Apple iPhone or BlackBerry Storm!? CAN'T DECIDE!!!

[DeeKay86]

Ok... A few things...

I went to Brent Cross today to have a play with the iPhone and Storm. Right...

iPhone Pros:

- Great build quality.
- Not bad contract.
- Unlimited Internet and Email.
- Multi-touch interface.
- Thousands of apps.
- iPod built in.
- WiFi.


iPhone Cons:

- Just a 2MP camera with no autofocus and no flash.
- Cannot replace the battery without Apple raping you for it!
- Can't upgrade memory.
- Hasnt got 'full' Bluetooth.
- No MMS at the moment.
- Software crashes.
- No feedback when typing.
- Cannot be tethered to a laptop for use as a 3G modem.
- Microsoft Exchange is 'tedious'.


BlackBerry Storm Pros:

- Changeable Battery.
- Click feedback when typing.
- Full QWERTY keyboard when in landscape mode.
- Can be tethered to a laptop for 3G mobile BB access.
- Good Contract deals.
- Full Bluetooth.
- Full MMS support.
- Unlimited Internet / Email etc.
- Boasts the backing of the leading business mobile manufacturer.
- Can be used with iTunes.
- Comes on Vodafone which has the 'best' coverage.
- Expandable memory (up to 32GB on microSD)
- 3.2MP camera with autofocus and flash.
- Syncs perfectly with Exchange etc.
- Good build quality.


BlackBerry Storm Cons:

- No WiFi.
- Small app store (at the moment).
- Interface isnt as 'smooth' as the iPhone's.
- Interface can seem a little 'buggy'!.



Can't think of what else right now!

But you get where I'm coming from when I say I can't decide.

I love the look and feel of the iPhone!! BUT the lack of some essential features is really putting me off, and I don't want to wait forever for an update!!

On the other hand, the Storm, after having a play today, just didnt hit the right spot!! It was great, but I guess I need a little more time with it to make my mind up.

Maybe I will just leave them both and stick with my N95 for now and keep track of how they're doing. Maybe even wait for the WiFi Storm that is rumoured already!

Another thing about the iPhone is that when the battery is screwed, you have to send it to Apple and I heard they charge a kidney to replace it!


I know there are many things I missed out, even though I feel I know so much about these damn phones having researched the hell out of them!

I just can't seem to make my mind up!

The contracts are also similar... so ermm..

HELP!!!!

 

[Bash]

Same boat mate! the thing that pushes me towards the Iphone is this - Interface isnt as 'smooth' as the iPhone's. I like how fluid apples products are.

 

[DeeKay86]

Same boat mate! the thing that pushes me towards the Iphone is this - Interface isnt as 'smooth' as the iPhone's. I like how fluid apples products are.

Yep!

Seriously, this whole decision making crap is messing with my head! Its all I have been thinking about for the past week and a half!

I have an N95 with unlimited Internet etc, BUT I am dying for one of these phones!

This is slowly driving me insane!!!!!

 

[Bash]

Yep, its been a decision I have been thinking about for the last few months. I wish I could just try both for a week as I really dont want to buy a phone and realise its the wrong one and Im stuck with it for 18 sodding months.

 

[DeeKay86]

Exactly! I even spoke to the voda guy about it! He was obviously biased, as was the o2 guy!

Arghhh!!

We are fooked!

 

[Bash]

yep; could be worse tho, we could go for t-mobiles offering http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/g1-with-google-phone/buy-now/?ref=panel1_g1offer (what a pice of crap!)

I might let a coin decide when my t-mobile contract runns out early next month.

 

[Tom]

Ok... A few things...

I went to Brent Cross today to have a play with the iPhone and Storm. Right...

iPhone Cons:

- Just a 2MP camera with no autofocus and no flash.

Its a weak point, but its not as bad as it seems.

- Cannot replace the battery without Apple raping you for it!

This isn't really a con as nobody has had problems

- Can't upgrade memory.

16gb not enough?

- Hasnt got 'full' Bluetooth.

Highly annoying big flaw

- No MMS at the moment.

Technically this is incorrect, i have MMS

- Software crashes.

I get one to two crashes a month, its normal for a smartphone to crash these days.

- No feedback when typing.

Not an issue with a decent amount of real world use.

- Cannot be tethered to a laptop for use as a 3G modem.

Again this is possible but requires a jailbreak

- Microsoft Exchange is 'tedious'.

Its a better system than BB

HELP!!!!

my thoughts..

 

[182-racing-blue]

I remember when ten pence was my best friend and phone boxes didn't smell of piss. I pitty you lot that can't sleep at night cos you can't decide what mobile communication device to buy.

I have an iPhone 3G and I love it. I don't think of it as a phone, more like a part of me. Like Cartman with his trapper-keeper 2000.

Mate of mine bought the blackberry on sat and took it back on sun, he is sticking with the 2g iPhone I sold him cos he isn't a techno freak like the rest of us.


I'd go for the iPhone, as long as you keep the camera lens clean the pics are fine. If you want to print pics from your phone 300dpi or higher then buy a dslr.


All opinions voiced above are solely from one man and that man is not forcing his opinions on anyone else.

 

[Fletcher]

I'd take the iphone over the storm.

 

[A2H GO]

iPhone FTW.

iPhone Cons:

- Just a 2MP camera with no autofocus and no flash.

More than ample, id rather have a 2mp camera with a top quality lense than a 3.2 mp with a s**t lense. Might as well get a digital camara if your bothered about better quality than the iphone

- Cannot replace the battery without Apple raping you for it!

Why would you ever need to....ive had one since the day they were launched and not had a problem, netiher has anyone i know. Plus you wont get charged withhin the normal 12month warrenty period if it did need changing anyway.

- Can't upgrade memory.

Unless your using it as an external hard drive for your PC 16gb is plenty.Plus if you fill the storms 32gb expandable memory i can promise you it will be slow as s**t,lol.

- Hasnt got 'full' Bluetooth.

Not needed when you have unlimited internet to send anything you want by email but can still be used to hookup to in car hand free etc.

- No MMS at the moment.

3rd party MMS works fine also apple to launch their own shortly

- Software crashes.

You dont think the storm will do this?

- No feedback when typing.

You can turn the click on/off when typing, i have mine off as its really annoying after prolonged use.

- Cannot be tethered to a laptop for use as a 3G modem.

Not true

- Microsoft Exchange is 'tedious'.

How hard can clickin 'sync' be.....


Also the iPhone switches to full qwerty keybord when in Safari/Emails when rotated. Plus the fact the storm has no wi-fi is a joke.

 

[DeeKay86]

iPhone FTW.

iPhone Cons:

- Just a 2MP camera with no autofocus and no flash.

More than ample, id rather have a 2mp camera with a top quality lense than a 3.2 mp with a s**t lense. Might as well get a digital camara if your bothered about better quality than the iphone

Was just comparing the two, thats all. Wasnt going to go on a photo spree or anything. Just comparing stats.


- Cannot replace the battery without Apple raping you for it!

Why would you ever need to....ive had one since the day they were launched and not had a problem, netiher has anyone i know. Plus you wont get charged withhin the normal 12month warrenty period if it did need changing anyway.

True, I know, but I know some people who carry a 'spare' battery for when the one they use, dies. And after reading that the iPhones 3G connection drains the battery fast, this isnt a possibility.



- Can't upgrade memory.

Unless your using it as an external hard drive for your PC 16gb is plenty.Plus if you fill the storms 32gb expandable memory i can promise you it will be slow as s**t,lol.

I know 16GB is plenty, wasnt going to use the iPhone as an external HDD or even an iPod for that matter as I have 2TB of storage at home and have a 120GB iPod. Was just stating the differences again. Still, not arguing with you, your point is valid.


- Hasnt got 'full' Bluetooth.

Not needed when you have unlimited internet to send anything you want by email but can still be used to hookup to in car hand free etc.

Ok, this bluetooth issue I believe can not be defended. I mean, not having 'full' bluetooth really is pathetic. Hpow many of your friends actually go home and put their pics and vids from their phones to their PC and email anyways? A few I guess, not many. The whole point of this was sharing files via bluetooth on the go.


- No MMS at the moment.

3rd party MMS works fine also apple to launch their own shortly

Sounds good, thanks


- Software crashes.

You dont think the storm will do this?

I'm sure it will, though it hasnt been out long enough yet for us to find out. We shall wait and see, we both know that you will be proven correct though. The reason I mentioned it about the iPhone was because it comes up a lot in reviews.


- No feedback when typing.

You can turn the click on/off when typing, i have mine off as its really annoying after prolonged use.

Hearing a 'click' sound when typing is, in my opinion, not in the same league as the Storms actual 'button' type feedback. I need to try both again to see which I prefer. I guess they both take some getting used to.


- Cannot be tethered to a laptop for use as a 3G modem.

Not true

Every review I read says it cannot be tethered and be used as a mobile broadband modem. I guess youre talking abot iPhones with jailbreak!! I am going on official specs. I dont know much about jailbreak, but will look in to it. Most devices can be made to do almost anything these days with cracking and hacking...


- Microsoft Exchange is 'tedious'.

How hard can clickin 'sync' be.....

A friend of mine had his sync'd with our MS exchange and he had to fill in password details etc EVERY TIME he logged in to it. I believe this isnt the case with BlackBerrys, as they just update on the fly and in real time. Still, could be talking out of my ass on this one!


Also the iPhone switches to full qwerty keybord when in Safari/Emails when rotated. Plus the fact the storm has no wi-fi is a joke.

I know the Storm has no WiFi, yes, it sucks in that respect. To myself, doesnt matter much. I know the iPhone has free access to hotspots etc, which is great with fast speeds etc, would be a nice feature on the Storm, but I dont think it will really make that much difference to me as the Storm comes with unlimited internet etc (though it capped to 500MB, which 'should' be enough)

 

[sneeks]

You could always buy a portable battery charging pack for the iPhone in place of a spare battery.

 

[A2H GO]

DeeKay86, i don't mean to slate the the Storm at all, im sure its i brill phone and cant comment as ive never used one, plus i sold my iPhone on here not long ago so im trying not to give a biased opinion.

I suppose its all down to personal preferance at the end of the say, i love apple products and am willing to pay that bit extra over apples competitors that have just as good if not better products, simply for how they mould into your lifesyle so easily. You never have to read an insrtuction manual to learn how to use an apple product as there just so fluid and user friendly. Some of the little touch's that probs arent worth mentioning on here just make it so easy to live with day to day.

 

[172Ben]

You will be surprised at how slow it isnt when you have a 32gb card in one.

 

[DH_GTI]

i have had my iphone 3g since it came out also had the 2g befour. and both are great phones i was in london last weekend and got a bit lost so looked on gps/maps. and was amazed how good it was, found my tube station easy.

 

[Initiale]

- Microsoft Exchange is 'tedious'.

How hard can clickin 'sync' be.....

A friend of mine had his sync'd with our MS exchange and he had to fill in password details etc EVERY TIME he logged in to it. I believe this isnt the case with BlackBerrys, as they just update on the fly and in real time. Still, could be talking out of my ass on this one!


Also the iPhone switches to full qwerty keybord when in Safari/Emails when rotated. Plus the fact the storm has no wi-fi is a joke.

I know the Storm has no WiFi, yes, it sucks in that respect. To myself, doesnt matter much. I know the iPhone has free access to hotspots etc, which is great with fast speeds etc, would be a nice feature on the Storm, but I dont think it will really make that much difference to me as the Storm comes with unlimited internet etc (though it capped to 500MB, which 'should' be enough)

The new software release on the iPhone seems to have made email a bit more reliable. Now mine refreshes from the server as soon as I open the mail app, don't have to click on the sync button or rely on it push/fetching.

Blackberry is probably more reliable because their servers sync with your Exchange and then push out to your BB - it's not secure, they have access to all your email, and if the Blackberry servers go down, then so does your BB mail service.

On the iPhone, the screen only rotates in Safari and not in Mail (which is a PITA).

 

[DeeKay86]

The new software release on the iPhone seems to have made email a bit more reliable. Now mine refreshes from the server as soon as I open the mail app, don't have to click on the sync button or rely on it push/fetching.

Blackberry is probably more reliable because their servers sync with your Exchange and then push out to your BB - it's not secure, they have access to all your email, and if the Blackberry servers go down, then so does your BB mail service.

On the iPhone, the screen only rotates in Safari and not in Mail (which is a PITA).

Cheers for that!!!

Why couldnt they make it rotate to full QWERTY for texting as well!?

How often do the BB servers go down?

 

[DeeKay86]

DeeKay86, i don't mean to slate the the Storm at all, im sure its i brill phone and cant comment as ive never used one, plus i sold my iPhone on here not long ago so im trying not to give a biased opinion.

I suppose its all down to personal preferance at the end of the say, i love apple products and am willing to pay that bit extra over apples competitors that have just as good if not better products, simply for how they mould into your lifesyle so easily. You never have to read an insrtuction manual to learn how to use an apple product as there just so fluid and user friendly. Some of the little touch's that probs arent worth mentioning on here just make it so easy to live with day to day.

Hey matey,

Don't get me wrong, I really want an iPhone, but something keeps nudging me towards a Storm. I just can't decide and its bugging the hell out of me!!

Its like, if I get one, I lose out on something, and if I get the other, same story. So annoying!!!

Thanks for the info

 

[DeeKay86]

Lots and LOTS of info on te iPhone 3G in ALL THESE REVIEW PAGES:

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=2145&pn=1

very handy!

edit:

here is a software review for the iPhone 3G

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?ReviewID=2288

 

[DeeKay86]

Storm REVIEW - HUGE FROM SAME SITE

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=107349

 

[The Hoff]

Jesus, there's been some utter BS said in this thread. On my iPhone now, but I'll pop back later and clear up the Exchange/BES details.

 

[DeeKay86]

Jesus, there's been some utter BS said in this thread. On my iPhone now, but I'll pop back later and clear up the Exchange/BES details.

Looking forward to it, thanks.

 

[sneeks]

- Microsoft Exchange is 'tedious'.

How hard can clickin 'sync' be.....

A friend of mine had his sync'd with our MS exchange and he had to fill in password details etc EVERY TIME he logged in to it. I believe this isnt the case with BlackBerrys, as they just update on the fly and in real time. Still, could be talking out of my ass on this one!

Once Exchange is setup correctly it works automatically without any need to enter a password. Push email also works perfectly alerting me to email messages immediately and without any need of launching the Mail app. It also updates the iPhone read/unread status instantly if I happen to open the email on my PC rather than the iPhone.

 

[DeeKay86]

Once Exchange is setup correctly it works automatically without any need to enter a password. Push email also works perfectly alerting me to email messages immediately and without any need of launching the Mail app. It also updates the iPhone read/unread status instantly if I happen to open the email on my PC rather than the iPhone.

That sounds fookin' excellent!!! Thats what I want.

I was under the impression that you have to push to check mail, and it won't just 'stay on and alert' the way a BlackBerry does. I guess I was wrong?

 

[sneeks]

No Push email is exactly that, when the email server receives a new message it is automatically pushed to the handset without the need to manually/periodically check for messages.

Prior to v2.0 firmware Push was not an option.

Apple's own MobileMe serive is a bit patchy but I've had no issues with Exchange or a Interways email gateway.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

- Cannot replace the battery without Apple raping you for it!

As I understand it, if you have a battery problem, Apple will replace it free of charge within your contract period. That's what I was told by a couple of people from O2... But then they are the telecom equivalent to Halfords when it comes to knowledge imo.

Anyway. Yes the battery life is bad. I leave 3G on and it won't last more than a whole day (if I don't charge it every night then it more than likely won't last the next day).

That in itself is bad, but I'm told if you turn off 3G then it gets much better, I just prefer to have 3G on and charge it every night though tbh.

 

[DeeKay86]

As I understand it, if you have a battery problem, Apple will replace it free of charge within your contract period. That's what I was told by a couple of people from O2... But then they are the telecom equivalent to Halfords when it comes to knowledge imo.

Anyway. Yes the battery life is bad. I leave 3G on and it won't last more than a whole day (if I don't charge it every night then it more than likely won't last the next day).

That in itself is bad, but I'm told if you turn off 3G then it gets much better, I just prefer to have 3G on and charge it every night though tbh.

Hmmm alrighty. I agree that o2 is the Halfrauds equivalent!! Haha!!

I have an N95 and I charge that more than once a day!! I guess I can put up with the iphone then!!

(I use my phone WAY too much tbh!)

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

If you spend any amount of time in the car day to day. Just get a car cradle and you're sorted tbh.

 

[sneeks]

My iPhone will last 4 hours of actual usage per day including web browsing, phone calls, texting, iPod playback and push email activated. No worse than any Nokia handset I previously owned.

 

[DeeKay86]

My iPhone will last 4 hours of actual usage per day including web browsing, phone calls, texting, iPod playback and push email activated. No worse than any Nokia handset I previously owned.

Sounds about right TBH!!

Fook me I am suddenly leaning towards the iPhone, even though it doesnt have proper bluetooth! arghhh

 

[sneeks]

Wifi and location services are all left active too, I never disable any of them.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

I only enable Wifi when I want to use it, and disabled Push because gmail doesn't support it.

Noticed battery life go up greatly when I disabled wifi.

 

[DeeKay86]

Any difference between 8GB iPhone and 16GB apart from the amount of memory??

 

[sneeks]

No they are identical.