Blackberry, Nokia or iPhone?
Recently, I moved to OSX with my recent ownership of a midrange 13″ MacBook (love the aluminum unibody!). However, due to this move (business requirements), I am facing severe problems in regard to my Blackberry Bold usage:
- Unable to tether properly, unless I choose to downgrade the OS from .247 to pre-.190, which means I will face some buggy video capability, a lot more crashes and significantly reduced battery life.
- I am unable to configure sync between my Blackberry and my MacBook even though I’m using the supplied software, regardless of the old or the new version. The only way I manage to fix this is by relying on Google Sync
While these two might not be very critical, but they are like a sting at the back of my head because it always bothers me, especially the tethering issue because I do need to go online at odd locations sometimes to do some stuff. Sure, Blackberry have excellent (orgasmic) email capabilities that are unmatched by any other mobile phones out there, but it defeats the purpose of me subscribing to an unlimited data plan if I can’t tether.
So to help me decide which direction I should go with, I am listing every phone’s pros and cons right here.
Before I proceed, please take note the following:
- I am subscribed with Celcom Power188 plan (which includes RM143 worth of calls/sms, unlimited 3.6mbps 3G data access, and also subscribed to BlackBerry Unlimited Service (BES) for RM38/month) totaling to about RM226/month. Trust me, my phone usage for calls/sms alone will hit that much, so this package is a bargain for me, considering separate 3.6mbps unlimited data plan is already RM98/month, and same goes for BlackBerry Unlimited Service (BES) which is also priced at RM98/month. I am subscribed to Celcom in case you’re wondering.
- I surf the web A LOT through my mobile. It’s good to kill time, quick research and some information gathering to make me look smarter in front of my clients, who seems to have unlimited supply of knowledge out of thin air. Gotta stay competent you know?
- I would need GPS usage occasionally.
- I want a decent camera on a phone that I can happily abuse like nobody’s business. At times taking a snapshot of a document is way more convenient than photocopying!
- I would prefer a QWERTY keyboard
So with these ideas and cost in mind, let’s see how it will fare between these three phones:
| Criteria | BlackBerry Bold | Nokia E71 | iPhone 3G (16GB) | iPhone 3GS (16GB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost Difference | RM 0.00 | RM 0.00 | + RM 1,000.00 | + RM 1,300.00 |
| Display | 2.6″ 480×320 65k colors | 2.3″ 320×240 16M colors | 3.5″ 320×480 16M colors | |
| Input Method | QWERTY, Trackball, 2 Side Keys | QWERTY, D-Pad | Multi-Touch Screen | |
| Internal Memory | 1GB + MicroSD | 110MB + MicroSD | 16GB Shared | |
| Max Data Rate | 3.6mbps 3G | 7.2mbps 3G | ||
| Camera | 2.0MP Fixed-Focus | 3.2MP AutoFocus | 2.0MP Fixed-Focus | 3.0MP AutoFocus |
| Video | Yes, 15fps mp4 | Yes, 15fps mp4 | No | Yes, 30fps |
| Camera Flash | Yes, LED | No | ||
| CPU | 624Mhz | 369Mhz | 412Mhz | 600Mhz |
| GPU | No | PowerVR MBX-Lite | PowerVR SGX | |
| RAM | 128MB | 256MB | ||
| Connectivity | Bluetooth, WiFi b/g, mini-USB | Bluetooth, WiFi b/g, Dock Connector | ||
| Audio Jack | 3.5mm | 2.5mm | 3.5mm | |
| Operating System | BlackBerryOS | Symbian S60v3 FP2 | Stripped-down OSX | |
| JAVA Support | Yes | No | ||
| Apps (Platform) | Push Email, SMS, MMS, Organizer, GPS | Email, SMS, MMS, Organizer, GPS | iPod, Email, SMS, MMS, Calendar, GPS | iPod, Email, SMS, MMS, Calendar, GPS, Compass |
| Apps (Others) | Downloadable, BlackBerry Java Format. Always-on, pushed Instant Messaging | Downloadable, SIS/SISX, Java Format | Downloadable, AppStore/3rd Party | |
| GPS App | BBMaps, Google Maps, Payware for Voice | Nokia Maps (Pay for Voice), Garmin (Payware) | Google Maps, no Voice | Google Maps, no Voice, Directional indicator via Compass |
| Entertainment | Photo, Video, Music, Limited Games | Photo, Video, Music, Games | Photo, Video, Music, Tons of Games | |
| Format Support | MP3 WMA AAC+ DivX WMV XviD 3GP | WMV RV MP4 3GP MP3 WMA WAV RA AAC M4A | iTunes Format (needs Conversion) | |
| Push Capability | Yes. via BES @RM38/month | No | Yes. via MobileMe SGD$140/year | |
| MS Exchange Support | Yes, require BES License | Yes, via Mail4Exchange | Yes, Out of the Box | |
| Weight | 133g | 127g | 133g | 135g |
| Battery | 5h Talk, 310h Standby, 12h Music | 4h 30m Talk, 480h Standby, 18h Music | 10h Talk, 300h Standby, 24h Music | 12h Talk, 300h Standby, 30h Music |
| Others | Voice Commands, Voice Dial, Light Sensor | Voice Dial, Light Sensor, Front VGA Camera, Photo Editor | Accelerometer, Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Photo Editor | Accelerometer, Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Compass, Voice Commands, Video Editor, Photo Editor |
| Monthly Commitment | RM 226.00 | RM 188.00 | RM 217.00 | |
| Sync | Impossible | iSync | iTunes | |
| OTA Sync | Yes, Google Sync or BES | Yes, Exchange | Yes, MobileMe/Exchange | |
Note: Cost difference is taking into account the price of my used BlackBerry Bold, to offset the total purchase cost of the other phones.
So guys, what do you think I should do? I am very inclined towards iPhone 3GS, especially with its debut this mid-July officially in Malaysia.
Oh, and I appreciate if you could give opinion on devices that you have experienced. I have experienced BlackBerry Bold, Nokia E71 (my pop is using it), and first-generation iPhone.
Ross, if its just on paper specs, I think the iPhone 3G S blows away the competition. That is of course, if you also have the time to scour for the apps from iStore (and pay for them, as well as other 3rd party stores)
However, my thoughts are very much inclined towards any possible workarounds with your original blackberry. Maybe there is one, I mean I’m sure you’ll find a more viable alternative.
What about the E75? About the same as the E71, but with a bigger keyboard, since it slides out. I have the Iphone (2g :P) and while I like the simplicity, it is sometimes too simple for me. Nevertheless, it is still the best touch screen out there.
Not sure if its exactly the best phone. Battery life sucks btw, but thats for mine. Not sure about the 3Gs.
iPhone 2G battery life was excellent for me. Last 2-3 days on average (with my surfing and molesting)
I didn’t mention flagship phones from Nokia like E75 or N96 mainly because I am not a big fan of slide/flip phones. They’re annoying, and prone to break due to the moving mechanism.
Badi: I am through with “finding solutions” and spending 16 hours googling and setting something up. I don’t have the time and patience anymore!
Ross, at this point I think that E71 isn’t worth being in the list (albeit it does get the job done). Methinks that if you’re going to stick to getting a new phone, I think an iPhone 3G S will do the trick. About the pic part, i’m not so sure, because all I know is that 2.0 megapixel cams are good enough to snapshot some documents (at least in good lighting conditions), taking my experience handling a 6630 and N70 without flash.
And not to mention iPhone works better with your Mac, no?
iPhone definitely works best with a Mac. It SHOULD be at least.
I don’t understand why Nokia E71 shouldn’t be in the list. It’s an amazingly good phone. Feels very iPhone-ish though, with that chrome back cover a-la iPod Touch, and super solid feel since it’s so thin. Why did you say it shouldn’t be in the list?
Iphone 3gS for now. That’s until some other phone companies tiru/mimicking them, and proves to be better! FTL!
Hi Ross.
I think that the E71 shouldn’t be in the list because on paper itself, it is outclassed by Blackberry Bold and the iPhone 3G S (with exception of weight, cost and media formats supported, but I think either a Blackberry or iPhone has workarounds to fix this) in almost every way (except for aesthetics that is).
From my experience and feedback (btw, I just jumped to the Sony Ericson bandwagon after being very frustated with Nokia) the most irritating part about Nokia based handphones is that the moment the hardware becomes problematic, it is very hard to identify and rectify the issue. And for some weird reason, many of the complaints that I’ve received is that it becomes a recurring issue. But at the very least, from verbal accounts, there aren’t many who encounter recurring hardware issues for a Blackberry user nor from an iPhone user (with exception of Jailbreaking related issues)
The only good thing that i can think about iphone is that it gives you the best web browsing experience, bar none. But if you’re an email/sms junkie, no touch screen device on earth will ever being close to what you had with Bold.
But if you’re fixated on E71, might as well go for E72. Better camera (here crossing my fingers!), faster processor slightly upgraded OS and oh, it has an optical trackpad to boot.
HTC has a WinMo qwerty phone coming soon, called Snap. comes with a trackball. Not as fancy as the Bold or E series though.
It’s 2009 and we still can’t get a decent non-BB qwerty phone with a high res display. :(
I using all phone above before…
My favorite will be E71 so far….
Why? It the only single solid phone that seldom hang on me. And it battery life is good.
The only Nokia phone that get my praise (trust the guy who own the mobilephone business), stay away from N97…it suck.
My comment:
If you need a real phone that have one of the best typing feel and GPS Garmin/Google Map -> E71
If you need a rich media device -> iphone 3GS. You should have let me know earlier, i just sold off my 32GB australia iphone 3GS.
My main complain about iphone 3GS is battery life and heat issue. I use Google Map (super accurate with electronic compass) for 1 hour driving and the phone back cover is hot and batt down 20%….
And typing on iphone is just weird. Can’t type as fast on E71.
Blackberry? That is one ISP centric phone…not much app there yet. And a bit unstable when you have lot of sms/email in memory.