[FuzzyB]

Ok, I have always had bb and have never once considered leaving for another platform...mainly because i am a business owner who relies heavily on email. But today I had a good friend who is a software developer tell me he switched to iPhone and the email is actually better on all 3 of his email accounts. By better I mean faster...he has had blackberry since the beginning and always was a bb owner and advocate.

So what's the deal? Is email on iOS now faster than bb? I have a POP3 & hotmail account that I use for business...would I be better off with iOS or not? For the first time in my smartphone life I am actually thinking of straying?? Talk me off the ledge...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[olliegrl]

i think the overall interface is better. on iphone you can go to your folders just like you could on the regular web page. on bb you can only access your inbox. i think (i come from 4 iphones and 4 BBs) that the iphone app is better. it's more user friendly.

[Shodan775]

Unless his BB has some sort of a hickup problem, the speed of delivery is about the same. I have a Torch and an iphone 4.

Even though I use the ip4 and my torch is given to a family member, I still miss my red light flash notification, so now I picked up the habit of keep checking on the phone periodically , but I wish the lock screen on the ip4 would have at least some notes so I don't have to unlock and re-lock the phone constantly.

edit: although I do agree with a better interface of the email, I got 3 email boxes, all on exchange server (real push) so it's instant.

[Heavy Fluid]

Shodan775, if you are jailbroken, check out LockInfo. Just what you are looking for on the lock screen.

[scorpiodsu]

I think the iPhone email is better overall. In terms of speed, I haven't didn't see a difference for accounts set up to push. There were times where my email would come on my blackberry a couple seconds faster and other times it would comes to the iPhone a few seconds faster. But not a big delay to an issue. iPhone you can also access all your POP account folders. So if you like to organize your emails and file them, you'll be able to do that. Also you aren't limited to the emails you were sent since you had the blackberry. Meaning that you can always retrieve old messages on the iPhone even if they were sent before you had the iPhone. With blackberry, you can only get emails sent from the time you set up email and forward any old email messages to yourself from a computer. No truncation. And also real HTML email.

I will say that blackberry handles attachments a lot better than iPhone. But I'm guessing Apple is about to take it a step further with the iOS 5 update about to come. So overall, right now I think iPhone email is a lot better considering all those things.

[FuzzyB]

I think the iPhone email is better overall. In terms of speed, I haven't didn't see a difference for accounts set up to push. There were times where my email would come on my blackberry a couple seconds faster and other times it would comes to the iPhone a few seconds faster. But not a big delay to an issue. iPhone you can also access all your POP account folders. So if you like to organize your emails and file them, you'll be able to do that. Also you aren't limited to the emails you were sent since you had the blackberry. Meaning that you can always retrieve old messages on the iPhone even if they were sent before you had the iPhone. With blackberry, you can only get emails sent from the time you set up email and forward any old email messages to yourself from a computer. No truncation. And also real HTML email.

I will say that blackberry handles attachments a lot better than iPhone. But I'm guessing Apple is about to take it a step further with the iOS 5 update about to come. So overall, right now I think iPhone email is a lot better considering all those things.

Could you elaberate on what you mean by this?

Also, I have a POP3 (verizon) account and a hotmail account...am I going to see any major delays or differences in sending or receiving emails from those to accounts with an iphone vs. bb?

[Tre Lawrence]

As one who is on neither platform currently, I will say YES to the original question.

[scorpiodsu]

Could you elaberate on what you mean by this?

Also, I have a POP3 (verizon) account and a hotmail account...am I going to see any major delays or differences in sending or receiving emails from those to accounts with an iphone vs. bb?

Since the iphone doesn't natively allow you to browse the system's memory you can't just select files and attach them to emails like you can with blackberry or Android. And you can't just save files from email attachments, only view them. Now this is all right out the box. Good thing is the workaround is just to download one of the apps (there are a lot) that lets you manage your files, save from email and web and send them via email. Things like pictures you can select in the photo app and send (5 at a time) via email. But if you have pdf files, word docs, etc.. you would want to download an app to manage your files. USB Disk is a good one to manage all file types that allows you to view files on your iphone. And there are others that allow for easy management of attachments a files.

So even though you can do everything you need with the addition of apps, I gave blackberry the edge there because it does it straight out the box, even if there are file size limits.

To answer your question..... you should see no differences between your yahoo and hotmail email.

[kazmi]

I just wanted to chime in here...I just switched over to the iphone last week after having used bb's since the days of the good ol blue trackwheel bb....Please don't think this is a bb vs iphone post...I really want people like me who want to switch from a bb to the iphone to understand the pros and cons....

You will need to jailbreak the iphone and then add quite a few apps from the get go to get the same level of options as an out-of-the-box blackberry.

Also, I had 6 email accounts configured on my bb (some were pop, some imap) and all were push with almost instant if not sooner than desktop inbox delivery. On the iphone, I can only configure 1 exchange account (since both my work emails - we have 2 divisions - use google apps domain email and the settings get rejected when you use m.google.com for both email servers.....

Some of the issues that a blackberry user will see:

• individual email signatures for each account - you will need an app
• intrusive pop-up notifications - you will need an app
• attachments (as mentioned above) in emails.
• no native solution for documents viewing/editing - need to buy Docs 2 Go to be able to do that
• no way to rotate a PDF document which you have received in an email - again, either you need an app or you turn the phone upside down!
• cannot flag an email for follow up later on - probably is an app for that but I have not found it
• ability to enter conference call info in the calendar for meetings so that the reminder has a 'join' icon
• no native Tasks app!!!!
• miss BBM

With that said, the OS is very fluid, with almost no lag...the virtual keyboard is excellent, and you do get used to typing on it pretty darn quick. The media side of things is where the iphone shines - be it web, twitter or even the google search app....and also, the apps!!! boy are there apps...there is probably an app for all the issues I have listed above but I have not found them yet!

Again, people need to really decide what they need from their device and then go for one or the other...both have their strong points/weaknesses.

[olliegrl]

i think it depends on what kind of emailing you're doing. i love it, but i'm only using my iphone for personal regular email use.

i think someone who needs to keep track of several account and needs those flagging and BBM obviously should stick with BB.

personally, i've never had an issue with attachments on iphone. i dare say it's better than my BBs i had.

[RetroAndreas]

I just wanted to chime in here...I just switched over to the iphone last week after having used bb's since the days of the good ol blue trackwheel bb....Please don't think this is a bb vs iphone post...I really want people like me who want to switch from a bb to the iphone to understand the pros and cons....

You will need to jailbreak the iphone and then add quite a few apps from the get go to get the same level of options as an out-of-the-box blackberry.

Also, I had 6 email accounts configured on my bb (some were pop, some imap) and all were push with almost instant if not sooner than desktop inbox delivery. On the iphone, I can only configure 1 exchange account (since both my work emails - we have 2 divisions - use google apps domain email and the settings get rejected when you use m.google.com for both email servers.....

Some of the issues that a blackberry user will see:

• individual email signatures for each account - you will need an app
• intrusive pop-up notifications - you will need an app
• attachments (as mentioned above) in emails.
• no native solution for documents viewing/editing - need to buy Docs 2 Go to be able to do that
• no way to rotate a PDF document which you have received in an email - again, either you need an app or you turn the phone upside down!
• cannot flag an email for follow up later on - probably is an app for that but I have not found it
• ability to enter conference call info in the calendar for meetings so that the reminder has a 'join' icon
• no native Tasks app!!!!
• miss BBM

With that said, the OS is very fluid, with almost no lag...the virtual keyboard is excellent, and you do get used to typing on it pretty darn quick. The media side of things is where the iphone shines - be it web, twitter or even the google search app....and also, the apps!!! boy are there apps...there is probably an app for all the issues I have listed above but I have not found them yet!

Again, people need to really decide what they need from their device and then go for one or the other...both have their strong points/weaknesses.

Great post and the reason I haven't switched to an iphone. I'm not interested in a device that has to be "jailbroken" to get the email/notification functionality that I expect/need. The media advantages are of less interest to me. Having said that I'm looking forward to see what iOS5 has to offer. I've been holding back on getting a new phone. Its the 9900 or iP4s and I'm getting impatient

[FuzzyB]

So based on the feedback so far, I would be far better off sticking with bb for my situation? Sounds like a PITA to get an iphone to do what I will want it to do with email...I guess I'm just like everyone else getting a little impatient with RIM.

thanks for all the replies so far by the way!

[scorpiodsu]

So based on the feedback so far, I would be far better off sticking with bb for my situation? Sounds like a PITA to get an iphone to do what I will want it to do with email...I guess I'm just like everyone else getting a little impatient with RIM.

thanks for all the replies so far by the way!

Yup it all depends on your needs. There are apps that basically give you all the functionality most users need but of course everyone is different. Just like I tell everyone, try it for yourself and see if it works for you. Honestly, we can only compare and contrast based on our experiences. But our experiences and how good or bad they were are based on our own specific needs. So no one can really tell you it would work for you, except you. There are plenty of people who switched without issue and others who didn't like it. So try it for yourself . Also we will see what iOS 5 has in store. Rumors are that Apple will be address email features, cloud sync, notifications and other system stuff.

[kazmi]

Just some more stuff here - it's not like you can't switch over, but there is a great deal of work and some expense involved to get the same functionality. A user a few posts above mentioned about how attachments are on par or better with the BB...I would partially agree - they open fine, but there is no way to save them or if you want to forward them without an office suite (which will run you $9.99 or more)...

I received this is as an early Father's Day gift so I HAVE to make it work lol....but one option that is out there is an app called boxcar...you configure each email address in that app, it generates a push email address which you forward a copy of your emails to...it pops up an instant notification of the email header....works really really well and gives the iP4 the same functionality in email as a bb....

[Miz.Michele]

I use a BB9700 and a 3GS. The main reason I have still kept my Berry is because of the email. I have 11 email accounts, 1 on work outlook and the mail handling is just better. So I use the BB for phone calls and and the iphone for phones calls too and everything else except mail.

[moonlessnight]

I've been thinking about jumping ship to the iPhone 4 on VZW (my Bold 9650 is forcing me to do constant battery pulls, up to three times daily for just taking a picture!) and I have three email address (all from gmail) attached to my Berry. Would I be able to do the same thing with the iPhone?

[scorpiodsu]

I've been thinking about jumping ship to the iPhone 4 on VZW (my Bold 9650 is forcing me to do constant battery pulls, up to three times daily for just taking a picture!) and I have three email address (all from gmail) attached to my Berry. Would I be able to do the same thing with the iPhone?

Yes

10char

[zwoof]

E-mail functionality is just as good with the iPhone as the Blackberry is.

[mark_rivers19]

having both an iphone and a BlackBerry Torch..i can say they're pretty much the same in terms of SPEED of getting them to YOU.

Nobody really waits for an email at 4:58pm for an Office that closes at 5:00PM.. everyday.. right?
the other members have already enumerated in detail the PRO's where the BB shines like the individual signature for each email account etc.

[FuzzyB]

Ok, so you guys are saying iPhone email out of the box may not be as good or broad as the bb...but with the proper apps it is possible to be as good or better? Opening and viewing files, attaching files and pics, etc and can you create signatures for your emails? I don't want to have to type out my sig every time, nor do I want the "sent from my iPhone" saying plastered on my emails.

I do a lot of business emails (send & receive) and count on my device very much to be prompt on responding to them. This is the one thing that I can't afford to take a step back with and until I get the entire scope of how this platform handles them I will have a problem pulling the trigger.

Will iOS 5 be any different?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[kazmi]

Ok, so you guys are saying iPhone email out of the box may not be as good or broad as the bb...but with the proper apps it is possible to be as good or better? Opening and viewing files, attaching files and pics, etc and can you create signatures for your emails? I don't want to have to type out my sig every time, nor do I want the "sent from my iPhone" saying plastered on my emails.

I do a lot of business emails (send & receive) and count on my device very much to be prompt on responding to them. This is the one thing that I can't afford to take a step back with and until I get the entire scope of how this platform handles them I will have a problem pulling the trigger.

Will iOS 5 be any different?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I honestly don't know what iOS5 will bring..I guess we will know once its out...but as for iOS4, yes, if you tweak the iphone then it will come close to doing email the way the BB does...

first, you will need to jailbreak it before anything else. This is a straight forward process...once you do that, you will need to set up your email accounts....you can set up the accounts as exchange accounts even though you don't have an office exchange server running....it works very well and gives you instant push...however, for those with multiple gmail accounts, beware that you will only be able to set up one gmail account as push...to counter that limitation, you need an app called boxcar...you set up the remaining accounts to forward a copy to a unique email address that the app provides you and that in a way gives you instant push email again...as for email signatures, you need an app called mail enhancer....that allows for different email sigs for each account...

Once you have done this, you do need 2 other things - one is a way to manage your notifications. Right now, the way its setup, every thing that you allow a push notification for will popup in the middle of whatever you are doing....i would suggest you try it first and if it seems too obtrusive, try notifier pro...that gives you android-like notifications and control...

the second is the lack of profiles - again, you can find an app (that I cannot remember the name of since I have not used it yet) that will let you set up different profiles...

As for attachment viewing, you can definitely view them natively on the iphone but again, without a file storage system, you cannot attach a file or save it anywhere...I got Docs to Go since I was used to it from my bb...that gives you the same word processing and pdf viewing capabilities....

sorry for the long post....just wanted everyone to know..

[FuzzyB]

Thanks kazmi, great info....so you need to jailbreak the device to accomplish these things? Does jailbreaking void any warranty on the phone? Is ther no way to do these things natively? What exactly does jail breaking do to your device? Sorry for the questions, but as many times as I've heard this term used, I am still not sure what this does to the device.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Branta]

Nobody really waits for an email at 4:58pm for an Office that closes at 5:00PM.. everyday.. right?

Who cares? Just get up and walk, it will arrive on your device when it arrives, and you can handle it when you feel like it. Be honest... unless it's notification of a raise you weren't going to read it until tomorrow anyway.

[kazmi]

Thanks kazmi, great info....so you need to jailbreak the device to accomplish these things? Does jailbreaking void any warranty on the phone? Is ther no way to do these things natively? What exactly does jail breaking do to your device? Sorry for the questions, but as many times as I've heard this term used, I am still not sure what this does to the device.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Yes, you will need to jailbreak the iphone to get all this functionality..basically jailbreaking unshackles the iphone from apple's control so to speak and gives you access to the internal files or ROM...now you are able to customize it and change the look of the home screen, add profiles etc... there are 2 main types - tethered and untethered (the former means you will need to plug in your phone to the pc/mac every time you restart to keep it jailbroken. The latter means you do not need to connect it to the pc every time you need to restart the phone - obviously you want the second one!)...the trick is to not update to every new iOS release and wait for a jailbreak to be available before doing so.

jailbreaking is not illegal and nor does it void your warranty...there was a whole legal case on this where it was finally determined that jb was not illegal....

Unfortunately, with iOS4, all of the things in my previous post are not possible natively...it seems like a lot but really takes not more than 30-45 mins to accomplish...the issue is that I couldn't find one single source where all was detailed this way...man do I miss crackberry and all the helpful how-tos etc...

feel free to ask away....IMO, there is only one way to know - to try it out and see if it suits your needs.

[FuzzyB]

Ok, one other question before I move on....my wife and I have a business together and share two email accounts that we both get on our blackberry's. One is a verizon POP3 account the other is hotmail.

If I were to get an iphone and she remains on blackberry, would we still have no email problems? For example, would opening an email on the iphone wipe the email from our computer server and/or her blackberry if the iphone email was opened first?