iphone v. blackberry v. ...?

[Chesapeake]

My wife and I both have decided we can't live no longer without no smartphone. It's mainly the email issue. People are getting upset with us because we can't see their email within 20 seconds of when they sent it. Leaving aside the philosophical question about what's so wrong with that, we've decided to roll over, get with the thing, go with the flow. Whatever.

We both like the iphone for the usual reason, the cool apps. But we're afraid we won't be able to get used to typing on a touch screen. Seems like that would be an even greater challenge than hunting and pecking on a keyboard built for mice. (The kind with four legs.)But maybe not. At least he [virtual] keys are bigger.

Anybody with an iphone who doesn't mind dealing with the touch screen?

[Marshall]

I'm happy with the touch screen. But I never tried a blackberry, so I know not of what you speak.

I don't type tons on the thing. But it works pretty easy for me. When you tilt it sideways (landscape) the screen keys get appropriately wider.

Loving the calendar function sync'd with my Google calendar. But you can probably do that with the Blackwater too.

[Cornflake]

All I know is my BlackBerry. It's hard to type on. That keeps my BlackBerry emails short and terse.

[Russell Letson]

We own RIM stock but not Apple. Go for the BlackBerry is what we say. (Retirement gets closer every day. . . .)

[aquaduct]

I don't like touch screens since they take 2 hands to operate and you've always got to be looking at them with no tactile reference.

I had a Blackberry for almost 3 years working in DC. It was flawless.

My daughter's had a iphone for about a year and she said she'll probably drop it since it's starting to do goofy things like freeze up and crash.

[Doug]

I'm hoping for at least 1 and maybe 2 more years before I'm forced into a smart phone. I don't even know how to text. I just make phone calls and very few of those. My phone showed 38 min last month and Chris' was under 200.

[Marshall]

There are Droid phones that should also be considered. I think you can get those in either texting types.


I don't know. It's a crap shoot. Whatever you get, you'll learn it and soon like it a lot. Whatever you don't get will seem convoluted and un-intuitive.

Ya pays your money. And ya takes your chances.

[mccoyblues]

I love my iPhone4. I've had no complaints with the touch screen.

The new Blackberry Torch has both. It's the hot new Blackberry and it's got plenty of apps to support it. Remember that a huge percentage of those iPhone apps are complete time wasters, no real productivity in any of them so don't be fooled with that 5 million apps crap they toss out.

My son has a Droid GalaxyS something or other and it's a really nice phone. Screen is bigger than the iPhone, very clear and bright, the apps do everything he needs then to do, plus some the iPhone can't.

The smart phone world is very crowded. You just have to go hands on in the stores to figure out which one offers the best pricing, applications and service for your area.

So these are my three recommended phones to consider.
iPhone4
Blackberry Torch
Samsung Captivate (named the Galaxy S at non AT&T carriers)

[Russell Letson]

But do these so-called smart phones have the crank that lets you alert the operator that you need to place a call? Eh? Do they?

I didn't think so.

We have bags and bags of empty tomato cans and lots of string. We're set for life.

[Deleted]

I have a Blackberry. I actually really like the iPhone - I've been an Apple guy for a long time - but I'm a complete klutz. Phones get dropped a lot in my possession. I have friends who have broken a number of iPhones...and there is no insurance. I have broken one Blackberry, and it was replaced for $15. If I had an iPhone, I'd be out hundreds of dollars by now.

[RickW]

Blackberries are also a lot tougher than iPhones. iPhones have a rep as being fragile. I have a Blackberry, with a touch screen, and I'm quite happy with it. But anything more than a terse answer on the email is not something I do regularly. The other thing is it ties me to my work. I have a good boss, but he knows he can send me an email just about any time in the evening or on weekends, and I'll answer it.

[Chesapeake]

Aug 30, 2010 15:29:00 GMT -5 Marshall said:

...I don't know. It's a crap shoot. Whatever you get, you'll learn it and soon like it a lot. Whatever you don't get will seem convoluted and un-intuitive....

Exactly.

Thanks for all the insights.

[omaha]

Aug 30, 2010 23:10:53 GMT -5 RickW said:

I have a good boss, but he knows he can send me an email just about any time in the evening or on weekends, and I'll answer it.

That goes a long way toward explaining why I don't have a smart phone.

Or a job, for that matter.

[t-bob]

I have both iPhone and Blackberry, prefer the iPhone. Just bought an iPad.

[Chesapeake]

t-bob: That's a pretty convincing argument for the iphone. Thanks.