Garrett SaundryMuch like the epic battles of Boa vs Python, and Godzilla vs. Mothra, we have a new tale of conflict. It’s Blackberry vs. iPhone. Which one is better? Who has more ‘cool’ factor, better features, easier to use? There’s a million different variable that you can check out when buying a mobile device such as this, but what you really need to concentrate on is what you need, and what works best for you.
First thing, consider what you will really be using the device for. This can range from the simple email and text messaging to something more complex like GPS navigation, streaming media, or playing games. Oh, we can’t forget talking on the phone either.
The Blackberry has traditionally been known as a mobile device that excels at email. They were the only show around for a very long time, but with the introduction of the iPhone in June 2007 they seem to be playing a lot of catch up lately. Research In Motion (the makers of the Blackberry) have also tried to convince us that we don’t need all the bells and whistles when it comes to a mobile phone, but they have clearly underestimated the human capacity for need vs. want. The big complaint for email and the iPhone is that the phone itself does not have a keyboard, but a virtual one that is displayed on the touch screen. The iPhone is definitely weaker than the Blackberry when it comes to email and text messaging.
Rich media is where the iPhone unmistakably wins over the Blackberry for now. There seems to be an application for everything, from telling you which song you’re listening to on the radio, to emitting loud sounds to frustrate and annoy all those around you and virtual voodoo dolls. There’s a built in GPS function that works with Google that helps you get directions from one place to the next.
Price is usually a factor in pretty much anything you do. The iPhone will cost more to buy than a Blackberry, but there are some considerations that go along with that. The iPhone has a built in MP3 player, and if you want to play music on your Blackberry, you’re going to need to purchase additional memory cards to store your music on.
If you’re going for the coolness factor, in my opinion, hands down the iPhone wins. There’s just so much more that you can do with it right now than you can do with a Blackberry. That’s not to say that Blackberry’s are trash, that just means that for what’s currently out there on the market, it can’t really match up with what an iPhone can give you.
I know personally, I’d be buying myself an iPhone if I could, though for now I’ll just have to wait and see how much money I’m getting back on my tax return before I make any decisions like that.