Tag: review

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Blackberry Bold Review

bbbold

This won’t be much of a full detailed review but rather a focal difference between the iPhone and my 8310 Curve. If you want a full detailed review you can go to Endgaget, Gizmodo, or BoyGenius websites. Comparing the Bold to the iPhone isn’t fair. It would be more appropriate if the iPhone was compared to the upcoming Storm which is the Blackberry’s Touch-device.

The Apple iPhone is a gorgeous device. It’s sleek, minimalistic, and solidly built. You can also say the same with the Blackberry Bold. The big differences are their features and functionalities. The Bold can do everything the iPhone can do and then more. Email, SMS, music, video, YouTube, and even browse the internet. But features such as MMS, background apps, video recording, and cut-and-paste are not available to the iPhone. And I’m not sure why Apple hasn’t found a way to implement those features to their popular phone. I must say the iPhone’s web browser is still the King for any mobile phone device. And I hate to say it the Bold’s Browser is not even close, but it’s much better than any of the previous Blackberry devices.

So why did I switch to the Bold from my iPhone 3G? It’s quite simple. It’s the lack of those simple features that Apple has failed to implement. Having the ability to run apps in the background is a must for applications such as Beejive (a multi-protocol IM app). Cut/copy and paste should be a standard in any smart phone device. I work with emails a lot and I sometimes need to copy and paste directions or instructions and send them to someone else without having to forward the entire message. With a Blackberry it is something you can easily perform. Another big reason why I switched is the efficiency of the Blackberry. If you’re a Blackberry Power User then you know what I’m talking about. Shortcut-keys. You can instantly select a contact, text, call, cycle through apps, add a calendar event/ task/ memo, and browse the internet with no more than a couple of key presses. If the iPhone is the King in terms of web browsing then the Blackberry Bold is the King of multi-tasking and efficiency.

I’m sure everyone is familiar with the Blackberry Curve so I won’t go into detail about it. The Bold is slightly bigger compared to the Curve. At first the Bold feels awkwardly huge. Almost as if you were using the 8800 Blackberry. But after about a day of hands-on with the Bold the difference in size is negligible. If you like your Curve then you’ll love the Blackberry Bold. The new beefy hardware and updated 4.6 OS really makes the Bold shine. You can zip through apps, folders, menus without any lag. But the most important aspect of the Bold compared to any previous Blackberry devices is 3G. The updated browser with 3G makes web browsing a much better experience with the Bold.

Some of you may heard about the Blackberry 8900 Curve which will be released early next year. It’s basically the Bold squeezed into the Curve’s form factor. But you need to understand that the 8900 slightly crippled. It comes with a slower processor and it lacks 3G. The latter is a deal breaker. So if you have a Curve and you’re wondering if you want to upgrade and if you don’t mind having a slightly larger phone in your pocket then you should definitely go for it. But if you don’t care about 3G then I suggest waiting it out for the 8900. If money is no object get both. I need to get RIM’s stock to go up. 😀

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iPhone 3G review

After two weeks of having the new iPhone 3G I’ve come to conclude, and so has many other users, that the iPhone succeeds some ways, but fail in others. I’ve been using a Blackberry for a few years and I couldn’t help but compare the use of the iPhone to RIM’s Blackberry.

GUI (Graphical User Interface) and OS– The iPhone is popularly known for its GUI. The simplicity of the touch interface makes navigating through the iPhone’s OS easy for almost any user. Like the Blackberry’s OS they are both solid. Through the years, RIM’s Blackberry devices have been improving and many of its users have found tricks and third-party apps to make their BB as efficient and useful as possible.
Winner – Tie

Internet Browsing – There is no other phone device that can beat the iPhone in terms of web browsing. The generous screen size and the Safari browser make browsing the internet-on-the-go a treat. The Blackberry’s browser inability to display webpages in its true form really limits the browsing experience. I think this area is what really lacking from RIM and other phone manufacturers.
Winner – iPhone

Battery life* – The implementation of 3G on the iPhone allows for faster data transfer but the cost is a quickly drained battery. For me, normal use has my battery down by half right before lunchtime. That’s from 730am – 1130am. For heavy users without any charging throughout the day you can probably expect the iPhone to be completely drained before your work day ends.
Winner – Blackberry

Third-Party Apps – When I got my iTunes account setup I was excited to get my hands on some of the iPhone’s Apps. But aftera few days of downloading and playing around with the apps (free apps only) it became clear that the majority of them are useless and that’s if they even work at all. Many of the apps I’ve downloaded crashed. I’m unsure if it’s something with the apps themselves or with the iPhone. My biggest gripe is that one application can be running at a time. Apple doesn’t allow apps to run in the background, so programs such as AIM are almost useless unless you have the app constantly on in the current view of your phone, so multitasking with apps is out of the question. Whereas with the Blackberry you can run multiple apps in the background and it still be able to notify the user of incoming data or messages.
Winner – Blackberry

Email and Messaging– iPhone is playing catch-up to RIM’s Blackberry and they have now implemented push email. Push email is very important in a corporate environment. With the implementation of Microsoft Exchange many business users now have an excuse to convince their IT department to support the iPhone. For personal-use push email you’ll need to get MobileMe service from Apple. MobileMe is very similar to RIM’s BIS. Your MobileMe account pushes all emails to your iPhone. You can forward your emails from other accounts to MobileMe and you’ll get an immediately email push to your iPhone. The downside to this is that the MobileMe service costs $100 a year, but you get more than just push email. MobileMe will sync with your contacts and calendar events. Unlike with a Blackberry you get an account with your standard internet service package from your cell phone service provider. Heavy email users and texters will prefer the Blackberry as the iPhone does not have a tactile keyboard. If you’re a speedy typer on a Blackberry you can expect your type speed to be reduced to about half. The virtual keyboard doesn’t provide any tactile feedback so you’re always constantly hitting the wrong key. On the upside for the iPhone is that it supports IMAP. So you can access your email server and work directly with it.
Winner – Blackberry

In conclusion the Blackberry, in my case, the curve, beats out the iPhone 3G, or without. But there’s something I must admit. I started writing this review a week after I got the iPhone and there was a little subjective bias involve at first. It’s been three weeks now and I finally have time to finish up this review. So far my initial opinion of the iPhone has changed in terms of its functionality. Fortunately, after an ample amount of time you’ll seem to forget it’s shortcoming and enjoy what it really is;a neat phone device that is great to kill time, play video games, and surf the web. In a business environment or a heavy email and text user the Blackberry device is the way to go. People need to know that the iPhone is a consumer device and aims at the average user. There are certain features that the iPhone desperately need if it wants to really compete with RIM in the enterprise market. Adding push email and MS Exchange support doesn’t cut it. First and foremost the iPhone needs to have cut and paste feature. As great as Apple is as a software company I’m very disappointed that a simple feature like that has not been added in their first generation phone. Second, the iPhone needs a notification system or process to let the user know they have an email, or active calendar event. All Blackberry devices have a blinking LED that lets a user know they have a message without having to take the phone out of their holster or if their phone is on a table on silent mode. For the iPhone if the phone is locked you’ll have to press the menu button, and then unlock the phone to see the message indicator. The iPhone should at least have the ability to display a email message notifications on the phone before you unlock it. Luckily for Apple these things are software issues and can be patched and added through firmware updates. For those users out there who are using a smartphone such as a Blackberry Curve or similar go ahead and hold off on the iPhone 3G. It’s a good thing that the phone is sold out everywhere. This gives Apple time to fix many of the browser crash issues and app crash problems before a new set of buyers gets disappointed.

*By setting your emails to fetch less frequently or none at all can save quite a bit of charge on your battery. If you’re like me and you work in an are with a wifi hotspot turning off 3G mode saves even more battery juice. In combination the amount of battery charge saved is very exceptable.