iPhone vs. Blackberry 8330

[riddler 0]

I own two iPhones (one for my wife and myself) that we use for home phones, and I've always owned Blackberries for work. I recently upgraded from a Blackberry 8700 (Cingular) to a Verizon BB8330. Yes, I have a lot of cell phones I should also mention that I've used both the Jabra BT800 and the BT8040 as bluetooth headsets, and they both seem to work well with both phones. I upgraded to the Jabra BT8040 because it can connect to both phones at the same time, and it's so light, I barely feel it and can run with it without it dislodging.

After spending several weeks with the BB8330 and several months with the iPhones, I've come to the conclusion that the iPhone really isn't that great. The Blackberry is a much better device, particularly the 8330. But even the BB8700 with Cingular service was as good or slightly better than the iPhone. I will admit I'm biased toward Blackberries and the 8330 is the best model I've owned (I've owned three different ones for 7 years now, going back the old greenscreen 6700) and they are rugged, well built and work great.

Here are some good things I have to say about the iPhone. The touch screen is nice - it works well, but the keyboard is lame. It's cool to have the iPod built in (I have a 16Gig model, and my wife has 8Gig, which seems to be more than enough). Some of the apps on the iPhone are well thought-out; the YouTube player works well most of the time, the weather app is convenient, Maps works pretty well IF you are in a city - once you get out into open highway, it really can't find you at all. The WiFi capability of the iPhone is very handy, although it seems to lose the WiFi connection once or twice a day, and I have to reset that. Sound quality is OK on the phone, fine from a bluetooth headset, and the speaker quality seems to be better in the iPhone than on the Blackberry. The email service seems to work pretty well. I jailbroke the iPhone but did not unlock it (with two iPhones, AT&T's family plan was reasonable enough). The GPRS data is also unlimited, which is comforting, so I never have to worry about using too much. Visual voice mail is OK, but the interface isn't that great, so it's not all that. Finally, the widescreen on the iPhone is about the nicest part of it.

Here's what I like about the Blackberry 8330. It's smaller and lighter than the iPhone and handles well. The keyboard is very fast and works great. Verizon's EVDO-rev A network is FAST, easily moving as fast as my (8MB) Cable modem at home! Two convenience keys, new trackball, USB connector/charger are all really nice. Battery life on the BB is about 50% longer than on the iPhone (and you can REPLACE the battery, but I've never replaced a BB battery, even after more than three years of usage). It has a slot for microSD, so I put in an 8 MB chip, and now I have as much storage space for music, pics, videos, etc as my wife's iPhone. The BB Curve has built-in GPS, and it's TRUE GPS, not cell-tower triangulation like the iPhone. Stupid Verizon DISABLED it, though - jerks - more about that later. It opens microsoft documents in email (although rendered poorly), and as always, the Blackberry email service is superb. The camera on the BB8330 is better than the iPhone, because it has a flash (both have 2 Megapixels quality). A2DP works great from the Blackberry, and I listen to music and language tapes streaming into the bluetooth headset for hours at a time. Having microSD makes it comparable to the iPod capability of the iPhone, and A2DP gives it a boost over the iPhone's iPod player. It streams video just as fast as any home network (again, the RevA EVDO network). I pay an extra $15/month to get tethered modem access for my laptop when I'm traveling, and it works perfectly (limited to $5 gig). The Verizon service is also about $20/month less expensive than AT&T's.

Here's what sucks about the iPhone. Most of iPhone's suckery comes from AT&T wireless. Their stupid EDGE (GPRS) is slow to the point of non-usability. And paying for the two-year contract AFTER paying full-price for the phone is a crock of shit. The original point of the contract was to offset the cost of the phone, but now AT&T is forcing you into a contract and giving you NOTHING. The iPhone is locked to AT&T for five years, so you're stuck with them, unless you want to hack your phone and risk bricking it. And AT&T drops call ALL THE TIME, despite their marketing about "fewest dropped calls". I've had T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon, and AT&T is the only one that lost calls on a routine basis - they are the worst carrier in the US. Other suckery about the iPhone - A2DP doesn't work, and it won't until Apple wants to sell you their own bluetooth headset. Did I mention the keyboard sucks? No backlight on the camera. The map location by triangulation only works about half the time, and never outside a city. Not being able to play Flash is truly lame. No Java is even worse - what crawled up Steve's butt when he made that lame-ass decision? It's as if the iPhone was rushed to the market way before it's time so that Apple could claim to "invent" it. They didn't invent ANYTHING on the iPhone (look at LG's touchscreen phone available in Europe two years before the iPhone) - they didn't even invent the name iPhone (Apple had to buy it from Cisco). It's a little more susceptible to breaking from drops than the Blackberry - my wife dropped hers and the AT&T chip popped out, so she couldn't make calls. AT&T will REFUSE to insure the thing (getting insurance on my BB was easy with Verizon for $6/month). And it's thrice as expensive to purchase as the BB8330 ($500 vs. $170). Even if you hack it, your only other choice is T-Mobile, which provides great customer service, but the network is just as slow as AT&Ts.

Here's what I hate about the BB8330. Verizon. Period. Verizon disabled the GPS chip so they could sell you a very crappy service called VZ Navigator that works half the time and costs an extra $10/month. The GPS chip works if I call 911, but doesn't work for personal navigation. Verizon disabled the WiFi (who knows why). Verizon limits you to 5 Gig on the wireless data, so you will get screwed if you use a lot of web browsing (remember, there's no WiFi). The Blackberry itself is a great phone, and I can't find anything bad to say about it, except maybe the screen isn't as big as the iPhone. But this fantastic phone was crippled by stupid marketing people at Verizon, who should be first against the wall when the revolution comes.

I could go either way on the security issue. The iPhone is easy to hack, and that's a good thing, since Apple didn't take the time to perfect it in the first place. The Blackberry is nigh unhackable (never been done, as far as I know), since it uses 2048 encryption for the OS. But I wish to god I could hack it and get the GPS and WiFi back into it (stupid Verizon marketing).

All said and done, I think the Blackberry 8330 is a superior phone than the iPhone. If you're considering an iPhone, well, don't (remember, I have two of them). Get the 8330 from Verizon (unless you are already boycotting Verizon, then go with Sprint's version). Sadly, the choice between them has a lot to do with which carrier has disabled the most services and provides the worst connections. I'm not paid to endorse any product - just wanted to share my 2 cents for anyone considering an iPhone.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[BillyVance 34]

Thanks for the indepth comparisons. My brother has an iPhone (he bought one the first day it came out) and he loves it. I had a Blackberry with T-Mobile, and though I don't remember the model number, it was okay, but then the pager broke and T-Mobile's options were shitty. No matter what I would be burning a hole in my wallet. So I threw the pager away and got a new one, the 8703e with Sprint. Sprint has been great and I have unlimited email, texting, internet and gps map for less than $30 a month. Works great along or within a mile of any interstate highway and all cities so far.

Everybody has their horror stories with all wireless providers. Mine was with T-mobile.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[riddler 0]

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Everybody has their horror stories with all wireless providers.

That's because they all suck! I can't think of one US carrier that I would recommend. I really hope things are better in other countries (I've heard yes and no on this).

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[mnealtx 0]

Re: slow data on iphone - that's Apple's fault for not building a 3G radio into the phone, not AT&T's network.

Sucks that you can't use the GPS on the BB, though.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[mnealtx 0]

Re: GPS map - almost guaranteed you're actually using cell tower triangulation, it it only works in near vicinity of highways and in the city.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[BillyVance 34]

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Re: GPS map - almost guaranteed you're actually using cell tower triangulation, it it only works in near vicinity of highways and in the city.

That's pretty much it. Okay so I called it wrong. Sue me...

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[mnealtx 0]

Quote

Quote

Re: GPS map - almost guaranteed you're actually using cell tower triangulation, it it only works in near vicinity of highways and in the city.

That's pretty much it. Okay so I called it wrong. Sue me...

*looks in base phone book*

Damn...no lawyers - I guess you're off the hook THIS time...

But seriously, though - using either Google maps or WLS (either by cell tower triangulation or GPS) is a pretty cool thing if you're walking around downtown and need directions... too bad there's no way to actually store the maps and use them w/o a data connection.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Gawain 0]

If you pick up another phone with Verizon, try the Samsung SCH-i760...it has WiFi too and from those that I know that have it, they say it's the best business oriented phone they've ever had.

I like BBs too, my one from work is through AT&T and yes...AT&Ts network sucks.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[Fast 0]

I agree that the internet on the iPhone is slow... stupid lack of 3G.

Other than that I like it quite a bit more than the blackberrys that I have used. I really dislike no touchscreen. The only other phone I would consider would be an HTC Touch, my GF has one of those and I like it. Most of the other windows mobile phones suck.

There is a lot of stuff on my iPhone (jailbroken) that I just couldn't have with a blackberry.

Maybe if the iPhone 2 comes out with 3g I will upgrade to that. Though, so many of the places that I go to have WiFi that it almost doesn't matter.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[SpeedRacer 1]

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Most of iPhone's suckery comes from AT&T wireless.

Is "suckery" a word?

Speed Racer
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[HUSHPUPPY 0]

I'm now into my second week with my BB8330 (Sprint) and the Blackberry plan ($30/month) and have to say that I am very happy so far! The phone itself rocks!

"You made my panties wet!" Skymama (Fitz 09)
"Never argue with an idiot. They will bring you down to their level and beat you with experience."