Take two very similar devices that are selling today, put them up against each other, and you get BlackBerry Bold vs. iPhone 3G.
How do they match up?
The BlackBerry Bold is very well built, and should last as long as you would like it to, barring any kind of abuse on the light weight device.The iPhone 3G is also built very well, the inside engineering is great, the glass is precision-laser-cut, and it should be able to stand a bit more abuse than that of the BlackBerry.
How do they look?
The BlackBerry Bold looks very clean and sharp. The face is black, the sides are chrome, and the back is black leather. The layout of the phone is simple and easy to understand.
The iPhone 3G is undoubtedly a world icon as far as mobile phones go these days. The 3G comes in only two colors; black or white. Although the 3G appears small, most of the commonly used features are accessible.
The BlackBerry Bold is larger in size than the 8800, and is the largest in size since the 8700. The Bold may be a little much in one hand for some people, but the keyboard accounts for much of the space, and most likely, two hands will be used for the keyboard.
The iPhone 3G is slimmer, and easier to hold in one hand than the Bold, but obviously doesn’t have the larger keyboard.
The screen of the BlackBerry Bold is excellent. Graphics, content, videos, it all looks great on the Bold thanks to the dense ppi ratio.
The screen of the iPhone 3G is not far behind that of the Bold. Make entire use of the 3.5″ screen while not using the virtual keyboard. Web browsing, email, and videos all look great on the screen of the 3G.
The keyboard of the Bold is excellent. The look, the layout, and the feel of the keyboard is all good.
The keyboard of the iPhone is virtual, which may be nice to some people, but not so nice to others. If you are looking for the real feel of the keyboard then the virtual may not do.
How well do they operate?
Many people love the operating system of the BlackBerry, it does what it’s supposed to do, and users seem to find all of the tricks in which to get all of the usability out of it.
The operating system of the iPhone is said to be the most technologically advanced, out of any other mobile operating system in the world.
As far as general usage goes regarding battery life, the Bold seems to last a littel bit longer than that of the iPhone. You can probably expect to get the same usage out of the Bold battery, as that of any other BlackBerry.
The call quality of each phone seems to be very good, the iPhone might get the slightest edge as sounding a bit more natural than the Bold.
What about email?
On the iPhone reading email may be second to none, however, everything else even related to email is better on the BlackBerry. Using the keyboard on the BlackBerry makes working with email fast and easy. You might say that email on the BlackBerry is almost perfect?
How are these phones for business use?
The BlackBerry can handle anything that you would normally do from Outlook on your Exchange server, and it is a perfect desktop extension. The BlackBerry is said to be the most secure device in the world for business use.
The iPhone needs more testing with its security, the device deployment tools need some work, which leaves the iPhone with more to prove in the business world.
What can I expect to pay?
The BlackBerry Bold is somewhere in the range of $199-$299 with a 2 year contract, and the iPhone is $199 at 8GB and $299 at 16GB, so the pricing seems to be fairly equal between the two.
Which phone is better overall?
Really neither phone is that much better than the other. The Bold is the best BlackBerry up until now, and it is great for business use. The iPhone is a consumer device, and most of the original problems have already been addressed. It all comes down to what you like and what you really want in a phone. Each phone is great in its own right, so the battle really comes down to you, the consumer.
What do you think; BlackBerry Bold, or iPhone 3G?
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