I am switching back and forth from the iPhone (different ones, 3G, 3GS) to Blackberries (8900, 9000, 9700), and it's always a hard love-hate relationship for me both ways.
I really don't feel into virtual keyboards, but with 9700 I am disappointed to find news about it's radiation levels.. and browser sucks badly (I can take that there are very little of apps, but browser!!!.. that really hurts, and Opera neither Bold don't help).
Email?.. Email is catching up on iPhone, and with combined inbox they introduced in iPhone OS 4 it's not a big deal for me (I am using developers' build of iPhone OS 4 Beta 3, and it's pretty good). Also, they do provide solid support of GMail/IMAP, so don't need "two-way-sync".
Battery life is nice on Blackberry..
Help me choose people! :-) What am I missing? Am I overlooking something in phones? Did you have your experience of switching from or to Blackberry from (to) iPhone? Regrets? Problems? After-story?
I am also disappointed that with iPhone I can travel internationally and check email/browse/use Internet wherever I have WiFi, but with Blackberry... Roaming + Wifi + BIS are required to enjoy email and browsing :-( That sucks.
Having just come from a 3G aside from what you have mentioned some of the things I am really liking about my 9700:
Customizable alerts for messages. It is nice to know by tone what type of message you received.
External visual indicator - that little flashing LED is one of my favorites, I can now glance at my phone and know if I have new messages waiting. (Rather than push button - unlock etc etc.)
So I think you really just need to decide what is important to you. Is it messaging, ability to customize? - Blackberry. If it is web browsing or anything media - iPhone.
+1 with both devices! My iphone contract is up in July and I'm trying to figure out whether to upgrade it or go another route. The 9800 slider sounds great. I find myself squinting @ my 9700's screen. Hmmm....
My buddy has an iPhone and he likes it for the web browser and games, but he's always complaining about the battery life and how there's no signal. I'm waiting for VZW to drop the 9650 before I jump to a Blackberry from my dumbphone.
It's not that I made the decision yet, that's why I am asking here if I missed something. Really wanted to hear from people who are heavy email/Web users (media like music is not that important, but camera/video is) who switched from 3GS to 9700 or vice versa. I just want to hear what the real pain from both camps :-)
Really, if I'd need to point one thing which worries me the most - it's the Web browser and BIS/BES (means even with WiFi - unless you have BIS/BES connection you are out of luck of going online). That's it.
As for the iPhone - I'd call the battery life, virtual keyboard and speed of email client.
Can I compare those things? Not really. That's why I'd rather learn what others had.
My iphone contract is up in July and I'm trying to figure out whether to upgrade it or go another route. The 9800 slider sounds great. I find myself squinting @ my 9700's screen. Hmmm....
