Blackberry Bold versus iPhone 2.0

Categorized | Jeff McCord, technology

Tags | 3g iphone, blackberry, blackberry bold, iphone 2.0, iphone rumors

Blackberry Bold versus iPhone 2.0

Posted on 10 June 2008 by Jeff McCord

Written prior to Steve Jobs' speech at WWDC yesterday.

As you know with my earlier iPhone post, I'm very excited about the upcoming announcement regarding the new iPhone. However, I would be ignorant to think that iPhone's next-generation 3G phone is going to be the only one on the market. Blackberry Bold has consistently kept it's users happy by continually upgrading it's 9000 series so that it can be a strong contender with Apple. I thought it may be interesting to compare the two and then let you, the reader, make a decision on which one is going to take the market.

In order to do this, we must all agree that no one knows for sure what exactly iPhone 2.0 will be. Rumors are continually swirling that it will be 3G and have an integrated GPS inside. Others say that it will be a bit slimmer and offer more functionality than its predecessor. For more information on next week's upcoming announcements by Apple, click here. So, just for argument's sake, lets agree that the new iPhone will have 3G and GPS. How does the Blackberry Bold stand up to it?

Apple and Blackberry have both announced their new models will have GPS inserted into the handheld which will be an amazing and wonderful piece of functionality. They both will have a strong integration with Active Exchange so that businesses can and will begin to take them seriously from an enterprise standpoint. I think it's fair to say that Blackberry has consistently met this challenge and is still one of the most popular phones used in business today. However, the new iPhone is rumored to have better synchronization for Microsoft's Exchange which may mean iPhone begins pulling its weight in the enterprise world and will begin being taken seriously.

The iPhone dominated its competition in regards to music, video, photos and other "multimedia" which is why it became one of the most successful phones ever in history. The iPhone's web browser is one that can't be beat with it's awesome HTML capabilities, fast bandwidth (when on Wifi), and an ever-so-easy browser (Safari). Blackberry realized their mistake in a "not-so-fancy" HTML browser and has thus completely changed their capabilities with the Blackberry Bold 9000 series. It has an awesome web browser, rich multimedia and a powerful 2 megapixel camera. Blackberry has successfully reached the bar that Apple set with the iPhone. But is it a little too late?

The iPhone's major setback is that it currently only works on AT&T (unless your illegally jailbreak it) which will obviously keep some away. The Blackberry can be used on most all the major cellular networks. The Blackberry Bold also has "real keys" while the iPhone has an industry-changing user interface with 3.5 inch multi-touch display. Apple got it right with this multi-touch display as no other phone had this technology until the iPhone came out. Both the Blackberry Bold and the new iPhone will have 3G which will transform the way users do business and personal browsing/uploading/downloading and multimedia.

Now, in my opinion (which keep in mind, I'm a consumer, not an expert), who will win? Personally, I will have to give the winning call to Apple. The Blackberry Bold is a serious contender but it still lacks things that the iPhone delivers. The iPhone is synonymous with multimedia. It's an iPod (and I still haven't seen any other phone competitor do the iPod justice), it's a desktop web browser and it's also a powerful mini computer. It works fantastically with the Apple TV and other Apple products. The 3rd party applications that Apple will soon be releasing via it's App Store is also a sure way to beat its competition. We're holding our breath in anticipation to see what the iPhone can do next once these applications get released. It truly will change the iPhone for the better.

So what are your thoughts? Do you think the new iPhone will stamp out its competition? Do you think Blackberry's Bold will beat iPhone? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

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2 Comments For This Post

JD Says:
June 12th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
My BlackBerry bias has been made known on many occasions. I don’t think there’s much question as to which device will win on the enterprise battlefield (credit existing BlackBerry infrastructure on the server side, if not their far more stable devices and massive business following). I’m not convinced that even MobileMe can match the BlackBerry’s incredible enterprise sync and PIM functionalities. Even despite that my Berry is solely for personal use I pay to have a hosted Exchange/BlackBerry server to enjoy all the benefits of over-the-air sync.

However, I concede the multimedia point. A BlackBerry is not an iPod. For me, though, this isn’t a legitimate argument, because the iPhone isn’t a sufficient iPod for my needs in this iteration either. I need at least 30GB of storage capacity, which isn’t cost effective for Apple at this point. I’d also like to take this opportunity to point out the leaps and bounds BlackBerry’s OS 4.6 has made in its media player, and that the Bold’s storage capacity can be upgraded to 16GB via an SDHC card affording the Bold at least similar functionality at a nominal additional cost (the new software will even sync it with iTunes).

I strongly encourage you to run out and pick up a Curve as a tester device and really give it a go. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the ease of use in the user interface and increased productivity. All of which the Bold promises to surpass in every way. I’ll undoubtedly be in line to get one on release day.

*also, for CDMA users, check out the rumored BlackBerry Thunder touchscreen device scheduled for release in Q3.

JD
bobby saccs Says:
August 31st, 2008 at 10:19 pm
It is hard to take you seriously. You somehow make the iPhone’s interactive shitty keyboard a positive instead of a negative that it should be considered. You are the first person I have ever heard who has compared a phone to the iPhone and actually complemented that shitty keyboard. It is simple. If you are more interested in songs, video and album covers buy the iPhone, if you want to do everything else including open word, excel and powerpoint documents, get the blackberry.

PS - I had the iPhone, switched to the Voyager and now plan on getting the Bold

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To 3G or Not to 3G | CultureFeast Says:
July 13th, 2008 at 6:40 am
[...] down through out the country. I’ve written about the 3G iPhone before and I’ve also compared the 3G to Blackberry’s Bold, but what about those of us who already have an iPhone? Is it really worth getting the new [...]