subject: The Battle Of The Cell Phones: Iphone V Blackberry [print this page] The Apple iPhone is one of the best known smartphones in the world and ever since its 2007 debut it has become highly sought after amongst many different demographics. Research in Motion (RIM) has had comparable success with its range of BlackBerry smartphones and in many regions it continues to outsell Apple. If you are thinking of picking up either an iPhone or a BlackBerry handset, there are a few positive and negative aspects of each that you should take on board.
The iPhone is the king of mobile apps, as its App Store has nearly two hundred thousand games and applications on hand for you to download. This ranges from standard productivity apps and informative news apps which are free of charge, right up to premium games with full 3D graphics and advanced controls. The iPhone also has an unrivalled touchscreen interface. With a 3.5 inch display there is plenty of room to use your thumbs and fingers to interact with menus and browse the internet. Apple has also made a name for itself thanks to the innovative pinch-to-zoom function, which lets you use two fingers simultaneously to zoom in and out of web pages and other menus and applications.
The BlackBerry range is populated by a number of popular handsets occupying different price brackets. It is worth noting that even the top of the line BlackBerry Bold 9700 is still cheaper than the iPhone 3G S and it has a very different interface. Rather than relying on a touchscreen-only system, the Bold 9700 has a full physical QWERTY keypad. The reason for this is that BlackBerry devices are aimed at business users and messaging fans who want to be able to type out reams of text quickly and with great accuracy. Although touchscreen phones are beginning to approach the same kind of responsiveness offered by physical keypads, the BlackBerry is still ahead of the competition with its full QWERTY setup.
The BlackBerry that can be compared more directly with the iPhone from a technical point of view is the Storm2. This is a full touchscreen phone which ditches the traditional BlackBerry keypad in favour of a clean, modern look. Its screen is unique because it gives superior feedback thanks to four independent 'clickable' areas, which attempt to emulate the feel of a physical button. The slickly clunky screen of the original storm has been improved for the Storm2, although the iPhone is still more finger-friendly because its operating system is truly optimised for touchscreen displays.
The BlackBerry range is universally geared towards offering great messaging functions. The iPhone has the edge when it comes to web browsing, because its screen is larger and zooming in and out is easier. However, the BlackBerry range has ingratiated itself with the professional business people of the globe and this is because sending and receiving emails link to multiple work and personal accounts can be performed seamlessly. All BlackBerry handsets offer support for the likes of Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes, along with other popular webmail and POP-based push email services. In terms of app availability and multimedia playback the BlackBerry range is still lagging behind the iPhone, but only by a slim margin. Which one you choose will depend on how you respond to the positive and negative aspects of each.
