That is, until I purchased an iPhone last summer and joined the ranks of the Apple crazies outside our AT&T store.
It took awhile for the iPhone 3G craze (and technology) to hit northern Michigan, but when it did last summer, I found myself standing in line outside the closest AT&T Wireless store an hour before opening. I was such a geek. And, I was one of 15 lucky ones that day to get a 16 GB iPhone 3G. Granted it was white when I wanted black, but it was an iPhone 3G and I was getting one! I did my homework so studiously the weeks leading up to my purchase, that I felt like it was THE phone for me.As each AT&T shopper gloriously came out of the storefront with their new iPhone we'd clap and cheer. It was almost like Christmas morning. Except dorky.
Out of all the features the iPhone had to offer, I was most interested in the Google Mapping (GPS) and push email application. I had a trip to make down to northern Indiana for a girlfriend's wedding the weekend after my purchase, and I was looking forward to stretching the iPhone's GPS legs. Any of you that grew up in the Midwest know all about country roads and the winding paths they can lead you on, right? That was no problem for me - I had my iPhone! Did I print out a Google map or MapQuest map before making the trip? No way! I grew up here and I knew my way around, and if I figured the iPhone would save me if I got off track. After all, it had GPS.The Google Mapping application worked great. I plugged in my starting and ending address, and the map magically plotted my course. Funny thing about those county roads. They often end and then restart across town. My GPS took me on a wonderful sight seeing journey through the country and places I didn't remember back in the day; then it took me to a dead end. Turns out Google Maps didn't account for the country road dead ending. We were about an hour and a half late for the wedding and got directions from a non-Hoosier native at a Clark station who had a really bad accent. But the accent got us to the other end of the country road so...
On to the iPhone's email program - I have six email accounts that I check constantly and it's important for me to be able to check email seamlessly, especially on a device that I have paid several hundred dollars for and signed a contract for well, a LONG time. To my dismay, I found that the push email wasn't working smoothly.
In fact, it would hang up constantly. I got so sick of seeing the "checking for email" message for minutes on end, I stopped relying on the iPhone for email.Oh Safari, Safari, Safari. During the 2008 presidential election, I came to rely on my iPhone's Safari browser to stay current on all things election when at home. It seemed as soon as I would really get into an online article, BAM! Safari would shut down without notice. Talk about frustrating - especially if the article you were reading was linked to after jumping through hoops from several different places. How do you get back to your spot easily? When I'd restart Safari it magically had no recollection of the last place I was at. GRRRRR.
I can tell you the email and Safari issues were not due to my iPhone's settings or configuration, or a specific website or virus. What it ended up coming down to was the iPhone operating system needed to be upgraded. I understand upgrades, but an upgrade right after I bought the equipment to get it to work how it was intended to work originally? COME ON. From day one it didn't work right. Apple lost me at "upgrade".
The Google Mapping issue - I should have known better. Google Maps has had my home address at the wrong end of the street for at least two years now.Enough complaining about the iPhone, as there are some great aspects. The touch screen technology was awesome; and the ability to add apps and such were great too. Although once I got in the Twitter craze, I was disappointed with the lack of a free iPhone Twitter app available online. (At least I couldn't find one.) My favorite feature of the iPhone was visual voice mail. Loved, loved, loved that.
Thinking about what to get my husband for his birthday earlier this month, I stopped into Radio Shack (which is also an AT&T retailer). I was drawn over to the phones; I suppose the void the iPhone had left in me was too much. I looked over the LG's and Sony's and finally a light beamed - and there were the BlackBerrys.
As I looked over the Bold and Curve, I found myself wondering how I could talk John into ME getting a new BlackBerry and how to dish off my iPhone to HIM.John loved my iPhone when he had used it before and is an Apple guy; his main computer is a Mac G5 and when we first started dating he had an old Apple PowerMac. This plan may work, I thought.
As I compared the BlackBerry Bold with the Curve, the main differences I noticed were the lack of 3G and wireless capabilities on the Curve and the Bold was slightly larger. I opted for the Curve as I rarely used the wireless access on my iPhone, we don't have 3G in northern Michigan and I liked the size and look of the Curve.After my experiences with the iPhone I must say I was pleasantly surprised how much I loved my BlackBerry right away. Things were easy; navigation and setup was a breeze. And I was able to install free apps easily along with push email working as push email should: flawlessly.
I was happy to find out that the over 500 plus emails I have saved on my server would not be downloaded into my BlackBerry upon setting up my email accounts. It would start receiving email as of the date it was setup. Yay! Do you know what a hemorrhoidal pain it was when the iPhone's push email rarely worked and you would have to wait AND WAIT for it to receive old emails from the server? I know what you're thinking - delete those emails off of the server! But I like to keep an archive for some time for my own purposes. My response is, shouldn't a smart phone be smart enough to do what I want it to do? The BlackBerry Curve comes pretty close.
Occasionally I'd find myself touching the screen and waiting for a response (duh! this isn't the iPhone or the Storm), but after awhile I adjusted and understood why users call BlackBerrys "crackberrys".John took the news quite well and loves the iPhone - it's perfect for him and his needs. He was able to upgrade the iPhone OS without issue and is happy as a Georgia peach; I ended up getting him something else for his birthday and I got a BlackBerry for my un-birthday. I was officially inundated in the "crackberry" club.
Somehow I think I got the best deal. And I think you know my answer to the blog title.Of course, this blog is from my own personal experiences and opinions. John will likely write a follow up to this posting with his love for the iPhone. To each their own, and I wish you luck in choosing your smart phone and recommend lots of research before committing to a particular device. Good luck!
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WAIT! BlackBerry apps I like - and you may like too
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After trying TwitterBerry and being thoroughly unimpressed, I tried Uber Twitter and fell in love! You can too - http://ubertwitter.com
Calendar
Besides my issues with Google Mapping, I must say I am a fan of Google, especially Google Calendar. Did you know you can sync it with your BlackBerry calendar and even your iPhone calendar? This app has changed my work life. Google Calendar | Google Sync
YouMail & vyMail
Remember how I mentioned I liked iPhone's visual voice mail? BlackBerry users can have it too. First check out and install YouMail; how cool is the personalized messages based on the caller's phone number?
After YouMail is installed, then install vyMail which is a third party add on for YouMail. Wah-lah visual voice mail and it works like a charm! Best of all, free of charge. (YouMail may not work with all carriers. Check their website for more details.)
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