From a software and cloud perspective, the iPhone represents an ideal world of development functionality mixed with an ability to use mobile services. However, the App Store approval process and AT&T's wonky network will still prevent us from reaching nirvana.
I tried to chronicle the issues I've had, but the truth is, the service (and therefore the device itself) ranges from excellent to sporadic to unusable, so I'll just list out the broad issues for those considering a move to the 3GS.
Battery life--the battery life is abysmal. I've gone on every forum, tweaked every setting, and done several tests to see what works best. The hacks that people suggest (turn off push, 3G, and Bluetooth) defeat the purpose of the device. Users shouldn't have to handicap themselves because of a lack of attention from the manufacturer.
If Apple really wants enterprise and business users, this is the most important issue that must be resolved.
Phone --I haven't been a fan of AT&T mobile service in the past (Verizon Wireless is my carrier of choice) and it continues to range from terrible to mediocre for me. Bizarrely, the worst call quality occurs when talking to another AT&T user. I did a conference call the other day with two other iPhone users and none of use could decipher the others' words.
I gave up on the 3G network both for the battery drain and the calls that dropped after 10 minutes (I took notes for 2 days) and every call dropped. A recent survey says that 34 percent of those polled won't buy the iPhone because of AT&T's network.
... Read moreCorrection: This report misstated which BlackBerry version recently got a big marketing push from Verizon. It was the Storm.
New data from NPD Group suggests that RIM may have caught up with some of the iPhone marketing hype, taking the top spot in U.S. consumer smartphone sales for the first quarter of 2009. The BlackBerry Curve (of which there are several models across multiple carriers) bested the iPhone for the first quarter of the year, with RIM taking three of the top five spots.
We get a lot of Apple fanboy grief here in the CNET Blog Network, but I'm a BlackBerry user. Personally, I prefer the BlackBerry keyboard and form factor but feel that the iPhone interface and applications are superior.
But more important than the applications or the interface, I need my phone to work. I want it to be able to make calls, receive calls, send e-mail, etc. The iPhone, for all its glorious features, is at best a mediocre phone with occasionally terrible coverage.
AT&T, the lone iPhone carrier in the United States, has been slow to fix network issues and slow to respond to customer complaints, and it lacks a certain amount of customer service social grace. Most of the gadgety or techie types of people I know who don't use the iPhone avoid it entirely because of AT&T.
Realistically, there should always be more BlackBerrys sold than iPhones simply because of network diversity. While the iPhone may be acceptable--even good as a business smartphone, the spotty coverage and weak customer service makes the device a questionable choice for on-the-go business users.
The Blackberry Storm got a big marketing push from Verizon that no doubt helped grow the customer base, but the Storm is not an iPhone killer.
I'm looking forward to seeing what RIM has to offer in the future, as well as seeing if/when Verizon will finally get the iPhone. Until then, I'll stick with the BlackBerrys, which, despite the occasional random java error and simplistic user interface, have served me extremely well for the last five years.
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I was checking out the Gizmodo review of the new BlackBerry Curve 8900 (formerly Javelin) and wondering why Research In Motion insists on putting the majority its new devices into the clutches of AT&T, the exclusive iPhone provider, first.
RIM recently announced an application store, as well as the new Storm, which is the BlackBerry rival of Apple's smartphone, and plans to soon release this Curve 8900. The products (and soon services) have never been better, and yet it would seem logical to use one of the carriers that doesn't have the iPhone as the point of entry.
Wouldn't it make more sense to launch the majority of devices on Verizon Wireless or Sprint, where there is no iPhone competition? Or at a minimum create some exclusivity like AT&T has with the iPhone?
Verizon is getting the Blackberry Storm first, but that's still not enough. Network issues (GSM, CDMA, etc.) can all be resolved if RIM wants them to be. This seems to be more of a marketing and product strategy issue than a technical one.
I suppose the argument is that in order to compete with the iPhone, BlackBerrys have to also be available from AT&T, but I'm not sure that such a strategy makes sense.
Anyway, Giz likes the new Curve, but the Bold still seems like a better device.
The Bold is more substantial, exuding "executive" to the Curve 8900's "middle manager," or "normal person." It's clearly more powerful, and has a bigger screen. The keyboards are way different, too--personally, I prefer the Bold's larger, squishier keys to the Curve's smaller, stiffer ones. But obviously, the biggest thing is 3G. The Bold has it; the Curve 8900 doesn't, and we missed it sorely.
Storm aside, the Bold will be on AT&T first. And users will be stuck with GSM as their only option (which I've found to be surprisingly bad in the US.) Verizon announced the BlackBerry Storm, with global 3G, to be launched this fall, there is no word on when it will actually land.
Meanwhile, the iPhone continues to get better, and people care less and less about switching to AT&T just so they can have the device. When was the last time someone switched to Verizon or Sprint to get a BlackBerry? I am sure the Storm will do well, but I doubt Verizon will get the iPhone uplift that AT&T saw in the last quarter.
It seems like the marketing team at RIM has figured out a way to compete with Apple's marketing prowess...leaks, leaks, leaks.
Fortunately, the items they are leaking are actually pretty cool. Via CrackBerry.com and BoyGeniusReport.com, we have the BlackBerry Storm user guide and pics of the upcoming BlackBerry Application Center--something long missing for BlackBerry users, especially amid the iPhone App Store hype.
Details remain sketchy, but Gizmodo thinks the BlackBerry App Center has some rough edges:
RIM's take on an app store is much less ambitious than Apple's for one fatal reason: the store will be run on the carrier's side, which will give your mobile provider the chance to veto an app even after it's been approved by RIM. The apps--and this is pretty weird--are actually downloaded through the device's browser, as the App Center is only able to search, monitor and delete programs from the device. Yeah, that's right: the App Center program can't directly install apps.
I still have a week to go on my iPhone test-drive. And while I have come to like the device and its functionality, I still struggle with AT&T. The ease of use and integration with the Mac desktop and the ability to get new applications are hard to fight. It would be a huge boon for BlackBerry users to have as good of a user experience.
As Apple announced that it sold over 1 million of the new iPhones already (despite the activation debacle), pictures of the new BlackBerry "Thunder" have surfaced and so far it looks embarassingly weak.
Admittedly, this isn't the final version and you'll never win me over with Comic Sans, but this just goes to show you how much farther along the iPhone is to anything else in the mobile universe.
This begs a few questions:
1. What device will challenge the iPhone?
Considering Apple already has large market share and the walled/open garden of applications it will be a tough slog for a new entrant.
2. If the functionality of a smartphone outweighs voice abilities is it a good choice?
I've mentioned in the past that AT&T doesn't work particularly well at my house, and that Verizon has come through for me a number of times, but at this point the iPhone is so superior to every other device I wonder if I should just bite the bullet and deal with the occasionally weak coverage.
I feel like maybe its time to give it another shot, but then I remember that just a few years ago the RAZR (which was plagued by bad battery life and running hot) was the hip thing to have.
As if we hadn't all already given up trying to extricate Google from our brains, the company came out Wednesday with sync for Google calendar and your BlackBerry.
It also supports Google Apps for your Domain.
If Google Sync for BlackBerry doesn't kill MS Exchange, I don't know what will. And really, Exchange should be dead already.
You probably need this BlackBerry Calendar Patch to make everything go right.
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