[Clueta]

Okay, so tomorrow is the big day. I have to buy a new phone tomorrow and still going back and forth between the Bold and the iphone. I welcome any suggestions. A little backgroud... I currently use a Blackjack which I have grown to hate mostly due to poor reception. I do not have a data plan currently. I am in sales and use this phone 80% for business. Push email is not a critical part of my descision and in fact my company will not allow me to receive my email on a blackberry. I have played with both phones and the iphone is fun and easy to use. The bold (BB) seems like there will be a steep learning curve.

Iphone - cons: no battery door, no sd card slot, no way to delete select numbers from call history, useless without the data plan, no cut and paste.
Pros: easy to use, simple (gps) navigation at no additional cost, lots of apps, easy integration of existing itunes, sms thread.

Bold - cons: new to bb os, small screen, limited apps, browser seemed slow in att store, browser doesn't display pages the same as iphone, gps navigation at extra cost. Pros: beautiful screen, external keyboard, sd card slot, battery door, great reputation.

[jd914]

You're already a full qwerty keyboard user and are probably gonna hate the iPhone's virtual keyboard. I would suggest you go play around with both at the AT&T store.

[pltaylor]

Sounds like you know the major differences. I assume you are with At&t. Keep in mind they wont insure the iPhone. Other than that, you've done your homework. They are pretty different devices. Check their return policy should you change your mind. Good luck.

[Chicklet]

I love the Bold and highly recomend it.

[Guru]

Having a 2G iphone myself I am getting to become a crackberry addict since I bought my wife a Bold a few weeks ago for her early xmas present. The capabilities and flexibility of the Bold is fantastic. The iphone is a nice large screen but other than games and web browsing, not really a huge deal. The keyboard even after a year and a half just sucks on the iphone and I far prefer the real buttons of the Bold. It's email capabilities are excellent for business use and of course you have various IM apps to stay connected as well as sms. The iphone is great in terms of ease of use for tech dummys but it is quite limited and those limitations will get to you after a while. I would love to upgrade mine but am waiting for the new 9900. I'll endure one more year.

[youngage]

what is the purpose in posting on a blackberry forum?

everyone will say the bold..... go test it for yourself

i would take the bold.... its so much better

[crackvegas78]

Yup. See Kevin's sweet review of the "aw-fuch" phone. LOL

[tekneakz]

I would recommend the bold. Not only because I own one but because I have owned an iphone also. As mentioned above, going from a full qwerty to iphone's on-screen keyboard will be a nightmare. I went from curve to iphone to bold. Going from the curve (which had an unfortunate end) to the iphone wasn't so bad but trying to type on the iphone was terrible. your con on the bold's gps navigation causing extra is half true. You can sign up for at&t navigator for $10 a month or use one of the many free alternatives (some with voice navigation if that's what you're looking for). The iphone is great if you're into multimedia and playing. The bold is excellent for being a workhorse that can satisfy an audiophile. IMO, a bold isn't much more than a daᶆn sexy phone unless you get a data package. that's just my .02 after being on both sides of the fence.

[m11stephen]

If you want a device that looks pretty, plays multimedia well, and is fun, go with the iPhone. If you want a phone that will help you get stuff done and be productive go with the Bold.

[AirSupply]

I am a "victim" of the touch screen phone, so sad. I just returned my Storm this Monday and bought a Bold at a same day. Now, when I come back to a traditional BB, I am so happy with the Curve. I used to use 8830 and 8330 for a long time, but the Bold is so much better than those old phones.

Strongly recommend Bold, from an BB addict !

[Blacklatino]

Sounds like you know the major differences. I assume you are with At&t. Keep in mind they wont insure the iPhone. Other than that, you've done your homework. They are pretty different devices. Check their return policy should you change your mind. Good luck.

I agree. No reason to initiate this debate all over again. From what I've read, both are great devices. So, good luck with your choice.

[Guru]

Oh one other thing. If you use the phone to listen to music the Bold has much better sound quality than the iphone both with headphones or without. You can use itunes with either.

[Tlynnsmith]

If you're using the phone for business purposes, why would you consider the iPhone? The Bold is a business-class phone, that also allows you access to media. The Blackberry is the standard, for any serious business person, imo.

I don't have the Bold (I will in January), and I've played with the iPhone for months. The iPhone was never a serious consideration — it was between the Bold and the Fuze (WM 6.1). One thing I can say, without a doubt, is that the Bold physical qwerty is out of this world! Typing on it is...a dream. A good dream.

The iPhone is a gorgeous instrument, in all fairness, and I still may get an iTouch. But I'm planning on using my phone for business, primarily, and I need more than a pretty phone. I think you do, too.

There is SO much help out there, for Blackberry newbies. This is an excellent community, and there's additional help as well. If you're not familiar with BBs, you will definitely have to take some time — read the manual, search this community, and just...learn how the phone works. It's not rocket science.

Try out the Bold, for 30 days and see if it's right for you. Also the "no insurance on the iPhone" would be a SERIOUS deal-breaker for me, if I were considering the iPhone. If you drop that thing, just take out your credit card and weep.

[bt224]

You're already a full qwerty keyboard user and are probably gonna hate the iPhone's virtual keyboard. I would suggest you go play around with both at the AT&T store.

Best advice on here. I went in to buy either an iPhone or a Fuze. I came out with a Bold and it wasn't even close. Spend a couple of hours in there playing around, using each phone as you would every day. Lot of gee whiz stuff on each device, but it needs to do what you want it to do. Forget the one phone is better than the other business. They're both nice phones, get the one that works best for you. I'm pretty sure you'll leave with a Bold.

[mapimages]

Best advice on here. I went in to buy either an iPhone or a Fuze. I came out with a Bold and it wasn't even close. Spend a couple of hours in there playing around, using each phone as you would every day. Lot of gee whiz stuff on each device, but it needs to do what you want it to do. Forget the one phone is better than the other business. They're both nice phones, get the one that works best for you. I'm pretty sure you'll leave with a Bold.

yes just dont leave with a WM device

[MissSnowFlake525]

ok as a current bold user and a lover of apple products I went for the bold...I think that the Iphone is a great idea in essence but I believe that productivity equals blackberry...kickass music programs equal apple...

my opinion is that you said you would use the phone 80% of the time for business...if you were looking for a phone just to have a cool phone go with the iPhone....

[bt224]

I was very excited about the Fuze until I actually played with it for about 30 minutes. Laggy as ****. Nice idea, just needs more power.

[Tlynnsmith]

I was very excited about the Fuze until I actually played with it for about 30 minutes. Laggy as ****. Nice idea, just needs more power.

It's a gorgeous phone — more so than the iPhone.

[verks]

I just bought a Bold Sunday coming form both a Fuze and an iPhone. I have been so pleased with the Bold. I get all my emails instantly, the keyboard is great, it is for more customizable then I ever thought a BB could be and the screen, wow. I have my Bold jacked up with all kinds of apps, themes, wallpapers and music. I had fun with the iPhone but it has limitations and Apple likes you to use your phone their way!

I enjoy the ease of use and the quickness of the Bold. Nothing like having a REAL keyboard to use. Keep testing the devices, spend awhile in the at&t store and run them through the ringer. They will let you play as much as you want.

As stated before you have 30 days to test it out, use that option.

Oh and the Bold has bluetooth 2.0 the iPhone does not. I still can't believe that. It's great to stream music or Sirius to you Bluetooth headset.

[mikecc]

Go for the Bold first. If you are signing a new contract, you have 30 days to play with it. If you still can't get used to the BB os, then switch to iphone. Bold's browser is very slow compared to iphone's.

[Rizzleman716]

Bold I would say. But play with different devices and see what you like

[mentalcase]

I talk to customer on a daily basis regarding this same issue so here is my usual list of pros and cons.

Iphone Pros
-huge screen
-OS is easy to use and fast, also it is pretty
-Media functions are the best
-Browser is awesome

Cons
-touch screen keyboard
-battery life and signal strength are not very good
-Pull email
-no replaceable battery

Bold Pros
-keyboard, trackball easy to use
-Signal strength is great, battery ok
-OS is STABLE, Fast, and easy to use
-Charges in 2 hrs
-BIS and BES mail is quick!!

Cons
-Does not support protected itunes files
-Media interface is just ok
-Web browser is just ok


They are both great phones, but i have used everything out there and i see customers coming back with certain models. Everyone loves the iphone. Not sure if it is the "iphone effect" but it hardly gets returned. The Bold gets returned because people are not willing to give it some time before they decided. Once you use a blackberry, you are going to be hooked!!

[sdot56]

i work at AT&T and sell about 40 iphones a week and approximately 10 bolds. the bold is a far superior phone. the iphone is like a popularity contest. it's like, oh, they've got an iphone, so i'll get one too.

i have the bold, i've had the iphone, i play with both of them everyday.

i've had 80% more iphone issues than blackberry issues.

trust me, go with the blackberry.

[conker]

It really comes down to whether or not the multimedia capabilities of the phone are not more important, but far more important to you then making phone calls and text communication.

If you make calls occasionally, email is something you check "occasionally", and text communication is something you do sporadically, and....
If you want your phone to be a fashion accessory, you plan on spending a lot of time listening to music on it, you love to watch YouTube videos, and you need a near desktop like web browsing experience at your fingertips at all times - then by all means, the iPhone is clearly the right phone for you.

However, the fact that you are even considering a Bold, and found this site, would indicate to me that you are a bit more savvy than the average iPhone user, and that the actual "smartphone" usage of the phone is important to you. In that case, definitely get a BB - Bold or otherwise.

Besides the points that have already been called out in this thread, here are some other advantages of BB devices that I simply cannot live without.

1. LED indicator. I just look at the light if I want to know a message is waiting for me (sms, email, phone vm, IM). This may seem minor, but compare that to what you have to do on an iPhone. You have to physically touch the phone, and do the slide unlock swipe.
2. As a consultant, I legitimately need to monitor 4 email boxes, and need to be able to send and receive "as" from all during the day. I don't think there is an efficient way to do this on the iPhone.
3. Profiles. I love how I can have different sound effects for my different email boxes. With a single tone, I know which email box received email. I don't even need to look or touch my phone. This extends to sms, IM and vm. In addition, it's incredibly easy to switch, configure and create/modify existing profiles - Normal, Work, Sleep, Vibrate, Loud, Phone Only, etc.
4. Applications are applications. Some crucial applications like GMail, Remember The Milk and last time I checked JiveTalk are all browser based applications on the iPhone. They simply don't feel right and are not efficient, i.e. slow. Of course, there are many applications on the iPhone that are true applications, but the 3 I mentioned above are crucial communication and productivity applications that I spend most of my time in. iPhone applications are games, or things you play with if you have a lot of free time.
5. Making a phone call from any application on the BB - Just hit the Green call button, and start typing the person's name and the phone screen will start bringing up people's name as efficiently as Google's search box. Below each name the screen will show each number type registered with the name (Home, Mobile, Work, etc.). Or, if you have assigned seed dial to someone, just hit the Red button, and then hold down the assigned speed dial button. Do this..... Count how many clicks are required to make a phone call on the BB versus the iPhone. You will be surprised.
6. Keyboard Shortcuts - I can quickly navigate to any application with 1 key press, compose an email with one key press, etc.... As you can imagine, many efficient shortcuts with a physical keyboard.

I am sorry, but the average iPhone user knows nothing about the BlackBerry. They are like brainless sheep following the herd (credit Apple marketing for this behavior). I am comfortable making this statement, because all the iPhone users I have talked to, when getting into this argument, have never even tried a BlackBerry! "How could a BlackBerry be better, it's not cool and shiny?" Sigh.... Blue states versus Red States - some people just have their heads in the sand....

I must admit, the iPhone is extremely attractive. It's the gorgeous blond at the bar that all the guys want to take home, and it's easy to get seduced by it/her. I was that guy before both iPhone launches, but after I played with my friends on both occasions, it became apparent that it's no better than a one night stand. A BlackBerry is like the girl you take home to meet your parents, and spend the rest of your life with.

Why do you think Obama is fighting to keep his BlackBerry?

-conker

"The BlackBerry is a 9am to 5pm phone. The iPhone is a 5pm to 9am phone". Enough said.

[mentalcase]

i work at AT&T and sell about 40 iphones a week and approximately 10 bolds. the bold is a far superior phone. the iphone is like a popularity contest. it's like, oh, they've got an iphone, so i'll get one too.

i have the bold, i've had the iphone, i play with both of them everyday.

i've had 80% more iphone issues than blackberry issues.

trust me, go with the blackberry.

I agree with what your saying 100%. The iphone still works great,though. It is not a bad phone at all. Each phone has its pros and cons, but it depends on the person.

This person is obviously doing there research before they decided, so you can rule out the popularity part.