Another Round Of iPhone Or BlackBerry

AC
#1. March 19th, 2008, at 8:43 PM.

I was all set to write that this was indicative of the sad state of the smartphone in North America, then I remembered that Palm and WinMo handsets also do pretty well here.

I think that for the rank and file BlackBerries are synonymous with mobile email (and rightly so), while the iPhone still has that fanboy hysteria behind it.

crazylegs
#2. March 19th, 2008, at 10:43 PM.

YES! these platforms are the only ones anyone talks about because they are the only ones that deliver true value to the end user. kind of funny that they both basically have the same biz model of device plus carrier fee as RIM offers a service while apple just gets paid for coolness.

it’s obvious that iphone is light years ahead of any other mobile platform given a desktop class OS. you think anyone anytime soon will match it software-wise? they are delivering an excellent mobile browser experience, which is something the other mobile platforms do not and have not. in time they may, but for now iPhone is there and moving forward. their “business” strategy is targeted at “mass” market businesses. i.e many of the thousands and thousands of small and mid sized businesses that care less about security and wireless IT control features and more about usability. give them basic exchange (and ultimately lotus) interoperability and some wireless IT tools and you’ve just tapped into a huge market. so, yes, iPhone will be gigantic.

as far as RIM goes, well, the first time you get a Blackberry and the emails just start pouring in, you shake your head and wonder how the heck they deliver emails so fast. that feeling of connection their system provides is just different from any other. i think their system is best characterized as a very basic, very stable, network agnostic technology that actually delivers information (not an “active” sync that wastes electrons and burns battery) to the device. note the infrequent outages occur when they are tweaking the system, and even then, they get it up running very quickly (again, basic core technology) i have tried them all, and there’s a reason the crackberry just sticks. the company has been pounding the pavement adding new networks and countries. as of now they are up to about 120 countries and over 400 networks. watch their earnings on April 2 I bet there will be fireworks. their platform is simply flourishing.

Both platforms will experience tremendous growth over the coming years as the world will see a huge shift to “smart” phones that do more than just make calls and text. consumer/end user choice is excellent, people will love both for different reasons. to put it in perspective, china mobile just announced they will add 80 million subs this year. when iPhone will sell over 10 mln and RIM will sell about 20 million devices this year, that gets me excited about the future size of the total market. disclosure: obviously own stock in both - have for a while and will for a while. arguing over which one is better is a fools errand. peace.

Thought
#3. March 19th, 2008, at 10:48 PM.

Great question, Robb. I’d say the answer is clearly “yes”…for now the BB and the iPhone rule…with the BB having the advantage in the business market, and the iPhone having the advantage in the consumer market.

What other alternatives are there? Windows Mobile? I know Windows Mobile must have fans out there, but I never seem to come across one. WM just flat out sucks and people know that. Most who own a WM phone do so because of the phone and it just happened to come with WM, not necessarily for WM itself. They are just kind of stuck with it.

I know Nokia has a following among smartphones as well, but not so much in the US, and I think most of the readers of this blog are in the US.

SKhan
#4. March 20th, 2008, at 8:28 AM.

I am one of the all time biggest fan of BlackBerry 8300, its has an incredible features, including a camera, BlackBerry Maps, a media player, expandable memory, Voice-Activated Dialing, tethered modem and trackball navigation. Plus you get all the core functionality you’ve come to expect in a BlackBerry smartphone, email and text messaging, instant messaging. What else one can think of. Complete professional pack!!

Lance G.
#5. March 20th, 2008, at 8:34 AM.

One thing I know is that the Blackberry will continue to dominate. Regardless of how many new smartphones or technology comes to compete. I’ve had wm phones, razors, all sidekicks, palm, etc.
I’ve even had a blackberry before and didn’t understand it’s ful potential at the time until i got the pearl and i’ve since, upgraded to the curve 8320. I myself, will cheat on my wife before i cheat on blackberry.
The features are limitless. What other phone besides wm(sucks) can really download all different sorts of apps like a desktop??? I’m quite confident that blackberry will continue to reign supreme.
Sorry if anyone disagrees with me, but that’s why the world should be more like me:) The Iphone is attractive to the eye but once you run out of features and options…….well you know the rest. We are like kids and these smartphones are our toys. What do kids do when they get tired of a toy?
How many websites like this are up to support iphones? The blackberry community has many sites to reference and social networking also. Its like a brotherhood. Yes, I’m a Crackberry Addict…..The tried to make me go to rehab, But I said NO, NO, NO….lol

bluehorseshoe
#6. March 20th, 2008, at 12:53 PM.

Each has distinct advantages. The iPhone has the best browser out there and if they added a physical keyboard to the mix, along with a swapable battery, and 3G capability (perhaps a different carrier?), then it really would be hard to resist.

However…

The BB however gives me what I really need and look for…fast email, security, and flexability regarding the carrier. At this time, I’d choose the BB.

I think part of Apple’s problem is that they have the iPod out there and sold so many. If I wanted to listen to music or watch a movie, I’d just pull out my iPod. It’s so small it’s not a big issue to toss it in my bag. But if Apple never had the iPod out there…then I’d have to think about this decision and decide which/what is more important to me. Flash or Need? Hmmm…

Wifiguy
#7. March 23rd, 2008, at 2:17 AM.

Certainly folks lobe there Blackberries now but as everyone gets in on the push email fun, push email will turn into a commodity product. Blackberry can’t afford to do what Palm did and rest on there laurels. They must innovate. Blackberry will do great in the goverment segment because of there great rep for secuirity. But there stock price will depend on how many consumer want Blackberries over phones.