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I made the jump to the iPhone world on Friday and have spent the better part of the weekend setting it up, testing it out, and well...using it. So far, so good but it isn't perfect.
I was a loyal Blackberry user, since 2000. I started on the pager style and have owned almost every type of device, with my last being a 9650 Bold on Verizon. I have always been satisfied with BB but the past few years have been frustrating i.e. lack of apps, media support, hardware design, etc. Still I have always felt that BB was the best email and phone out there, but we all know our phones are more than that these days.
So here is my take on the iPhone 4S since making the switch on Friday. I'm going to not try and focus on the hardware differences, we know what they are, iPhone fast, BB has a QWERTY, blah, blah, blah...
The Good
The apps - a huge leap forward, more to choose from, better support. A ton of junk of course, but there are some solid, must have apps that are a big help. Might be the main advantage.
Media - this thing plays everything and looks good doing it. Netflix, HBO GO, not to mention how well it looks on the screen. I used my BB only for music in the past.
Call quality - calls are nice and clear. Better than my Bold.
Integration - iOS is well thought out putting things where you expect them across features. Contacts, maps, search, reminders, notification, voice, gps, all tie together quite well and across external apps too. This might be one of the best features.
Attachments - the iPhone behaves more like a laptop than a phone, so you can manage docs better, edit them easier, and sync with your pc easier.
Wifi Sync - once you get everything loaded, you can just make updates over wifi for your media, apps, etc. via iTunes. Works nicely.
Camera - amazing. Lots of functionality built in and the quality is mid range point and shoot.
Browsing - pages render fast and better than my old BB, no checkerboarding.
Auto-correct - works very well and will get most misspellings on the fly.
The not so good
Contact sync - for whatever reason, you can't easily eliminate duplicates. I have work and gmail set up on my iPhone, so I had duplicate contacts, so many that I turned off sync via iphone to gmail. I used to use exchange on my bb for work and then google sync for bb to gmail contacts, worked out very well, changes were seen in all three places. You can't do that on the iPhone, no way to have a two way sync between the iPhone and each place from a single contact folder on the iPhone. I have a workaround but it's clunky.
Email & Calendar - both devices have their benefits but overall the iPhone is no great leap here. Individual items render better on the iPhone, but it was easier to scan email and calendar on the BB.
Notifications - iOS is moving in the right direction but needs to steal a page from BB (and Andriod) and put some small icons in the top nav. The little email, txt, and missed call icons on my BB were perfect. iOS uses the notifications that flip up, the drop down tray, and the badge updates on the individual application. The problem is that I have to drag the tray down to check them or go to the app to see the badge. There is no quick summary, big miss here. They are getting there with the tray, but need a summary of all notifications somehow.
The keyboard - some BB users would expect me to rip on this but it's a touch screen, so I will work with it. That said it is better than I thought, I was expecting the worse. I am getting faster on it. Nothing compares to a QWERTY on a BB.
Siri - it needs a central server and many times can't connect or sends back an error. When it does work, it does for small tasks but you aren't going to be writing your autobiography on it. I'm sure it will improve but it's overhyped at the moment.
The Bad
No sound profiles - huge miss here. You can customize sounds and alerts to the max, but you can't set up a profile. This is big for the business user who might need to go silent for a meeting or a quiet mode for bedside. Changing the setting each time or hammering the volume down button as your phone rings in the theater is plain silly. And I think there is no "vibrate only" for the phone on the iPhone, huh?
LED light - sure your phone can buzz and flash a notification on the screen but what if you are out of the room for a minute? You come back and your phone is still a blank screen with no clue that something changed. That iconic LED light on the BB is a huge loss.
Separate email signatures - why can't you do this on the iPhone? Seems silly that you can't set up separate ones for each email account you have, you could on the BB for years. Poor execution here.
No longpress caps - wtf? This one should be a no-brainer, how you simply press a key down longer on the BB and blam! caps! Not on the iPhone, you need to hit a shift key every time. It will place a cap at the start of a sentence and recognized many proper nouns but try writing "ID" or "StartUpCompany". Of course it auto corrects "iPhone".
Wrap-up
So would I go back to a Blackberry? Maybe but not now. RIM needs to think about what a smartphone is. Most of what I like about the iPhone is all the non-business stuff, apps, media, etc., and that is what a lot of people use their phones for. And the business stuff, there isn't enough stuff missing or the experience so poor on the iPhone that I would go back.
And the apps are a huge game changer for me. A ton of useful business ones, a lots of good ones for every day, and of course good games. If I could name one reason to get an iPhone, it would be the apps. Everyone makes an iPhone app, but only some make a BB version.
If you only carry one device, the iPhone does most of what you need it to. It's hardly perfect but for me, it is better than the Blackberry. But not by a huge margin. Come on RIM, you CAN do this. You have two years from Friday, when my upgrade comes due
10-16-11 02:59 PM - I came from a 1 year old Torch. It looks 4 years old compared to the 4S. It's absolutely an upgrade from any BlackBerry device, except maybe the 9900, but I haven't used the new Bold so I can't comment on it, but even some diehard BlackBerry fans will tell you the new devices are what should've been put out last year.
10-17-11 05:31 AM - i spent almost an hour or so at a VzW store checking out the 9900/9930. Now, like i've stated before, i'm not a hater to any platform. BUT, when i checked this device out (i'm on a 9650 OS6 now) it was not much different to ME from what i use now. The browser may have been a tad faster, the screen is bigger, but overall-it functioned the same as my 9650 does. Also, using it, the trackpad was super wonky !! the stock OS that VzW dropped into it-from my opinion-would have to be loaded up with leak OS7.353 & poking around that forum, alot of people have done this and reported a better device functionI came from a 1 year old Torch. It looks 4 years old compared to the 4S. It's absolutely an upgrade from any BlackBerry device, except maybe the 9900, but I haven't used the new Bold so I can't comment on it, but even some diehard BlackBerry fans will tell you the new devices are what should've been put out last year.
I don't mind swapping os's-i've done plenty with my bold & have grown tired of-oh lemme try this one, etc. SO to have to purchase a brand new device and load a leak right off the bat, just not into it and feel i shouldn't have to either BUT thats just how i view it. Someone else with this device may have a different perspective, and that good too
i just wasn't that impressed with the new OS7 devices.10-17-11 07:41 AM
