Software, Interrupted

Correction: 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.

Follow me on Twitter @daveofdoom

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.

I went out and got myself a shiny new iPhone 3G yesterday from the AT&T store on Geary Street in San Francisco (which was only out of stock once, they said.) The cell phone buying process is typically akin to some circle of hell, but overall I had a very pleasant experience.

I've been accused of being an Apple fanboy a number of times, but I have stuck with the BlackBerry both for functionality and Verizon's network. I wanted to test some of the features (and play the games) on the iPhone and decided to give AT&T another shot.

I had been waiting for the 2.1 firmware upgrade before I got the phone because in the past I couldn't even get one bar in my house in San Francisco. All reports said the problems were solved so I went for it. When I got home I checked and I did have 3 to 4 bars pretty consistently. I made a test call which took about 10 seconds to initialize and all seemed well.

I plugged the iPhone into my MacBook Pro, iTunes launched and the set-up process began. And ended. Three times. Then suddenly it worked and I was registered with Apple and AT&T.

I decided to grab a few things from the App Store's free section. Every item failed multiple times. After my fifth attempt on Pandora, iTunes told me I already had it, and so I did.

Hard to believe it was an Apple product that was going this wonky on set-up.

My quick take? The iPhone is good, but not great. It doesn't replace a computer and has enough idiosyncrasies to deter the business user from choosing it over a BlackBerry. For consumers it's great, provided you can get AT&T to work for you.

The good stuff:
- The applications are fantastic and the user experience is truly unmatched
- Sound is great
- Integration with the Mac is great
- Camera is surprisingly good
- The onscreen keyboard is usable (though I still prefer the BB keypad)

The problems:
- AT&T network is shockingly bad. Verizon blows it away by a huge margin.
- Launching applications is slow (like three to four seconds)
- I have yet to get 3G coverage in San Francisco. It only worked for me in Burlingame, Calif., when I was down there for a meeting
- The time it takes to initialize a call is laughable. I did a test of the iPhone vs. my VZW BlackBerry and I had already finished the conversation before the iPhone had connected.
- For some reason Mail won't consistently log in into Gmail. I don't know which app is to blame.
- Shifting from portrait to landscape is highly inconsistent

I'll give the iPhone the full 30 days before AT&T punishes me for rejecting them. My hope is that I find the positive to outweigh the negative. So far I'm evenly split.

I got a call yesterday morning from the manager at the Verizon store where I had a not great experience last week. I am happy to say that me and VZW are back to being BFF.

All he really knew was that the call center had told him that I had a very negative experience in the store and he called me personally to ask what happened. This is the kind of customer service that I have always seen from Verizon and I appreciate the effort that they made.

As a side note for all you commenters, I am not getting anything for free, nor am I getting anything for this post.

I had a few minutes today and I went to the Verizon store on Van Ness to see if I could get the new Blackberry Curve that just came out. After standing there for 9 minutes (I checked on my existing BB) someone finally asked if they could help. Here is my experience as verbatim as I can recall.

"Did you guys get the Curve."
"Yes."
"Can I get one"
"What is your cell #?"
"Does it matter?"
"No."

Then he bounded off to the backroom to return without the Curve.

"Yup, we have them."
"Can I get one?"
"What is your cell #?"

I give him my number and he tells me that I am not eligible, I have only had this phone for a year and 2 months.

"Can I change my plan and get it?"
"No."
"How is the camera."
"It's Ok like the Pearl."
"This is why people get annoyed with cellphone carriers."
"This is how the wireless industry works in the US."

Thanks for the lesson in mobility and economics. There is nothing more I enjoy than having a moron in a bad tie give me life lessons. I spared us all the heartache of explaining to him that I spent several years in mobile and telecom.

There are few things in life more infuriating than dealing with cell carriers. I am sure I will never hear from VZW on this--or RIM for that matter, whose 9000 I just blogged about earlier today!! That's it. Both companies suck and you deserve to be publicly flogged. I won't do you any favors until you do me a solid.

As for the Van Ness store, I have bought things there in the past and the experience has been fine. This time I had to stand there sweating while some morons behind the counter shouted to each other their Facebook status. The company and the manager of the store should be embarrassed with the behavior.

You can't make this stuff up.

Blackberry 9000 series

(Credit: Engadget.com)

I still like my Blackberry 8870 (on VZW) despite the fact that it feels like I am operating in 1998 and all my friends are in 2008. It would be nice if RIM would modernize these things, especially for we addicts who prefer an outside keyboard. The new 9000 series seems to go a ways toward that until the carriers jump in and screw it up. Sorry VZW, your service is great but your user interface "enhancements" ruin all the work that the manufacturers do toward usability.

If you want to read more about the market dynamics around RIM and Apple, today's NY Times has what feels like an interminably obvious piece for your enjoyment.

Counter that with my experience with the iPhone and an informal poll I did in which iPhone users said that they feel like they are participating with the device, not just consuming it like the Blackberry.

Leaving the form factor aside (I for one, like the BB keyboard) and focusing on the interface, Apple has done a far superior job to RIM and certainly to the carriers who have bastardized the BB interface.

As a Verizon customer (and happy with the coverage and reliability) I find that the Blackberry 8830 that they sell is good, except that the VZW interface tweaks are so lame I don't use the device to it's full functionality. AT&T simply doesn't work at my house so I am limited in my ability to use an iPhone.

Overall, the iPhone is much more engaging than the Blackberry. On the other hand, those who love the Blackberry do so because it's a utility, not an experience.

I'm curious to hear what other people think about this...

If you want to see people get lit up about a service that they hate, but can't live without, ask them about their mobile phones.

Never mind the dropped calls or the death-grip lock-in, just the outrageous cost is enough to send people into a rage. So, today when Verizon and T-mobile both introduced new flat rate price plans (which are very appealing to heavy users) I would have thought that this would be viewed as a good thing--helping to retain the more valuable customers. Instead, analysts whined that this would undercut pricing. To an extent it will effect all pricing, but aren't happy customers the key to maintaining a successful business?

So, I have to ask, which is better for mobile phone carriers: unhappy shareholders or unhappy customers. My take is that if customers go away, shareholders will be far less excited than if they stay and commit to the service. This equation has been unbalanced for far too long.