Why I chose the Blackberry Curve Over the Iphone

My first cell-phone was the original Sidekick and I was happy with it, text, e-mail, and the Internet were awesome. Then I slowly downgraded phones, from a RAZR to a ROKR to a nameless call and text only Samsung. Recently though, I  have arrived at a crossroad of sorts when deciding how to handle the end of my contract and the cro-magnon nature of my current phone. Additionally, I am beginning my career as an information professional and use technology to maximize my efficiency, communication, and to regularly check baseball.

It should be mentioned, that I have grown up a HUGE Apple computer fan. In school we used Apple IIs, at home I had a 33 MHZ Performa, then a first-gen imac, to an ibook, in high school I bought a cheap Apple Newton on ebay, and now I type away on my Intel-based Macbook, while listening to my ipod. I followed the 1st iphone release and followed the 2nd release more religiously, reading continuous live feeds. So why won’t I own the next iphone or even the old one?

Like all things, money is at the root but is not the final or most important factor. But I’ll begin with that. The cost of unlimited text, Internet, and a decent amount of talk-time on a cell-phone can range in monthly price depending on your provider. After doing a cost comparison with Billshrink- I found that an AT&T rate vs. the Tmobile rate (I know, no 3G) would be well over $500 more a year (3G isn’t worth that much). Now I could get the old iphone and hack it for use with Tmobile. However, the cost of picking up the old iphone can be outrageous, check Ebay. The new iphone that is being subsidized with a two year agreement at $199 is an eye-catcher, but the insane monthly rates keep me away.The Blackberry Curve comes to me at no cost and with a $50 rebate- so they pay me $50, give me a free high-end phone that retails on Ebay for over $300, and with a monthly plan that isn’t a rip-off. Additionally, the service that my friends have had with AT&T has been horrible, text messages and voicemail being received late and calls not ringing in.

Form, design, and coolness factor play a big part too! I’ve handled several iphones and ofcourse was dazzled by how smooth it looked and felt. Touchscreen is something I had to adjust to but it wasn’t a big deal. However, the iphone still feels oversized for my taste in cellphones. After handling the Curve it just-plain felt good in the hand, typing on a QWERTY keyboard and hearing a click-click-clack was natural and comfortable too.  While I like the iphone design and handling, my preference goes to the Blackberry. It’s lighter than the iphone, fits better in my pocket, and handles well. In the end, Blackberry has been making cellphones and PDAs for a long-time, comfort in use shows.

Functionality is an arena where the iphone is catching up and in some aspects may be beating out the Blackberry. I use a Macbook and know that syncing it to the iphone will be easier than with the Curve. The browser on the iphone is better because the screen is bigger, but the Curve gives you the option of their native browser or Opera. I don’t use Safari at home, sticking with Firefox and like options in browsing, as some websites handle better in different browsers (i.e. online classes in WebCT or Blackboard ). The important things though are already handled well by the Curve: baseball, Internet searching, text, e-mail, placing calls, office and PDF documents, etc. The Curve already has a slew of applications and modifications available for it as well.

Phew what a long rant …. I am not ruling out my possibility of getting an iphone in the future, 3rd generation or 4th. In all likely hood I will convert in time. As it stands, Tmobile and the Curve are priced better than AT&T and the iphone, and my preference in style and function is with the Curve.

Lastly, I am a man of conviction, and if I can avoid AT&T I will:

see here : http://theliskid.wordpress.com/2008/06/29/att-american-traitors-tricksters/

and here: http://theliskid.wordpress.com/2008/02/28/billboard-liberation-front/

oh and here: http://theliskid.wordpress.com/2008/02/13/what-the-government-doesnt-want-you-to-know/