iPhone v. BlackBerry: Side By Side, Two Week Comparison
Mark Hendrickson
165 comments »
With the Wi-Fi-equipped BlackBerry 8820 coming soon to an AT&T store near you, business folks around the country will be faced with the decision of switching to the trendy new iPhone or upgrading to a more iPhonesque version of their trusty CrackBerry. To determine whether the grass really is greener on the iPhone side of the fence, we have chronicled the experience of a venture capitalist (who wishes to remain anonymous) who has been using an iPhone and a BlackBerry 8800 side-by-side for the past few weeks. His conclusion: despite the overall attractiveness of the iPhone, it lacks too many vital features to replace the BlackBerry as the corporate weapon of choice.
For starters, a BlackBerry set up with Microsoft Exchange Server sports intelligent push email while the iPhone does not. When an email is sent to an account on a BlackBerry, the message is downloaded immediately and an LED on the phone notifies the user that he or she has a new message. The iPhone, on the other hand, recognizes new messages at most every 15 minutes and must be checked actively to see if anything has arrived. This deficiency makes handling email on the iPhone slower and less efficient; it also translates into wasted battery power as users need to perform the extra step of opening the iPhone’s email program every time they want to check for new mail.
Perhaps even more significantly, the iPhone fails to synchronize as well as the BlackBerry. When a BlackBerry user changes a calendar event or some contact information on his or her desktop computer in Exchange, the changes automatically appear on the BlackBerry. This makes keeping track of basic business information a snap because one never has to worry about acting on outdated data or manually updating one’s handheld. In contrast, the iPhone does not synchronize calendar and contact information wirelessly, which makes it less dependable for information ultimately stored on a server.
In addition to these major drawbacks of the iPhone, our venture capitalist cites the following as reasons to prefer the BlackBerry:
- The BlackBerry 8800 possesses GPS, which makes Google Maps much more useful, especially for turn-by-turn directions
- The iPhone lacks basic cut and paste capabilities
- Despite Apple’s reputation for superior user interface design, the BlackBerry possesses keyboard shortcuts that make navigation around and between applications a breeze
- The BlackBerry’s phone quality is better than the iPhone’s
- The Safari browser is certainly more stunning than the BlackBerry’s primitive browser, but the iPhone seems to load even text-only pages more slowly than the BlackBerry over the EDGE network
- The BlackBerry possesses a general contacts application that makes contacting people by any given method more convenient
- The battery runs out faster on the iPhone simply because it is used for more tasks. This makes it less reliable for when one must take the device somewhere overnight without the opportunity to recharge.
Despite all of these criticisms of the iPhone, our venture capitalist admits that he would switch over to the iPhone if only it supported push email, calendar and contacts synchronization, and GPS. For him, the prospect of ridding his pockets of a separate device for music (an iPod nano), as well as enjoying all of the iPhone’s slick features (such as full-featured web browsing, stocks and weather apps, and its YouTube program), makes the iPhone very tempting. However, until Apple resolves these shortcomings (and perhaps Google makes its applications, especially Gmail, work as seamlessly with the iPhone as Microsoft makes Exchange work with the BlackBerry), others are going to have to pry his BlackBerry from his cold, dead hands (his words, mind you, not ours).
(Image credit: RhysyNet)
If you don’t have access to exchange server (or blackberry server) and/or you use a Mac, there is no question the iPhone is a better choice as a business device.
I use the Blackberry Curve now which has a built in camera making it the ultimate blogging machine. One important reason to switch to the iPhone however is sex appeal:
The iPhone has a lot.
The Blackberry has none.
And sex sells…
I thought the iPhone had GPS, other than the gesture stuff I don’t see what all the Google Maps mania has been. Turn-by-turn directions are great, no eyes on screen required, no entering the current location required.
I also would prefer the real keyboard by a long shot, the eyes-freeness, and the shortcuts that come with them.
iPhone’s pretty sweet regardless, but I can definitely understand preferring something else. This coming from someone who has used exactly NEITHER.
Does this article mean I should get rid of my Nokia 5190?
What I would prefer is Google Analytics to work..
Nokia 5190. Wow buddy. You need to burn that right now. Just kidding.
Anyways, any phone that doesn’t have push email is a *no no* for me. Pulling data is sort of 1.0 .
My experience: I have 2 pearls, one 6290 and one 6200 and I had a nokia e62 with blackberry capabilities.
Also I am not sure I want that touchscreen thing. Gimme a real keyboard buddy (for now)
I would still get an iphone sometimes just to add to my collection of mobile phones.
Accroding to what Michael says, BlackBerry doesn’t work with Mac?
Does that mean that Mac is not good for business?
Anybody had a mac/BlackBerry experience?
cheers.
M/
Matt:
That’s a most impressive logical leap you just made. Here, let me try:
Exchange doesn’t work with the iPhone.
Does that mean that Exchange is not good for business?
Hey, that’s pretty fun!
I didn’t have a physical iPhone, only everybody’s accounts to go on, but I did a similar unscientific study of iPhone vs. Treo vs. Blackberry http://www.robneville.net/gene.....y/2007/07/
And the phone in my pocket at the end? A new Blackberry Curve and for much the same reasons that the anonymous VC sites above.
Just to note.. the Nokia E70 has a Webkit powered browser (so you can view mostly the same stuff as Safari), does push e-mail (Blackberry and a few other formats), has built in SIP/VoIP, does cut and paste, can do 3G and EDGE, high resolution screen, Google Maps, works with a bluetooth GPS, a physical keyboard, etc.. and it’s still way cheaper than the iPhone. I bought one last week after seeing some guy called Maddox on the Internet raving about it, and I’m impressed. It’s way better than the iPhone, it’s just not as “cool”
Question: has Apple ever claimed that the iPhone is a corporate animal?
I certainly haven’t read anything to that affect, so the final question is: are any of these so-called ’shortcomings’ really shortcomings at all?
The blackberry has to manually synch with the mac if you don’t use exchange. You have to buy third-party add-ins (Missing Synch to synch; to use exchange you’d need snerdware to get addresses and calendar items.
You can probably get push mail to work if you have your mail on an IMAP account that supports IDLE but I haven’t tried it.
I hate the blackberry interface, and am surprised he thinks the contact app is less general. Otherwise, the advice makes sense.
Michael, I get 404 on the accompanying graphics.
But will the Blackberry help you get laid?!?! I think not…
I have been using both for 10 days now myself. I love the iPhone for everything else, but the email is sooo much better on a BBerry. Not just Cut/Paste, I haven’t figured out a way to search for emails from a sender, etc. It also seems to lock up email for 30 secodns at a time, while the good ol Berry has never failed me.
I’d still use the iPhone because with my travels, it allows me to drop my iPod as a second device to lug around.
“Perhaps even more significantly, the iPhone fails to synchronize as well as the BlackBerry.”
It should be pointed out that PocketMac, the official local sync client for Macs, is absolute rubbish…
WTF: If you think that the iPhone’s gonna help you get laid, then the iPhone’s “shortcomings” aren’t what you should be worried about.
Mark: The problem I have (and Wayne pointed out) is that you guys keep trying to compare phones designed for use with a business environment with the iPhone that was NOT designed for that purpose.
Well it’s done then. If a “trusty” anonymous VC says the BBerry…then the BBerry it is. Yeah right!
Microsoft Exchange- never used it, never will. Oh, I’m in business- must not in one that ties me to ANYTHING Microsoft. Nothing to see here, move along….
@ 13. Yes. And more than you think. Take it from someone with a whiteberry
I almost threw the iPhone against a wall after a few days of use. I felt like an 10th grader in intermediate programming could develop a better e-mail application, and trying to type on the virtual touch screen keyboard got me so frustrated I literally had to step away for a little bit and try to use it again. And yes, I have used the iPhone more than a few times.
BTW…I own a BB 8830, it was half as expensive, and just as sexy IMHO. I mean come on, the 8830 has chrome accents, not brushed aluminum.
“as Microsoft makes Exchange work with the BlackBerry”
Really? I thought it was RIM”s BES (~$1500), but what do I know.
I have a BB Pearl and an iPhone and a Treo 650.
The Treo is no longer used. That ship sailed. It was great at the time, but …. well … it is a dead horse.
The Pearl is a nice phone and until I got my iPhone, I was very please. Now that I have been using the iPhone I have a hard time using the Pearl.
But then again, I have a Mac, my wife has a Mac, my kids have a Mac, my assistant has a Mac. And, in my entire career I have never owned or worked on or developed for Windows. I was a Unix guy, then a Mac guy, then a FeeBDS and Linux guy and now … the glorious Mac
My servers at home are either Linux boxes or recycled Macs that my father in law wanted to get rid of
To Dan (8)
You’re right,
I meant, “iPhone not good for business”. I use a powerbook 12′ for my businesses and I love it.
But I really need this kind of device from now on. So in a way, if I can’t use a BB with a mac, and that a BB is much better for business than the iPhone. Mac is not good for business!
M/
Obviously email push is the dividing line. I don’t want to wait 15-20 minutes to receive an email, mobile life is about instant satisfaction.
Two Issues with Current iPhone:
1. Edge Network –> 70 - 110kbps compared to 3G at 400 - 700kbps — Web is terrible at those speeds!
2. No push email for exchange server. Very 2002 approach to mobile email…
“Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in people.”
Who is “our venture capitalist” ?
What’s worse about the email synchronization with the iPhone is that it only touches the Inbox, even when it updates every 15 minutes, you still need to manually check other folders where you have filters if you want to see if there is a new mail there. It won’t even check that every 15.
I am not having an Iphone and I have a BB pearl and not the 8800, BUT what is up with this sentence:
he would switch over to the iPhone “if only it supported push email, calendar and contacts synchronization, and GPS.” Those are pretty HUGE if onlys. How can you downplay it to if only.
I wonder how much of the iPhones problems — as reported by your subject here — are due to the newness of the whole thing. BlackBerry has been doing this for years. Apple’s fresh, raw. You have to admit: Current iPods beat the shit out of the originals. Give the iPhone a year, even — then re-do this experiment for some more meaningful info, don’t you think?
Your handy little fails to mention a lot of the iPhone features, like…
“Rich HTML Email support,” “ambient light sensor,” “proximity sensor,” “accelerometer,” “multi-tasking applications,” “auto-correcting keyboard,”
You also forgot “Yahoo! Push Email.”
It’s one thing to make a side-by-side comparison, but it’s quite another thing to have it only compare the features you typically see. The iPhone has a lot of features that no other phone has, and yet you purposely seem to leave them off.
It’s funny that I never hear anybody talk about the Motorola Q. The Q has email downloads, a video camera, a regular camera, and everything else you’d want. The greatest problem that I’ve had with it is the Microsoft Mobile platform seems a bit unstable at times. Is this the reason that most people are not talking about it?
Does one actually NEED to check his mail every second of every minute of every hour?
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I bought an iPhone and I like the email app. I have my school, work, and gmail account all configured on it, and it works great. I don’t understand why the business world puts so much emphasis on push email. I would hate to be smothered every living second of my life with all these “urgent business requests” that are so important to you BlackBerry users. I am more than content receiving ~10 emails every 15 minutes. The CFO of my company and a few other supervisors bought iPhones and have had no problems being ballers and brushing off the haters. I think there is a misconception that the business world revolves around Exchange.
The keyboard vs. touch screen approach is totally lame and purely based on taste. I also thought the little blurb about how the BlackBerry loads TEXT-ONLY webpages faster than an iPhone was cute.
(Posted from an iPhone)
Mike - let’s not forget our bet
- you can’t try to influence people by saying that the iPhone is a business device - business was defined by “large corporation”
As I was saying.. tech-crunch’s side-by-side comparison misses too many details between the two products. It’s an oversimplification at best.
Anyone who’s really serious about comparing the two products will find a much more in-depth comparison between the iPhone and BlackBerry here:
http://www.appleinsider.com/ar....._8700.html
All I want to know: which of these phones will get me laid?
Andrew Pass - I have a Q and I often think the same thing - why do we not hear more abou it? But, it su*ks somehwat! It is rather lacking as a business phone and I feel like it is a “junior” in the WM world. Mine is somewhat “flakey” and after 6 months I am looking for something else. Probably a BB, but the damn data costs for me triple! Moto makes a good PHONE, but not a great PDA phone.
Anyone who really wants a powerful phone looks at Windows Mobile anyway… Blackberry is slowly fading in market share. iPhones real competition is Windows Mobile. And yes, it does do everything that “blackberry” has marked as “no”, and you can add “3rd party and custom applications”, “Internet Connection Sharing (with laptop)”, “exchange sync over the air”, Voice notes and OneNote”, “Streaming audio and video” and “games” to that list to see where Apple really has work to do.
@bubbatex
Try the AT&T Blackjack. The internet is fast, cheaper than verizon and the phone is stable, nice to use and small.
This comaprison is comparing a sports sedan made to please enthusiasts, and a Toyota Camry that was built for one purpose.
The iPhone was created for the younger, hippish web2.0 crowd, and to possibly capture previous apple users of yesteryear. The Blackberry 8820 was made specifically for Business. If the iPhone can sweep away business users from Blackberry, and retain their core audience, Apples achievement is even bigger. Regardless of winning over business customers, they succeeded in pleasing their core audience.
I for one am no fan of Apple products. From inferior music players like iPods that require hundred dollar earphones to sound to cellular phones, their products arent superior…their packaging seems to be the pitch.
A truly meaningful comparison would have been the iPhone with the BlackBerry Curve. These are obvious differences that occur between most corporate and consumer devices.
I like this iPhone comparison much better…
http://www.bbspot.com/News/200.....-treo.html
The fact that the first phone ever produced by Apple, one which isn’t even aimed at the business-user market, already comes so close to beating the Blackberry is pretty impressive.
Basically the message is, if Apple decide to make a business phone, Blackberry is toast… And let’s face it, most of the missing features on the iPhone don’t exactly require a major feat of engineering. Making a Blackberry anywhere near as sexy however requires a minor miracle..
@35 - One of the most important features of Exchange push email left out of this article, is the ability to remotely wipe an employee’s phone when they go off the reservation. (As an admin, it’s immensly satisfying and sometimes we do it just for fun.) Anyhoo, the reason the business world seems to be ruled by Exchange is that when you are dealing with other people’s sensitive information, especially if you are in a heavily-regulated space like the financial world, then it just makes sense to go with a defacto standard for email security. If I told our federal regulators we were using GMail and Yahoo mail on our iPhones, they’d be fitting me for the orange jumpsuit.
As a note, most of those “NO’s” at the bottom of the Berry list are solved as of the 8830.
Personally, having used both, the only things I prefer about the iPhone are:
1. The browser. The Berry browser SUCKS.
2. The interface. I dont’ know if I “prefer” it, but it’s incredibly smooth (when it’s smooth).
I won’t be giving up my berry, though, if for no other reason than:
1. Battery life: just had my berry last 4 days on one charge.
2. Email: Email is just better. Even off Exchange.
3. IM / SMS: Way better.
4. Tasks and notes integration.
So Calicanis still prefers his Blackberry eh?
Just looking at the posts, you can tell the clear dividing line here between a lot of the younger Digg-type users and the older, working professionals.
Working professionals would LIKE to have a device as cool and sexy as the iPhone. Everybody would rather have the shiny, flashy device. But it’s lack of functionality in some critical, core business-related areas just makes it too impractical at the moment. I’m sure that’ll improve with time. Just like I’m sure Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, etc will all make improvements in their offerings.
When did Jason Calacanis ever wish to remain anonymous??
Very poor comparison here. Being an iphone sceptic and having used both devices I can tell you that Yahoo’s IMAP (push) is FAR SUPERIOR to the blackberry push stuff. Many times the blackberry push stuff is delayed 10-15 min where as the yahoo stff on the iphone is literally instant. He’s saying the iphone only syncs every 15 min? Complete moron…
To understand why Blackberry Push works, read the set of article on iPhone at this website –
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/.....07908.html
In addition, please read the set of article on iPhone at this website –
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/.....Q3.07.html
@50
LOL! Too true.
Then again, he might not want to incur the wrath of the Digg/Mac mob by saying anything that might be remotely construed as negative about an Apple product. He’s got to worry about his new site getting more traffic than individual LOLcat pages first. Of course, ticking off Digg/Mac users is one of the best ways to actually get traffic. So maybe it isn’t him.
Been using the Curve for the past month. Love it. Form factor is the best of any BB. Camera’s good. Phone quality is great. Have even gotten used to the pearl! Would be good to have video though.
Played with several people’s iPhones and think it’s a ‘fun’ device. The UI is amazing. But from a simple email/calendar utility point of view, you can’t beat BB.
Curious if anyone’s using the iPhone as an MP3 player? How’s battery life? I’ve not actually seen anyone using it to listen to music.
iPhone + iZimbra = all things in this world are perfect.
The drawbacks of the iPhone vs Blackberry as a corporate tool are derived from corporate Americas reliance on Exchange. Wake up people and smell the roses, don’t use Exchange with it’s proprietary, limited support, and ancient architecture. Why not use an email system that prefers to work with everything…like Zimbra and other open source collaboration solutions.
I just dropped the exchange server compatible Palm 700W for the iPhone. I’m never going back. No more daily system crashes or missed phone calls/voicemails.
For the first time in the fifteen years I’ve owned a cellphone, I actually enjoy using one. I have found quality of calls and coverage to be excellent.
The EDGE network is not the fastest, but there’s good coverage, in my opinion. What’s really cool, though, is that I’m often able to grab an open Wi-fi connection and then the browser screams. BTW, the internet interface makes the TREOs and other web-enabled phones look primitive. There truly is no comparison.
There are definitely some weaknesses: the omission of cut and paste boggles the mind and I wish that Apple would just get on with it and license Active Sync from Microsoft. I wish that the iPhone had GPS, but I also wish that it would take care of my baby’s 2:00 a.m. feedings.
The camera and photos are terrific, as is the iPod. It’s hard to believe sometimes how good they’ve designed the various device user interfaces–even my mom could figure it out.
I can type much faster on my iPhone’s virtual keyboard than I ever could with my Treo. It’s probably a personal preference thing, but I found that once I used the “force” and just went for it, there was no looking back.
One thing that I wish is that the iPhone wasn’t quite so slippery. I worry about dropping it and find myself having to be a little too careful about handling.
I’ve not used the Blackberry, but I find it difficult to believe that it’s easier to use. I’ll take a gander at my bosses blackberry contact interface to check it out. He’s a real BB head but, after using my iPhone he said that he’d jump ship if it weren’t for his remaining year and a half Verizon contract.
I know that RIM/BB makes good phones/interfaces, but I think that it would be worth people keeping an open mind about the iPhone; it really does seem like a paradigm-changer. That’s my $0.02.
My Curve does all that and more. (- touch screen)
Also 2GB MicroSD cards have been out for a while.
My old pearl did all this as well. The only thing my 8800 did not have was a camera and that is because it is a business tool not a toy.
You need to get some free add on software for the bb.
PS: I can type an e-mail on my bb with two hands not just using one finger like my grandmother using a PC.
#32–yes
#33–yes
what an idiot!!
how many product revisions did it take BlackBerry to get to where it did ?
wake up. you have to realize the fact that apple will eventually get there.
The gap between the current revision of BlackBerry and the first revision of iPhone is only so much and it wont take Apple a long time to cross that.
Michael,
RIMs competition to the iPhone is the Blackberry Curve. It comes with the Roxio media center application to convert movies. The Blackberry 8800 is definitely an enterprise device. I’m not sure if the iPhone was geared towards an enterprise market. New exchange servers can install Microsoft Direct Push for free. With this they can get free push email on the iPhone. So, the iPhone could qualify as an enterprise device but, the biggest problem is the keyboard!
Here’s a not so anonymous VC who decided to drop his BBerry cold turkey and try the iPhone as a business device.
Same general comments, but for him, sexy won out. At least for now.
http://sabet.typepad.com/bijan.....-week.html
I am a Mac user and have used a Blackberry before I bought an iPhone.
The iPhone is designed to synchronize with all my applications including Mail, Address Book, Calendar, iPhoto, and iTunes. The BlackBerry sync program for the Mac is a very poor substitute.
Although the BlackBerry does have push email, actually seeing email (with HTML, URLs or attachments) was a big pain. It was near impossible to see the email in close to native format. Same is true of reading Word, Excel or PDF documents. So, yes the Blackberry does support these documents. But, for me, the support is nearly useless. With the iPhone, you can actually read and zoom in on the email and any attachments (including spreadsheets and PDFs).
Zooming in and out of websites, documents, and photos is unparalleled. Visual voicemail is really nifty. The wi-fi support compensates for the slower EDGE network.
Once I bought and activated my iPhone, I have never powered on my BlackBerry again!
+1 to everything #57 said.
However I agree with earlier commenters that even off Exchange, the email application is basically just a toy. It looks beautiful but is only vaguely useful for any real work. No “Mark all as Read”? I’m a Gmail user, and I’m one of the many hoping Google comes out with an update of some kind to make it useful on iPhone.
That said…this is the first time in years I’ve really enjoyed using my mobile phone. In terms of usability (email excluded), style, subtle transitions, pure eye candy, sweet implementations of features for the camera, maps, etc etc, the iPhone is on a different playing field altogether.
The Blackberry is really an email productivity tool. Push is overrated, but there are people that do not want to be bothered with checking the device for periodic polls.
The Blackjack is a good device, it’s apps are not well integrated nor always instantly accesible. Blackjacks 3G shows the potential of fast, very low latency mobile connections, and works great as a tethered 3G modem with a PC laptop.
RIM has slowly evolved the product line, whereas Apple broke the mold. The entire mobile device space is comprised of clunky, user unfriendly, hard to configure devices that are poorly supported by their respective carriers.
The next phase shall be the evolution of the mobile device UI, with all of the august competitors slowly talking the UI experience seriously, thanks to Apple’s leap of faith.
As a die hard XP power user for years, I have started transitioning to a Mac Intel Mini, running Parallels and XP, and am impressed with the Mac side. Now after 6 months, I hardly need to boot the VM. My Point?
Give Apple it’s due for going head to head with the multi-headed hydras of the mobile industry. The iphone and Blackberry are different in so many ways, as Bruce points out, the administrative and central management issues alone disqualify the Iphone out of hand. Actually, until the Backberry, there was no adequate means of managing thousands of mobile email clients, other than on laptops.
My 0.5 cents.
Pretty impressive start for a first generation device!
You can do your own side by side comparison of iphone and blackberry at http://sidescope.com
Users get to choose what evaluation criteria to use and vote on them.
So, I do have a question… If you’re not using BES, what’s so great about a blackberry? Wrote a blog post about it this morning http://seanreiser.com/node/102
It’s a bit odd how this article compares just phone to phone, and even talks about how much more expensive the iPhone is. How about compairing the music and video features? The phone part of iPhone only accounts for 1/3 of the price. And this is only rev. one
regarding “sex appeal”, when in the history of time has the phone you had ever gotten anyone laid?
I really wanted to get an iPhone, but I rely on email too much–and so I’m actually glad that I waited for now and will definitely look at getting an 8820.
For hardcore mobile email users the iPhone is unusable. The article failed to mention that a touch screen keyboard is practically useless for efficiently writing email with your thumbs. The tactile feedback on one’s thumbs is really necessary to write email with some efficiency and speed. I found myself repeatedly selecting the letters next to the ones I wanted with the iPhone. I applaud the design and the competition it will introduce, but as a business device where email is critical, I find it unusable. Blackberry is still the gold standard for business users.
What is the fascination with push email? Does anyone really get so few emails that they check their inbox upon each alert?
“If you don’t have access to exchange server (or blackberry server) and/or you use a Mac, there is no question the iPhone is a better choice as a business device.”
Silly comment. I bought a blackberry two years ago from verizon and it comes with push-supported email address that I forward my email to, and can reply from with it (it re-writes the from address).
So *i* don’t have access to a exhange/blackberry server as such, it just came with the phone and the contract. I don’t think may blackberries bought from the carrier don’t come with this option, as well as the option to hook to corporate exchange server. So the point is moot. If you can pay for a blackberry, you have access to push email.
As a business device, the combined inbox, scroll wheel and one-fingered operation and normal keyboard is what makes a blackberry more useful than an iphone. If you value ipod functions and full page web browsing, then of course the iphone is better.
@57 is right on.
Please dont consider yourself a blackberry user if you have a pearl. Side note: I just want blackberry to trash the track ball and go back to my trusty thumb wheel.
Jason
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Lets face it the iPhone is not a business phone YET.. But this is the first release, and it should not be hard for Apple to catch up.
They’re just two different types of devices that perform some of the same tasks.
I use both Mac & PC on a regular basis and they each have their niche. It really amazes me whenever a new Apple product comes out the pro-Mac crowd starts thumping on Windows…
Just pick the one you like, thats does what you need it to and be happy.
Corporate America uses Exchange IMAP coz the Sarbanes-Oxley Act kicked in last year; a public company is FORBIDDEN by law to use web mail/IM/Chat or any server for communications or data that is not replicated and stored for 5 yrs in clear text.
As to why anyone would need push email; whomever asked that question has never had the hassle of being out of the office while contract language was being hammered out in advance of a deadline.
I too use a BB 8830…it’s not about dissing Apple or it’s products… but what works for me.
BTW- how do you make hands-free calls/contact lookup while driving without VAD?
“As to why anyone would need push email; whomever asked that question has never had the hassle of being out of the office while contract language was being hammered out in advance of a deadline.”
Ooooh, you sound so important!
BTW, I really get a kick out of the people who have never touched the other device that they’re going to dump on…
————————————————-
#57 - “I’ve not used the Blackberry, but I find it difficult to believe that it’s easier to use.”
–Well if you find it difficult to believe then that’s good enough for me, where do I sign up?
————————————————-
#35 -I think there is a misconception that the business world revolves around Exchange.
–Think again
@#80
MORON!
“Question: has Apple ever claimed that the iPhone is a corporate animal?”
Apple has not, but Cingular/AT&T is considering pitching the iPhone at that segment. Granted, they’re not going to be dumb and just do it as-is; I’ve used both in an Enterprise environment (Blackberry is my “permanent” device, and the iPhone was a loaner) and the critiques about Enterprise features lacking is valid. But Cingular/AT&T has got to know this, and I just can’t see them targeting business/corporation/enterprise clients without significant add-ons, like Exchange/Lotus push sync, among others.
If enterprise features were added, I’D consider an iPhone myself. It’s pretty cool. But not until then; it does me no good in an enterprise environment.
“I can tell you that Yahoo’s IMAP (push) is FAR SUPERIOR to the blackberry push stuff. Many times the blackberry push stuff is delayed 10-15 min where as the yahoo stuff on the iphone is literally instant. ”
Exchange BES push? Or AT&T (or T-Mobile, or anyone else’s) BIS push? BIS is terribly slow at times, but BES is real fast.
“Wake up people and smell the roses, don’t use Exchange with it’s proprietary, limited support, and ancient architecture. Why not use an email system that prefers to work with everything…like Zimbra and other open source collaboration solutions.”
Because many times in the corporate/enterprise world you inherit your environment. So you’re stuck with what you got. That said, MS Exchange and Lotus Domino are proven enterprise packages with far more support than you imply in your statement. Sure, I’d rather not pay for the packages or its support either, but you can’t say it’s “limited”. That’s not even close to being true.
Also: Ancient architecture? Exchange’s flaw is that it needs the newest hardware, not the oldest. There’s nothing “ancient” about it. If anything, the critique I’d apply is the exact opposite.
“I don’t understand why the business world puts so much emphasis on push email. I would hate to be smothered every living second of my life with all these “urgent business requests” that are so important to you BlackBerry users. ”
It’s not just the push, although that’s more important to more users than you’d think. It’s also the synchronization with other enterprise datasets, like Microsoft Exchange’s calendars. In many environments, the calendar sync is actually much more important to users than email.
Look, some Apple enthusiasts are getting defensive here. We business/corporate/enterprise users aren’t ripping on the iPhone in this chat (well, SOME of us aren’t). When we say the iPhone lacks a certain feature, it’s an honest critique, not a mean-spirited insult. The iPhone is a totally cool device. And yes, WinMobile, Palm, and Blackberries do have flaws. Believe me, I KNOW their flaws! Personally, I’d love to have an iPhone. BUT, if it can’t talk to Exchange like a Windows Mobile unit, or that and Lotus like a Blackberry, then it simply doesn’t fit a work environment. That cannot be rationalized away.
It IS a completely cool device. Again, I like it. But the business/corp./enterprise environment is no small segment of the smartphone market, and critiques based on THAT sort of use are completely valid, even if it doesn’t apply to certain people. If you don’t use Exchange or Domino, then you can ignore those critiques and enjoy the heck out of your iPhone. But don’t think us business users are scrooges trying to tear down the thing. We’re not. We’re just giving an honest evaluation of its suitability in our environment. That’s all. When the iPhone picks up enterprise capabilities, THEN it’ll be a contender.
Blackberries shouldn’t be personal devices. They stink without BES support. And at this time, iPhones shouldn’t be enterprise devices because they can’t sync with enterprise data. That’s just the way it is.
iPhone uses Pull e-mail as opposed to Push e-mail. The difference being that with Push e-mail, as a message comes into the server, the server pushes the message to the device. With Pull e-mail the device periodically, usually every 15 minutes, checks with the server to see if it has new mail, and pulls the mail from the server.
Where this is important is that with Push e-mail the recipient gets the message immediately and with Pull e-mail it is something less than 15 minutes. In business, time is money. That delay CAN be critical.
The other issue has to do with battery life. With Push e-mail the device opens a socket with the server once and keeps the socket open. Until a message comes through one way or the other the device is not transmitting and using battery. With Pull e-mail the device connects to the wireless network every 15 minutes and checks for mail. Each time it does it uses battery power to turn on the radio transceiver. If you don’t have any mail, you just wasted battery life for nothing. And 15 minutes later it’s going to do it again. This is ONE of the reasons why the Blackberry can live for 4 days between charges and the iPhone needs to be charged daily.
Another important factor is wireless sync of calendar and contacts. My assistant frequently adds items to my calendar. When I am out of the office, it is important that I get them ASAP. I don’t have the luxury of waiting until I physically sync my device to my computer to get those updates.
Apple didn’t design and market the iPhone for business use, but that hasn’t stopped business people from wanting to use it. I see the point of the article as to compare the two and to show why the iPhone is not a practical business tool.
I think improvements over the next couple of generations will put it on par with Blackberry and Windows Mobile for business use too.
I have had various Blackberrys and currently have a Windows Mobile phone. My wife just got the iPhone. It is pretty, but the iPhone doesn’t hold a candle to my Windows Mobile phone for business practicality.
IMAP is needed for pull email for the iPhone. BB does not require it. And most companies will not emable IMAP (some kind of security thing).
The bottom line is very simple: if you’re a Mac users and primarily use the phone as a phone and want some fun extras, buy the iPhone (IF you can afford it at this ridiculous price point).
If, as most people, you primarily need a phone and email device and work in a Exchange environment, then you get the berry. I’m in the last category.
For myself, as an iPod user, I would love to also have a video iPod with the awesome-looking screen. If it also had wi-fi, and could surf the web, that would be cool. I just don’t need another phone and don’t want to pay monthly charges for two phones. Apple could easily make a device for me by simply: (1) stripping off the phone chip-set and (2) adding memory in the space vacated by the phone chipset. That I would pay for.
“Experts say a Mac fire is just like a PC fire, except it’s more hip and condescending.” - Conan O’Brien
I love my BB 8800, but even if I didn’t I’d do almost anything to avoid supporting Apple on general principle.
My two-year-old Treo 650 has more functionality than either of these “smart”phones at a fraction of the price.
re: #81 re: #57 The point was that the iPhone contact interface is so simple wasn’t intended to “dump” on BB (as noted, I’ve got no experience in that arena), just that it’s difficult to conceive of any contact interface (BB or any other smartphone’s, for that matter) that could be easier to use. If BB has an easier contact interface, kudos to them. I’m going to check it out. The iPhone has a lot of incredible features and is missing a few that are definitely head-scratchers. I noticed that the iPhone’s virtual keyboard frustrated you, but I personally prefer it to physical buttons (at least the Treo’s on which I have two years’ experience). As for “feedback” of pressing a button that some say they like, I personally prefer iPhone’s subtle clicking sound when a key is selected; it’s cool.
Don’t you think you are comparing a consumer targeted product to a business tool? While the iPhone is certainly cool and neat, we have yet to see any companies standardize on it. The BlackBerry got its start in business and in just the past 2 years has really started to do well in the consumer space. When you compare an iPhone to a BlackBerry 8800, I think you are comparing apples to oranges.
Today’s NY Sun has an article ripping the iPhone.
http://www.nysun.com/article/59053
“Corporate America uses Exchange IMAP coz the Sarbanes-Oxley Act kicked in last year; a public company is FORBIDDEN by law to use web mail/IM/Chat or any server for communications or data that is not replicated and stored for 5 yrs in clear text.”
Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t think of one email server—open source or proprietary— that can’t do this.
And if I really needed my communications to be secure, MS products would be the LAST products I’d look at. I mean really…
yours/
peter.
I’ve never worked in a large corporate or government bureaucracy. I used to wonder why such organizations get so little done until I heard about push email. While I can multitask about as well as anyone, I can’t imagine trying to work while being constantly interrupted by email.
I’m reminded of Stephen Covey’s thoughts on dealing with things that are urgent but not important.
iPhone - “Smartphone” for Dummies.
I prefer the Dingleberry myself, commonly called the “Brownberry.” What a piece of equipment!
I am working @ a big four accounting firm… WTF does #57’s comments mean? Sarbanes Oxley has NOTHING to do with the selection of a mail server, the choice is about risk management, scalability, stability, not an accounting law.
No sane person would reject the absolute coolness of the iPhone. I TOTALLY LOVE MINE. I get 200 or more emails per day…I have yet to be encumbered by not seeing one quickly enough on my iPhone. That’s the problem with this VC - he’s not working enough. If he’d work more he or she wouldn’t have time to sit around waiting for mails to get pushed out. Don’t rain on my iPhone parade…
You guys should really have tested the Curve. It has camera and additional functionality which makes it more competitive with (and better than in my opinion) iPhone.
Hey Mark,
Not surprising, you didn’t mentioned audio music or video in your BB v. Iphone review. I wonder what you do on long business flights, read the WSJ, FT, SEC 10-Ks or even a book. What about some classical or jazz music while reading? Can the BB do that?
Ciao!
Oh, one last thing. I forgot to mention that, if there are any Apple software engineers reading this blog, could you PLEASE make it possible to delete more than one e-mail off the iPhone at a time?
Well interesting review from someone who seems to know nothing about the subject.
I have used a Blackberry for months with my Macintosh. Sync without a problem using MarkSpace software.
The iPhone is superior in almost every aspect to the Blackberry, other than feature set. Since the article author can’t distinguish WAP from normal sites, no more comment is needed.
So…the analyst would switch to the iPhone if it implemented 3 features, 2 of which *CAN’T* be implemented in the iPhone without physical modification?
My Macwhore-sense is tingling. After all, that’s like saying that a gamer would buy a PS3 instead of a Wii if only the PS3 had built-in Wii-style controller.
The iPhone may be a great phone for people who don’t actually use it, and only intend to pull it out for show, but for people who actually use their phones, the iPhone is the clunkiest POS on the market. (Yes, sound quality matters, as does the ability to dial without looking at the damn screen).
Hey Mark, I read your first post yesterday which I quite liked, and this second post is awesome. I like it that you had someone else, a real user, make the comparisons, instead of you yourself or some other journalist. I think Michael has a good one with on board. Keep up the good work!
The e-mail issue is very important, and a notorious advantage for the Blackberry. Great article, I loved the comparison.
THE IPHONE SUCKS!
LONG LIVE THE PALM VII
Hello!!
Why is this comparison even being made. The iPhone was not designed for corporate use, get it??? Yet, everyone feels it necessary to crap all over the iPhone based on what is was not built for. I, for one, do not own an iPhone, but I, for one, know it was not designed for