My BlackBerry year – and why I’m back on iPhone
Posted By admin on January 18, 2012
Updated: Wed Dec. 28 2011 05:21:11 CTVNews.ca Staff
A year ago I received my first work phone: a BlackBerry.
Having been a first-generation iPhone adopter, the elusive straitlaced business phone had held some fascination for me.
Unwilling to give up my personal cell number, I put my iPhone on a cheap data-free plan and used it as a secondary phone for personal calls and my preferred method of texting.
“BlackBerry for work, iPhone for play,” I would say to anyone eye-balling my duelling smart phones side by side in their matching pink cases.
Yes, my first call to action for my BlackBerry was to buy it a pink case. It was just so bland looking. I felt like it belonged clipped to the belt of a middle-aged accountant. a pink case at least made it purse worthy.
I spent the next 12 months trying to love the gadget that put Waterloo, Ont., on the silicon map. Or maybe “love” is too strong. Respect? In any case, it didn’t happen for me. Just one day shy of a year, my inner iUser cracked and I gave back my BlackBerry, prompting me to reflect on the trials and triumphs of the cold war between these fruit-named gadgets. so here it goes.
BlackBerry Excels at Email
As a work device, BlackBerrys own the email field. When you hit send, the email sends. Period. There’s no spinning, spinning, spinning wheel followed by a jet-engine sounding ‘whoosh’ (that I suspect is actually a ‘Phew!’) like on the iPhone.
The seamless connection to my Exchange server was also a welcome change.
With nearly 1,000 emails landing in my inbox daily, I’ve come to accept that checking, deleting and filing emails while you are away from the office is the only way to get anything done at the office. My BlackBerry loyally cleaned up my inbox with ease.
Surfing seriously Sucks
But what if someone sent me an email with a link? the spinning wheel of death returns, but this time it’s a BlackBerry blue line forever inching across the word “Requesting” — and there’s no jet-engine whoosh when the page finally loads.
Really? more than a minute to open a basic webpage? Not impressed. But with a screen that size, who really wants to be browsing?
BBM BooYa
Okay, so surfing sucks. But who needs to surf when you have BlackBerry’s Messenger service, BBM?
All those years that I saw BlackBerry users dutifully tapping on their keyboard I never suspected they were simply exchanging ‘wazzups’ or gossip with co-workers via BBM. It looks so official.
After using BBM with some of my closer contacts I understood all the fuss. being able to know when a person has read your message, how long they take to respond and how long it takes to type is a true window into the human psyche.
Digital voyeurism? Maybe. Entertaining at times? Very. My BBM correspondence will be one of my most-missed features.
Apple Apps
I remember excitedly asking a BlackBerry aficionado about a list of the best apps. I think I even Googled it. the bland results ended with me downloading a safety driving app that promised to read out the dozens of emails I get during the 25 minute drive from my front door to my desk. It never made a peep once inside the car — not one email or text.
The only time the app made its presence known was when I would leave the car and in a big fake voice it would say it was now ‘TURNED OFF’. that joke got old after a few months and I deleted it. Or at least I thought I did. Now and then, after a reboot, the voice would come back to keep me on my toes.
Network Security Fears Passé?
Research in Motion’s airtight network security is what made their smart phones the first choice of businesses and governments alike. But, in a somewhat ironic twist of fate, BlackBerry’s superior security features are now becoming a source of strain. Last year, RIM was forced to make a deal with Saudi Arabia to install servers inside the country, in order to avoid a nation-wide ban. more recently, BBM came under fire for providing a secure and untraceable communication method for rioters in London to organize violent mobs.
On the Apple front, the initial fear that weak iPhone security features would result in corporate espionage has eased. as a result, more and more companies are beginning to embrace, or at least consider, using Apple phones as their business communication tool.
Not quite an iSaint
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am fully prepared to regret my decision to replace my work phone with my ‘fun’ phone. I even talked the tech guy into letting me hold onto my BlackBerry for a week or two during the “transition period.”
I am dead worried about what the massive influx of emails will do to my dear iPhone and its battery. and what about that spinning wheel of death? will the jet sound begin to grind on me again while I try to rapidly respond to multiple emails while chanting ‘send, send,’ and possibly holding the phone up to the sky at an odd angle hoping to expedite the process?
Ultimately, I worry that perhaps my love for my iPhone is rooted in the fact that it reminds me of play, not work. I can’t say I have bought many business-y apps. Not yet at least.
So, let the wheel spin. In my books, the fruit war has ended.
Comments are now closed for this story
JohnIf you are going to compare devices, it would make sense to compare the most recent devices. that Curve in the picture looks like a Blackberry 5 device at the latest. the issues you have raised about Blackberry do not exist on Blackberry 7 devices, in particular the flagship Bold 9900. you should try out that device before writing such simple articles.
RGI had a blackberry at work.I hated the fact everyone of the people working for the company thought they could phone , text me,message me etc at any moment ,expecting real time conversations.This as I drove around maintaining medical equipment at 15 different locations.I hated the useless browser that I looked to to get technical info.Try pushing those tiny buttons with big men sized fingers.Not to mention our employer used the location program embedded into the phone to constantly track the employees that were given these.Going as far a hiring one individual to check the phone info to match time sheets,work orders,etc.Spyphone.
k markhamHow can you really compare the two. the crapberry is rubbish when you eliminate the email. I had a Bleckberry for 3 years, I hated the keyboard and the thing is just boring. the iphone is so much better.
SteveTo the federal government employee complaining about his Blackberry being locked down – it was given to you as a work cellphone and email device, not a personal toy! I have two Blackberries and have no problems with them. they do what they’re supposed to do which is be a cellphone, email device, a bit of surfing, text/BBM and the odd misc. stuff. I’m sure iPhones are nice too, I own a Mac laptop – but I don’t get the constant Blackberry bashing.
Joanna in AlbertaI’m not the type of person to “keep up with the Jones” but after carefully researching phones I went with the Iphone4. I am so impressed that it does so much more then expected I can’t imagine ever giving it up. In fact my husband has an older talk/txt phone that he can’t seem to master but yet he has no problem on my iphone. so when that contract is up I suspect he’ll be switching to the iphone as well. a big thing with us and the BB was the size of the keypad. we both have large hands and I found txting difficult on the smaller key pads. My fingers fit perfectly on the iphones. In a way though it’s ironic that I swore I would never jump on this bandwagon but I’m enjoying the ride now.
SergeI used to use an iPhone and got fed up with trying to deal with e-mail. I switched to a Torch for a real keyboard and am delighted. Web is snappy, apps work well — surprised to hear the author couldn’t get DriveSafe.ly working, as the million-plus who have have made it a very popular app — and I will not be switching back.
FlashyI work with a Federal Government organization that must remain nameless. if you think the Blackberry is no fun as it is, try having one where the Fun Police have shut off access to BBM, the camera, texting, apps, games – everything but e-mail and a ridiculous, useless Intranet browser. I’ve grown to hate the thing over the seven years I’ve carried it in a variety of versions, each duller than the last.at home, Apple across the board keeps me sane!
MitchDavid, You’re working with software here. if you think that iPhones don’t have small glitches and bugs, you’ll be in for a surprise. the popular thing to do right now is call them features on the iPhone though. BlackBerry’s, Android Phones, and iPhones all have them, it’s a face of life. who the press focuses on more is what is important.
ColleenI agree we got 3 Blackberrys on the family plan to use while our daughter is away at university. we wanted to BBM each other and be able to see when messages have been delivered and read. I cannot wait for my contract to end with Telus for our 3 Blackberrys. I am saving up now for the iphones to pay outright so I am not stuck in another contract. Blackberrys are always having problems. Free apps dont entice me just fix the problems so they dont keep happening.
MurrayI “own” a Torch – actually, I borrow it between trips to the RIM repair place and when my contract’s up, so’s my berry……
Mike in ONThe author has failed miserably with this article. First off, by admitting that she was an early iPhone adopter, she is admitting a heavy bias towards that device to begin with, but when it became evident that the most important thing was to get a pink case, because it was ‘bland looking?’ seriously? It’s a PHONE. if you need your PHONE to be ‘pretty,’ well, you’ve already lost credibility on the subject, in my opinion.
DavidI currently own and use 2 Blackberry’s, they both constantly have small “glitches” and problems. I cant wait until my contracts are up and can switch to iphones!
<a href="http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111222/my-blackberry-year-and-why-I-want-an-iphone-111228/20111228/?hub=EdmontonHometag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111222/my-blackberry-year-and-why-I-want-an-iphone-111228/20111228/?hub=EdmontonHomeWed, 28 Dec 2011 14:20:17 GMT”>My BlackBerry year – and why I’m back on iPhone
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