firdouss.com » comparision http://www.firdouss.com Random Sharing under the Sun Wed, 02 Jun 2010 05:43:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Blackberry, Nokia or iPhone? http://www.firdouss.com/2009/07/blackberry-nokia-or-iphone/ http://www.firdouss.com/2009/07/blackberry-nokia-or-iphone/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:04:38 +0000 Firdouss http://www.firdouss.com/?p=1416 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.

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