Blackberry or iPhone or wait until Dec. for Windows Phone 7?

[Elemental]

Apologies if this has been discussed before. I'm at a point where it's time to replace my cell phone and plan to upgrade to a smart phone. I currently need to carry both my cell and my Pocket PC which is a pain and both of which seem outdated.

First of all, I should get one bias out of the way - I don't like Macs and it feels against my nature to buy a Mac product in general. However, if it were clearly superior, I would adapt. For every 10 people I know who have gotten a new phone recently, 9 of them would have bought the iPhone. It clearly seems like the better device for gaming and other minutia we never would have thought of doing on our phones 10 years ago. However, I read some reviews that for some of the more basic everyday tasks I want to do on the run (e.g. reading and responding to emails) BB is the better way to go.

One of my biggest needs for my phone is the ability to use major medical programs for work such as Lexi-Complete. This is currently available for both systems but there are a few of it's programs which cannot be used on a BB (but can on the iPhone or even on my Pocket PC).

I've been paying close attention to the upcoming Windows Phone 7 and it seems like they are fixing some of the hassles with the iPhone. I would probably easily go with the Windows phone if it was out now (planned release is around Christmas I believe) and not more of a gamble.

So, I guess some of the big features I want are:

1. Easy use of my medical programs
2. Easy use of the phone by quick access to address book contacts
3. Quickly and easily read and compose emails/texts
4. Easily sync to my computer's MS Outlook for my schedule, address book, and to-do lists
5. Easy to browse the web, Facebook, Youtube etc.
6. Take and store pictures, store and listen to music, watch short videos

Any thoughts?

 

[James Bond]

Cellular professional here, (and I own both); I'd definitely say iPhone for all the reasons you've already listed. Blackberry will do it all too, but the iPhone has the edge, especially when it comes to web browsing.

 

[Elemental]

Thanks. Is the iPhone not more limited in ability to quickly open and compose emails? Is it not more difficult to type on a buttonless screen?

Also, can the iPhone easily sync up with a PC's MS Outlook? Or do you need to convert it to another format first?

 

[Tom Hendricks]

My wife is an Ob/Gyn and she can't live without her iPhone. She can check tracings right on the phone, she uses several apps.

We both have iPhones and she will be getting the new one when it hits in June.

Apologies if this has been discussed before. I'm at a point where it's time to replace my cell phone and plan to upgrade to a smart phone. I currently need to carry both my cell and my Pocket PC which is a pain and both of which seem outdated.

First of all, I should get one bias out of the way - I don't like Macs and it feels against my nature to buy a Mac product in general. However, if it were clearly superior, I would adapt. For every 10 people I know who have gotten a new phone recently, 9 of them would have bought the iPhone. It clearly seems like the better device for gaming and other minutia we never would have thought of doing on our phones 10 years ago. However, I read some reviews that for some of the more basic everyday tasks I want to do on the run (e.g. reading and responding to emails) BB is the better way to go.

One of my biggest needs for my phone is the ability to use major medical programs for work such as Lexi-Complete. This is currently available for both systems but there are a few of it's programs which cannot be used on a BB (but can on the iPhone or even on my Pocket PC).

I've been paying close attention to the upcoming Windows Phone 7 and it seems like they are fixing some of the hassles with the iPhone. I would probably easily go with the Windows phone if it was out now (planned release is around Christmas I believe) and not more of a gamble.

So, I guess some of the big features I want are:

1. Easy use of my medical programs
2. Easy use of the phone by quick access to address book contacts
3. Quickly and easily read and compose emails/texts
4. Easily sync to my computer's MS Outlook for my schedule, address book, and to-do lists
5. Easy to browse the web, Facebook, Youtube etc.
6. Take and store pictures, store and listen to music, watch short videos

Any thoughts?

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Thanks. Is the iPhone not more limited in ability to quickly open and compose emails? Is it not more difficult to type on a buttonless screen?

Also, can the iPhone easily sync up with a PC's MS Outlook? Or do you need to convert it to another format first?

I think composing an e-mail is easier on an iPhone, but typing depends on how proficient you were on something with keys. I type faster on iPhone then I ever did with a blackberry. I also let the iPhone correct a lot of spelling when you miss key and that is the key to typing on an iPhone. I also type a lot in landscape mode and that makes it much easier to type using thumbs. Where in Portrait mode, you tend to do more single finger.

When iPhone OS 4 hits, also in June. You will have no problem syncing with Outlook.

 

[Elemental]

Interesting. Thanks for the info. I didn't realize a new OS was coming in June. I guess if I wanted that I would have to wait until then? It probably isn't something you'd upgrade to on a current iPhone.

 

[cubbie]

I have the ipod touch and a blackberry cell phone (now 2 years old).

I would definitely prefer an iphone over a blackberry. sometimes I have fat fingers and have to check my typing with the keypad on the itouch (I never thought to do it in landscape mode). Email is easy on an iphone. So is browsing

There are a ton of medical apps for the iphone. Look at skyscape's website, which has apps for both. I have used a few on the itouch and like it.

 

[Arrqh]

Interesting. Thanks for the info. I didn't realize a new OS was coming in June. I guess if I wanted that I would have to wait until then? It probably isn't something you'd upgrade to on a current iPhone.

You would be able to upgrade the OS if you got an iPhone now but it's also very likely that a new version of the hardware will be out around the same time. If you do decide to go for the iPhone you really should wait until June.

There's also the fourth option you're missing, which is an Android phone. I'm not entirely sure what the available phones are in Canada at the moment but I picked up a Nexus One last week and I'm enjoying the heck out of it... though the only way to buy one in Canada at the moment is to purchase directly from Google at full price (so ~$550) and then bring it to Rogers/Telus/Bell and get a SIM card for it, though the advantage here is you don't have to sign a contract. But there's other Android phones available here, I'm just not sure what they are.

The only two downsides from the list in your first post are I have no idea what the state of medical apps are on Android compared to the iPhone (though I see from cubbie's link that that may be okay) and Outlook syncing is a little different... instead of syncing the phone you have to sync Outlook to your Google account, which the phone will then automatically pick up OTA. Android phones do a lot of automatic background syncing, which is seamless and great... but a lot of it is tied to Google.

 

[Elemental]

^That's the problem - everyone wants to stick to using their own name-brand software (Mac, Google). Because I'm a Microsoft fanboy, this makes me very interested in the Windows Phone 7. However, it's a long time to wait until release and even longer if I wanted to be safe and wait and see what sort of reaction it gets.

If the iPhone did a seamless quick sync with any changes in Outlook (or on the phone) I'd be game. Is this possible or is it always a lengthy process of first syncing Outlook with iTunes?

I didn't pay much attention to Droid because it seems like an iPhone wannabe without any exclusive content that would make me choose it first. And yeah, if it's not even available here then screw that.

My other point of concern is that I think I still have about 1.5 years left on my MTS contract and they don't sell iPhones. I would have to switch to Rogers and MTS would likely charge me extra for that.

 

[James Bond]

^ The Droid is in Canada. Outside of the US, it's called the Motorola Milestone; and Telus has an exclusivity agreement with Motorola for it.

Your best options for a good Android phone are either the Telus Milestone, or the Rogers Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

Edit: As for Outlook, it's relatively easy to sync it now, and it'll be even easier when iPhone OS 4.0 comes out in the summer. If you're looking to get a phone now, make sure to get the iPhone 3Gs as opposed to the 3G; or if you can wait, then wait until June/July for the new iPhone 4 itself.

 

[GalaxyX]

iPhone right now will kill Blackberry in just about anything except Enterprise connectivity. But as more companies adopt it, that gap is slowly narrowing.

 

[clint g]

^ The Droid is in Canada. Outside of the US, it's called the Motorola Milestone; and Telus has an exclusivity agreement with Motorola for it.

Your best options for a good Android phone are either the Telus Milestone, or the Rogers Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

Edit: As for Outlook, it's relatively easy to sync it now, and it'll be even easier when iPhone OS 4.0 comes out in the summer. If you're looking to get a phone now, make sure to get the iPhone 3Gs as opposed to the 3G; or if you can wait, then wait until June/July for the new iPhone 4 itself.

My girlfriend just got an Sony Xperia. That thing is slick as hell and blew my mind when I was using it. I'd definitely look into it if I were you.

 

[Arrqh]

I didn't pay much attention to Droid because it seems like an iPhone wannabe without any exclusive content that would make me choose it first. And yeah, if it's not even available here then screw that.

To reiterate, aside from the phones James Bond mentioned, the Nexus One is available in Canada, you just have to buy the phone directly from Google and can't get it subsidized with a contract. As far as I'm concerned it's a good thing if you can afford the larger charge up front. I'm using mine on Telus right now, but you can also use it on Bell and Rogers with absolutely no issues.

I don't use Outlook myself for my personal stuff so I haven't done it, but as far as I know syncing an Android phone with it is relatively easy... you install the Google Outlook plugin which syncs it to your Google account and then your phone will automagically pick it up over the air. The reason it can't sync directly with Outlook is because Android can't sync directly with anything, it's designed to do everything possible over the cloud.

Calling the Android platform (which goes far beyond the Droid/Milestone) an "iPhone wannabe" is sort of missing the point. It's not a wannabe, just an alternative. In many ways, Android represents the Windows of the mobile world right now. The UI isn't as streamlined as the iPhone but it's extremely customizable to make it work the way you want it to. Which is great, if that's your thing. It's certainly mine, but everyone has their own priorities of course. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "exclusive content" but while the Android app marketplace is a lot smaller then the iPhones, it's still pretty large and is growing at a healthy pace. I'm pimping it up a lot because I just got mine a week ago and I'm still pretty impressed by it, but I think it's worth a better look then just dismissing the platform as an iPhone clone.

 

[Elemental]

Ok, thanks for the info. A lot of it I already knew but I guess I didn't make it that clear. One of the big selling features for the upcoming Windows Phone 7 is that its applications are more integrated with one another than iPhone in which you (by my understanding) have no link between a contact in something like Facebook and the same contact in your address book or Twitter, etc. That makes it sound pretty appealing.

 

[Roshi]

The Facebook app on the iPhone enables synchronization with your contact list.

 

[Elemental]

Interesting. Thanks for all the info. Does anyone know when exactly the new iPhone model is expected to come to Canada? I've heard anywhere from June to August. It makes a bit of a difference to me because I start work in early July and would preferably have the phone for then.

 

[James Bond]

I'm hoping for its release on the same day as in the US, just like with the 3GS. Fingers crossed!

 

[Brent]

The Facebook app on the iPhone enables synchronization with your contact list.

as it does on my Blackberry too

 

[Arrqh]

The Facebook app on the iPhone enables synchronization with your contact list.

as it does on my Blackberry too

And on my Nexus.

 

[Dac]

This is purely my standpoint and mine alone, but Ive used a blackberry and a Palm Pre, and the iPhone is the most intuitive and frankly easiest to use of the bunch, yet you still get a hellova lot of functionality from it. Windows Phone 7 looks nice, but I'll be willing to bet that its a flop when its released.