browsing and phone, the iphone is better. The touch screen functionality is great on the iphone for those uses (looking up contacts, calendar, surfing). Blackberry Bold is clumsy on web surfing. I use email way more than phone and internet, and there's not a chance in hell that I'd get an iphone after using my wife's. It's a great device, but not for email. Blackberry sets the bar for email,
+1 Once I got used to how to position my fingers, I can type as fast or faster on my iphone. And I have gorilla hands.
The iPhone email doesn't take 15 minutes for Exchange email unless you set it to that. My iPhone receives emails faster than my desktop. And that can actually be annoying sometimes. For Gmail, I do not have it set to check automatically. I've heard that can be a huge battery drain when you set it up to check the webmail sites every 15 minutes or so. I leave 3G, wi-fi and GPS on all the time, and my battery is still at half full when I go to bed. Then I charge it at night.
I've got the BB Curve and love it. My biggest fear for getting a wife an iPhone would be getting that bill from ATT, opening it up, and seeing $1000 bill for apps, music, and movies.
Theoretically, I guess if you have the "no text messages" plan and your wife sends 10,000 texts in one month, you could be surprised by a $1,000 phone bill. iTunes bills your card as soon as a purchase (of songs or apps) is made. It usually hits my card within 2-3 days of purchase.
