iPhone vs. Blackberry Storm

[Monstermash]

So I'm either going to upgrade my phone with Verizon and get a Storm or switch carriers and get an iPhone. I am having a really hard time trying to make up my mind which way to go.

For those of you who have either can you please weigh in on your likes/dislikes on each phone?

Thanks

[Jobu]

If you need a phone for business purposes with many user defined settings, then get a blackberry.  I'm not sure about the Storm though.  I have a Curve and I love it.

If you're looking for a phone designed more for sheep that is easier to use out of the box, then get an iPhone.  Just my opinion, but I think the Blackberry is better and on a better network.

[red baron]

I just switched from At&T to Verizon and hate life.

+1 on the crackberry

[COWBOY]

If you need a phone for business purposes with many user defined settings, then get a blackberry.  I'm not sure about the Storm though.  I have a Curve and I love it.

If you're looking for a phone designed more for sheep that is easier to use out of the box, then get an iPhone.  Just my opinion, but I think the Blackberry is better and on a better network.

lmao.  well played. 

I'll play along to...

If you're a corporate pawn who can't handle your business without the assistance of corporate IT and still think a "smartphone" is anything that takes calls and does email then buy the BB.

If you are tired of carrying 2 or 3 devices on trips (phone, mp3, videogame, dvd player, etc) and would like it all in one device get an iphone.  if you'd like the ability to use any number of over 10000 mobile applications to get shit done or just have fun while you're out and about then get an iphone.  For a Enterprise sales guy who travels a lot like me these apps include -  Saleforce mobile, Bank of America mobile, Amazon mobile, ebay mobile, paypal mobile, hotels.com app, blackbook guides, expense2go, urbanspoon, weatherbug, nytimes, costtools, etc.

Seriously though.  I used a BB for the past 5 years and it worked well for me (phone and email).  I did have to carry an ipod and laptop with me.  I like carrying only one device (and one powercord, etc) when I travel and the apps mentioned have made finding a good room, good restaurant or bar and getting flight information damn easy.  I have found I can get 90% of it done now with just an iphone even doing powerpoint slide shows from it when needed.  From a phone standpoint I don't think I could go back to not having visual voicemail.  It sounds like a small thing but not having to wade through a bunch of vms to get to the 1 I need quickly is now a killer ap for me.

Cheers.

[Jobu]

lmao.  well played. 

I'll play along to...

If you're a corporate pawn who can't handle your business without the assistance of corporate IT and still think a "smartphone" is anything that takes calls and does email then buy the BB.

If you are tired of carrying 2 or 3 devices on trips (phone, mp3, videogame, dvd player, etc) and would like it all in one device get an iphone.  if you'd like the ability to use any number of over 10000 mobile applications to get shit done or just have fun while you're out and about then get an iphone.  For a Enterprise sales guy who travels a lot like me these apps include -  Saleforce mobile, Bank of America mobile, Amazon mobile, ebay mobile, paypal mobile, hotels.com app, blackbook guides, expense2go, urbanspoon, weatherbug, nytimes, costtools, etc.

Seriously though.  I used a BB for the past 5 years and it worked well for me (phone and email).  I did have to carry an ipod and laptop with me.  I like carrying only one device (and one powercord, etc) when I travel and the apps mentioned have made finding a good room, good restaurant or bar and getting flight information damn easy.  I have found I can get 90% of it done now with just an iphone even doing powerpoint slide shows from it when needed.  From a phone standpoint I don't think I could go back to not having visual voicemail.  It sounds like a small thing but not having to wade through a bunch of vms to get to the 1 I need quickly is now a killer ap for me.

Cheers.

Good positives for the iPhone.  There are a lot of cool apps for the iPhone, thats for sure and the mp3 player feature is better, though the Blackberry's isn't bad and it may be even better on the Storm.  But the apps are a definite selling point for the iPhone.

And Safari is far better than the stock Blackberry browser, though Opera Mini is very good and it is free for the crackberry.  I recently went on a trip and I didn't take a laptop or an mp3 player.  The Curve is good enough. 

[cyrus buelton]

We just switched corporate service from Verizon to AT&T.

I wouldn't bother based upon the fact that AT&T service blows.

I use Sprint for my personal phone and NEVER has service issues.

AT&T.........that's a different story. They blow.

I'd stick with Verizon.

[Jobu]

We just switched corporate service from Verizon to AT&T.

I wouldn't bother based upon the fact that AT&T service blows.

I use Sprint for my personal phone and NEVER has service issues.

AT&T.........that's a different story. They blow.

I'd stick with Verizon.

And Verizon and Alltel are merging, so it should only get better.

[He Man]

ATT...if osama bin laden took out half of AT&Ts network. i wouldnt of notice. Yea its THAT shitty.

[derby]

quality of service would obviously vary based on location..

i have a blackberry on at&t in los angeles, and haven't had any issues since switching 3 years ago.

[cyrus buelton]

quality of service would obviously vary based on location..

i have a blackberry on at&t in los angeles, and haven't had any issues since switching 3 years ago.

I was on my Blackberry through AT&T in Las Vegas and dropped AT LEAST a dozen calls.

Can't tell me that is an obscure location to require decent service.


I was in Jackson, WY back in 2003 and my Sprint PCS phone never dropped a call, had poor service, etc.

bottom line, the AT&T network is shit.

[DrDesmo]

Tom -

I went through the exact same dilemma last month, and in fact, had been waiting the 3 months that VZW was teasing the market with all the Storm hype, in order to check it out vs. the iPhone.

The storm isn't worth the hype at all.  Not yet, anyways. 

Its software is extremely laggy and buggy (If you've used it) and the Surepress tactile feedback is really lacking.  One thing to note w/ the Storm is that all the "little touches" that kick ass on the iPhone - like a snappy refresh and a smooth transition between portrait to landscape when you tilt the device - are completely absent on the BB Storm.  It deperately needs an OTA Firmware update to even be a contender.  RIM released it early for the holiday market and it completely shows.  It has a lot of promise, but unfortunately Apple was there first with so many innovations that RIM has to dance around their patents and can't put the same UI stuff in.

If you're looking for a big, bright, touchscreen with great browsing capabilities and multimedia, you really can't go wrong with the iPhone.  I know there's some " limitations " with it like Picture ID, recording videos, easy cut & paste, etc.  But for a consumer device, if you don't need push e-mail from an exchange server (ie: corporate e-mail) there's no reason to get the storm, at all, over the iPhone.  You can get all sorts of nifty applications for the iPhone, games, utilities, etc.  Even a dyno! 

One tip w/ the iPhone when you demo one is this: don't actually try and press every single letter, just try and get in the general area of each letter.  Once you hit spacebar, it will 99% of the time infer the right word and change it auto-magically.

As for my Storm vs. iPhone debate, I ended up getting a BB Curve instead.  Why?  VZW gave me two months free to renew my contract ($200 credit) and sold me the Curve for $50... So basically, I got $150 bucks and a free curve.  Even if I hate it, and cancel my contract, I can flip it on eBay and come out way ahead.  The thing is, what was most important to me was things like a replaceable battery, replaceable memory (MicroSD) and most importantly a Tactile QWERTY keyboard.  That last part wasn't available in any other device, and I don't care for the Pearl's SureType or whatever it's called.  I want QWERTY!    I am always near a multimedia device (iPod in the car, computer at home/work, etc.) so my BB is more for Google Apps, e-mail, facebook, etc.  More of an information device than a multimedia one.

Good luck 

Adam

[Monstermash]

Hmmm.... you guys are no help at all! 

I thought the consensus might be split.

You guys brought up one thing I have been really concerned about, the network. If it was only about the network it would be the Storm without question. That is not my only concern though.

What I really want/need it for is it's multi use capabilities. I'm sick of carrying a bunch of different devices around with me.

From my research, here are the conclusions I have made.

The iPhone is way easier to use for everyday activities such as making calls and the controls are very intuitive unlike the the Strom which is like being blind and trying to drive a car. You'll eventually get where your going but you will bounce off a bunch of things you don't intend to and make quite a few wrong turns while getting there.

The network is definately better with Verizon however AT&T does have pretty good coverage where I live. I have also heard that "unlocking" the iPhone will allow it to use other towers and give you more coverage area. I don't know how true this is but I've read it online a few times. Can anyone explain what unlocking and/or jailbreaking an iPhone really does?

They both basically have the same memory capabilities (8GB) so there is no difference there. The iPhone has built in WiFi and the Storm doesn't.

One of the biggest problems I have with the iPhone is the iTunes software. It's dreadful IMO and I hate using it. I had an iPod last year and I hated it so much I ended up selling it. The iPod itself was easy to use, I just hated downloading music onto it.

So anyone else have any input?

[derby]

One of the biggest problems I have with the iPhone is the iTunes software. It's dreadful IMO and I hate using it. I had an iPod last year and I hated it so much I ended up selling it. The iPod itself was easy to use, I just hated downloading music onto it.

what's so bad about itunes? ya put the music into itunes. itunes puts the music onto the ipod.

get a big enough ipod and you don't even have to worry about being selective about the music you sync.

(uncheck "keep itunes music folder organized" and "copy files...")

[DrDesmo]

Hmmm.... you guys are no help at all! 

I thought the consensus might be split.

You guys brought up one thing I have been really concerned about, the network. If it was only about the network it would be the Storm without question. That is not my only concern though.

What I really want/need it for is it's multi use capabilities. I'm sick of carrying a bunch of different devices around with me.

From my research, here are the conclusions I have made.

The iPhone is way easier to use for everyday activities such as making calls and the controls are very intuitive unlike the the Strom which is like being blind and trying to drive a car. You'll eventually get where your going but you will bounce off a bunch of things you don't intend to and make quite a few wrong turns while getting there.

The network is definately better with Verizon however AT&T does have pretty good coverage where I live. I have also heard that "unlocking" the iPhone will allow it to use other towers and give you more coverage area. I don't know how true this is but I've read it online a few times. Can anyone explain what unlocking and/or jailbreaking an iPhone really does?

They both basically have the same memory capabilities (8GB) so there is no difference there. The iPhone has built in WiFi and the Storm doesn't.

One of the biggest problems I have with the iPhone is the iTunes software. It's dreadful IMO and I hate using it. I had an iPod last year and I hated it so much I ended up selling it. The iPod itself was easy to use, I just hated downloading music onto it.

So anyone else have any input?

You only use the iTunes s/w when you're loading music, contacts or apps onto the phone.  How often is that going to be?

When did you use iTunes?  I find it to be really intuitive ... Drag and drop, and presto!

Adam

[supakpow2]

Here's another curve for you.  Go to http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=att+wireless&form=QBF8&qs=n
or live.com and type in "att wireless" and the 1st listing that comes up is 25% off Iphone AT&T online.   A friend just bought one this way and saved  $100 on Iphones for him and his wife. He received the phone in 2 days and activated it at home. I been thinking about this switch (from vrz) myself but the network issue might be a problem for me on the Big Island.

KP