So I see this member’s question on TickerHound yesterday:
In the details of the question he goes on to reference a blog post by the New York based venture capitalist, Fred Wilson, where he openly asks for feedback on what people think of Apple's (AAPL) iPhone versus RIM's (RIMM) BlackBerry. There’s some great insight in Fred’s post (and the comments to it) so I recommend you read it.
But I thought I’d share some of my own thoughts on the iPhone vs. BlackBerry issue here:
The iPhone is unequivocally the most beautifully designed mobile phone I’ve ever seen. The web browsing experience is like nothing I’ve ever used on a handheld device and through the flawless marketing effort on the part of Apple and AT&T (T) it has already become somewhat of a status symbol in the geek-chic crowd.
But for those of you who have used one for any period of time, you’ve obviously noticed some of the flaws in this “flawless” product.
- Sending a text message or an email becomes an exercise in finger tip precision and dexterity. Basically, you must have the most narrow and most accurate thumbs in the world to try and type a message longer than 2 words on this phone. For business users or active text’rs (read: teenagers), this is certainly NOT the phone to have.
- I’ve dropped my BrickBerry more times than I can count and it’s still tickin’ – it’s like the little energizer bunny. The same can NOT be said of the iPhone. From what I’ve seen, heard and personally witnessed a strong breeze causes this phone’s screen to shatter. In fact if you check out Fred Wilson’s blog post, you’ll see what his daughter’s phone looked like, post-drop.
- Even though there are “hacks” out there, you’re still locked into using AT&T/Cingular as a carrier. While the service is good, I’m always one for having more options. The fact that I can use my BlackBerry with my T-Mobile account, and be able to keep the phone if I decide to switch carriers (or if my company switches carriers) makes me very comfortable.
And I’m obviously not the only one who feels this way – it’s a sentiment I’ve heard from many of my peers for quite some time now. The most reliable text and e-mail friendly phone on the market today is the BlackBerry…no contest!
But the story isn’t that quite cut and dry…
There’s a rumor going around that Apple has a new version of the iPhone coming out on June 9th. Apple’s a popular company in tech circles, and therefore the rumor-mill is usually in full effect whenever Mr. Jobs gets up to speak. Most of the time the hype falls far short of the real announcement, but this time I think the rumors are going to turn out to be true.
I think on June 9th we’ll get the announcement that Apple is launching a 3G enabled iPhone. Essentially what that means is that the iPhone will now let its subscribers download data faster than ever before.
However, given the serious flaws the company has with the phone design, I’m not sure what impact (if any) this will have on subscriber numbers. Especially when we take RIM’s announcement into account…
Last week, RIM announced the upcoming BlackBerry Bold phone – the first 3G phone from the CrackBerry maker. I’m personally looking forward to this one and it seems like the rest of the market’s feeling the same – the stock is up 6.35% as I write this article.
But that isn’t to say Apple won’t see some serious benefits via its 3G initiatives. I just don’t think those benefits will be solely in the form of an increase in iPhone subscribers. I think Apple could see a serious increase in iTunes sales as well.
Picture this: when you hear a good song and want it on your iPod immediately, all you’ll have to do is login to iTunes with your 3G phone and you’ll be listening to the song in seconds.
So if Apple’s strategy is to secure more iTunes purchases, I think the company is still executing its marketing efforts flawlessly. If the company really wants to compete with RIM, however, they’ll really need to do something about the phone’s design. Touch screens are “cool,” but certainly not functional.
Regardless of who gets the most subscribers, I think both announcements will be great for RIM’s and Apple’s stock prices.
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This article has 52 comments:
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Shorting Should be Banned
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137 Comments
May 13 09:30 AMThe real question is which will people want and which will people buy?
And. point #2 is absurd.
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Not a crackberry addict
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1 Comment
May 13 09:40 AM-
Mark Schwartz
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1 Comment
May 13 09:49 AM-
hunglyka
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1 Comment
May 13 09:54 AM-
Bart Lee
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4 Comments
May 13 09:54 AM-
davesmall
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24 Comments
May 13 09:58 AMTake a look at a photo of the new Blackberry Bold. Notice that it is big and thick (read: clunky). The screen covers only a small portion of the phone. It is mostly covered with buttons. That sucks.
With the iPhone you get almost all usable screen. That rocks.
Your comments about the Blackberry's keyboard being better than the iPhone's couldn't be more wrong. When I purchased my iPhone I was concerned about this issues. So I went to an AT&T store where I typed the same paragraph on an iPhone and on a Blackberry. The speed and number of mistakes were about the same. Both phones have a tiny keyboard which means no touch typing like a regular keyboard. It's one or two finger typing at best. The keys are so close together that mistakes are inevitable. With Blackberry you can feel the key so your brain receives feedback that you did hit a key (but which one?). With iPhone the touchpad keyboard enlarges the character just before your finger makes contact. You get visual feedback letting you know that you've touched the correct (or incorrect) key.
There is obviously an acclimation and learning process to get any sort of accuracy and speed typing on either of these tiny keyboards. With the iPhone you must train yourself to focus on those enlarging characters. I think index fingers work better than thumbs because thumbs are too big for tiny keyboards. Someone who is up to speed typing on a Blackberry is going to be slow and mistake prone when switching to an iPhone. Someone who is up to speed typing on an iPhone would be similarly slow and mistake prone when switching to a Blackberry (though I can't imagine anyone making that switch).
There are also a few iPhone typing techniques which greatly increase speed and aren't obvious to the novice user. Suppose you want to type a password like sam3jones. A novice would type the letters sam, push the mode key to change to numbers, type the 3, push the mode key again to switch back to alpha characters, and then type the letters jones. But the speedier way is to type sam, then hold your finger down on the mode key and slide to select the 3 character. Release your finger and your iPhone goes back to alpha mode. The same hold and slide technique works with the caps key.
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wagonjumper
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12 Comments
My Website
May 13 10:02 AM-
dvd
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9 Comments
May 13 10:06 AM-
User 126618
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4 Comments
May 13 10:08 AMGet a paycheck while you can Wayne....
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RandyG
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1 Comment
May 13 10:09 AM-
David Bressler
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1 Comment
My Website
May 13 10:17 AM1. Blackberry browser is quite useless. 3G will mean it will be useless faster, unless they improve it.
2. Why did it take so long for RIM to come out with a 3G phone?
3. Why has it taken so long for them to put together a fund to create apps? Or, at least focus on the development community in a way that encourages interesting applications.
4. Why does it take about 5 minutes for my curve to start?
5. Why can't my phone tell me how many voicemails I have? And, before you suggest I look at caller ID - in NY, in and out of the subways, there is no correlation between missed-calls and voicemails?
Disclosure, I'm a Blackberry user who occasionally misses my Windows Mobile device. Am waiting for an iPhone that my company allows to get email and will switch in a second. I fully expect the iPhone to be frustrating in many ways my BB is not.
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sbjforever
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23 Comments
May 13 10:24 AMIt is strongly rumored that the 3G iPhone touch screen will be more keyboard centric - touch becomes more like press. This had better be so if the iPhone is to become a serious player with heavy email business folks. It is to the degree that touch approaches press (both in feel and sound) that will determine the success of the technology for typing text over the long term.
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User 192542
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1 Comment
May 13 10:29 AM-
2sense
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1 Comment
May 13 10:36 AM-
MBE
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1 Comment
May 13 11:02 AM-
Wayne Mulligan
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12 Comments
My Website
May 13 11:06 AMGood job defending the brand you love guys...but truth be told, I used the iPhone for quite some time before writing this, and spoke to dozens of people who all, just like you, defended the iPhone but conceded that the keyboard on a BlackBerry is much more friendly for the email/text heavy user.
Does the iPhone have a better web browsing experience? Sure it does. But that's not what I, nor many business users, use their mobile phone for throughout the majority of the day. Most of the time we're checking messages and making calls. That's not to say the trend won't shift in the coming years, but that's where we are now due to this country's antiquated mobile networks. Thankfully companies like Apple and RIM are pushing for 3G and an enhanced mobile experience.
I think the most interesting thing I personally can take away from having written this article is the passion with which Apple customers will defend Apple products...very impressive Mr. Jobs.
-Wayne
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FreeRange
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69 Comments
May 13 11:15 AMAnd then the author says the following related to the upcoming 3G iPhone: "However, given the serious flaws the company has with the phone design, I’m not sure what impact (if any) this will have on subscriber numbers." Are you fricking kidding me - the incompetence of this author is unbelievable... is he really talking about the iPhone which has the highest user satisfaction levels of any phone out there????
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Rich Brulato
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1 Comment
May 13 11:15 AM-
Shorting Should be Banned
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137 Comments
May 13 11:31 AM1. RIM was the only real game in town until a year ago and corporate uses didn’t have any other viable option. PALM was clearly no match for RIM.
2. Many Blackberry users WILL switch to the iPhone once it is available more pervasively.
Availability only on the AT&T network in the US has held back the iPhone from more widespread adoption.
3. Enterprise customers want to have their email behind their own firewall, and nowhere else.
4. Yes, there is room for both companies in the smart phone market place, but who is the stronger innovator?
5. Yesterday’s “good news” was most likely a PR move by RIM in an attempt to pre-empt the launch on the new iPhone, because no firm ship date or pricing was provided.
We will see what the results are when both of the new products are available in the market place, despite the so called "flaws" of the iPhone.
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peter02l
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125 Comments
May 13 11:37 AM-
interdyne
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1 Comment
May 13 11:42 AM-
Wayne Mulligan
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12 Comments
My Website
May 13 11:47 AMWould love to read your blog - what's the address?
-Wayne
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Azazello
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16 Comments
May 13 12:03 PM-
Wil
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3 Comments
My Website
May 13 12:24 PMEvery non-Apple users' discussion of Apple begins with uninformed, demeaning remarks; forcing Apple users to respond. It's an unending battle against misrepresentation.
Imagine if people who didn't know you were to prejudge you in their mind over information that was false, and soon you had a tarnished reputation based on propagated misrepresentations. You would certainly have a fight ahead of you in trying to correct the perception, particularly if you were offended by it.
BTW, the technology to mimic blackberrys is here; the last barrier to displacing the blackberry in enterprise is convincing those with budgets. How long will a device with 75% coverage of static keys live in the coming marketplace? The answer will also yield to you how many years the "superior" keyboard has left in its life. IT can giveth; IT can taketh away.
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jmmx
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258 Comments
May 13 12:32 PMYou say :
"The one thing I will certainly say for Apple is they sure have passionate customers :) "
The question is then - are they passionate because they are swooned by Mr. Jobs' marketing, or because [perish the thought] they actually are thrilled by the product?
The fact mentioned by FreeRange above that iPhone has by far the highest user satisfaction levels seems to indicate the later. People really love the iPhones because it satisfies their needs, perhaps even exceeds their expectations. This is why they are so passionate. It is not due to some marketing hypnotism - Apple delivers on the user experience. (most likely because they CARE about it!)
I appreciate that everyone has their personal preferences, and for tose who really prefer the little buttons and do not mind the smaller screen, keep your xBerry , enjoy it. It is great that their are a variety of devices for different people.
But when all is said and done, iPhone is going to win because, as the leaders in innovation, they will always be ahead of the competition, they will continue to produce products that will ASTOUND the end users.
IMHO
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jmmx
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258 Comments
May 13 12:33 PMRead "latter" in paragraph 3
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jmmx
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258 Comments
May 13 12:38 PMAnother thought:
What RIMM will never have is the MacOS X. Developers for the iPhone will be able to use some of the same code for both the iPhone and on Mac platform. This is an incredible advantage in terms of (1) engineering effort and (2) unity of interface.
Additionally, iPhone has the absolutely incredible SDK development environment. Non-programmers cannot truly appreciate this. Like being asked to create the coolest dune-buggy ever. In one case you are given a pair of pliers and a rusty old screwdriver, in the other, a garage outfitted with complete Snap-On tool kit.
Finally - the iPhone apps will also run on the iPod Touch, another X million users. In fact, there may well be applications for which the Touch is a sufficient platform. Consider a warehouse inventory program - who needs a mobile phone on the device?
jmmx the dystypsic
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dithers
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57 Comments
May 13 01:13 PMThe article was not researched, and is biased towards Blackberry.
These things happen - proper analysis based on research and testing it aint, but thats normal in the world of cheap blogs.
BUT then the 'author' decides to weigh in on the comments and tell us that we are all in the thrall of Steve Jobs!
Thats simply insulting, and considering the stance of the writer, is hypocritical.
There are many posts here from users of both products and the overwhelming 'bias' is towards Apple.
Point 2 is idiotic - anecdotal crap such as 'my friends brothers great-aunt dropped her iphone and it smashed into a thousand pieces killing 19 people' isnt effective unless you are talking to 85 year old women gossiping over coffee.
I love the comments from the 'text/email heavy' 'business' users. LOL! High comedy!
What a bunch of sad nitwits!
If 'business' users had their way, we would accept terrible products at grossly inflated prices that never changed or improved.
Sorry 'business' guys you are NOT the leaders or innovators that you think you are, and I doubt your typing skills are anything more than average.
Typing on a small keyboard has natural limitations that can NOT be fixed unless you have a full-sized keyboard or simply call instead of email or text.
Because of this, spelling and grammatical errors are forgiven and as long as the sense of the message is there; its good enough.
NO-ONE is writing complex emails, or their yearly report on a tiny keyboard - so quit with the lies.
The iPhone keyboard is at least as good as the blackberry one, but the other facilities of the iPhone make it a clear winner, unless you are unable to admit the facts.
Oh, and BTW, I have dropped my iPhone on at least 10 occasions, work in a tough environment (Marine), and it still keeps ticking. Use it to read emails from customers, and generally reply with 4 lines or less. If more explanation of a work contract is needed, I go crazy and PHONE them. Imagine that.
Met a guy in Sbux the other day with a huge dent across the back of his iPhone - it had stopped a puck at an NHL game! True story. It had not missed a beat. Starbucks, Ladner, BC, Canada. Yes we both had 'pirate' iPhones, as the idiot 'business' people at Rogers havent had the sense to get the iPhone yet.
Reason for all the anti-article comments here - article is simply inaccurate and based around the authors bias.
Try harder, Mr. Author.
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jon n
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2 Comments
May 13 01:14 PMwhat you can't argue with is how much better the iphone is by every other measure. figuring out the basic settings on a crackberry requires a comp sci degree. most people i know don't know how to change their signatures on the damn thing. and wtf is a "service book" anyway?
also, #2 is complete bs. first of all, you drop your device, all bets are off. second, i've dropped my iphone scads of times and there is not a ding nor a scratch, let alone a functionality problem.
finally, the writer totally overlooks that the iPhone is and will be a "platform" for media to come. RIMs been in the market for years, but all they've established is an array of products (and i'm not knocking them, they've had some great products, but no single product as ever resonated as so innovative and head of it's time to the extent the iphone has, nor will it ever by a "platform").
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yag
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3 Comments
May 13 01:22 PMDisclaimer: I have owned rimm stock since the 1990s and Apple for about 3 or 4 years.
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jmmx
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258 Comments
May 13 01:56 PMHey - if you see the guy with the hockey-pucked iPhone, tell him he should try to sell it ack to Apple. They might want it for publicity purposes.
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Dr. Dan
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9 Comments
May 13 02:21 PM