iPhone or Blackberry?

sammywilsonjnr

On the face of it this may belong in a tech forum but what I'm after is some advice on what business peoples experiences are of both devices. We're a small company couple of sales people, production and admin staff and I'm looking to increase our mobile internet access but unsure as to which device to opt for.
My main thinking is having something to keep outside sales staff in contact with their live e-mail queries etc.. At the same time I see merit is some of the applications such as sat-nav or remote card payment services. The business we're involved in isn't one that traditionally has done much on-line; either sales or sales processing, but is beginning to move in that direction.

Apologies for the general vague nature of the question but just trying to get some independent views - sort through the maze of advertising.

Cheers,
SWJ

Merrion

Can I be controversial and say neither? A phone that is a phone (so battery lasts for ever, doesn't drop calls, etc.) and a netbook for email (so has a real keyboard you can type more than 0.8 wpm on)

scottyboy1973

Merrion wrote: »

Can I be controversial and say neither? A phone that is a phone (so battery lasts for ever, doesn't drop calls, etc.) and a netbook for email (so has a real keyboard you can type more than 0.8 wpm on)

Thats all fine if you have 4 hands and access to Wifi/GSM dongle all the time to check mail on your netbook Merrion. We're a small company and we all have blackberries - generally we think they're great. the email function is really handy, it all syncs back to Outlook for calendar, contacts etc and there are a few decent apps. You also only require 1 device vs phone and laptop and thus are saving on cost. the BB I have has satnav built in and it;s pretty bloody good. That said, if you dont like it, download google maps - again, very good.

I know guys who have iPhones for work (there's a new one out next month so might be some deals if you hold off doing anything) and love them but I still see the iPhone as more of a consumer gadget than a serious work tool. The deals you get from O2 and Voda are also pretty rubbish if you ask me - less business and much more consumer oriented.

That said, it could be seen by staff as a bit of a reward as the iPhone does still have a good bit of kudos attached to it.

I guess it realy depends on what you want. Rant over - that's my tuppenceworth for what its worth! Scotty

PS - have a goo at this forum http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055288761

faceman

The iPhone is a better phone than the blackberry from a business perspective IMO, even though the iPhone hasnt got automatic push email.

however from a cost perspective, Blackberry wins handsdown and given the price difference, would be IMO, the one to go for. (Note i have an iphone myself for personal use)

sammywilsonjnr

Thanks to all for your comments - some more research of all the options this weekend methinks.

Cheers again,
SWJ

Joseph

Going to say neither,

I got the HTC Touch HD, its a blackberry and iphone beater. Though if I was getting it solely for business purposes i'd get the htc touch pro 2 version instead.

AccessQuery

Hi,
As a user of both a BB on vodafone and iPhone on O2. The iPhone wins hands down. I'm a very heavy web, call and text user. Since I started using my iPhone in Jan I've saved on average between 25% and 50% on my bills simply because of the inclusive broadband.

The handset costs for the iPhone are quite good when compared to other equivelant devices and all O2 iPhone tariffs come with inclusive broadband access irrespective of your monthly rental fee.

OK we're hammered over here on tariff costs as compared to the UK and elsewhere in the EU but the o2 iPhone tariffs are as good as you'll get here in Ireland at the moment.

Prior to getting my iPhone I looked at all data compatible handsets and the iPhone came out on top on price and functionality. So far I'm happy with my move.

Downside so far: I had a faulty speaker on my original iPhone. The O2 support team weren't great, they didn't know a lot about them. My local o2 shop was great though. The Apple iPhone support team organised collection of faulty unit and had a new unit back to me in 2 working days.

I hope this is helpfull.

Bast of luck.

mayhem#

Neither, they're both overrated and hyped.
get yourself a Nokia E71, best business phone by a mile.

cybrandian

iphone for internet, Blackberry for e-mail....

drunkmonkey

mayhem# wrote: »

Neither, they're both overrated and hyped.
get yourself a Nokia E71, best business phone by a mile.

that's the best advice so far...

Nokia e71 FTW!!!!

YellowSheep

Nokia E90 Communicator. The best phone possible. Oliver

Ah-Watch

got myself an i phone last week and hated it, its grand for my emails (though they're more or less only rubbish) its handy but i hated it other than that. I have to agree though the nokia e71 is the way to go!

SilverBER

I've been through every phone from the Panasonic brick through the Sony KitKat to the BB and now the iPhone. For me the iPhone wins hands down every time. I use it for everything and can take it abroad with me to use for email, sms, calls - the lot. It also saves me carrying a diary, a separate iPod and DVD player as I have all of my music and video requirements onboard and there is only 1 charger required for the lot. For pure convenience its the business and only costs me about €60 average per month compared to anything between €150 - €1500 with the Nokia version I had before it.
The video, picture and text forwarding is a bit of a disappointment but I think they are going to sort this out with the next version.

sammywilsonjnr

Thanks once again to everybody who's contributed. Have to say the E71 suggestion has fairly put a cat among the flying rats! Its a right conundrum - the usually reliable price differential isn't playing a major role between the 3. We're based in the north and to be fair the business tariff deals aren't half bad at the moment. The main factors in the decision will be ease of use, battery life and foolproofness(?) Have a driver who is fully up to speed with tech. but one salesman who may be put off by the array of functions on offer. Personally speaking, I'm after something thats not going to add to problems but start to address issues.

Decision time I guess!

SWJ

mayhem#

Believe me if it's a business phone you're after without hassle get the E71.
It's got all that you need, is reliable, easy to use etc.
You also have a choice of options and are not tied in the the Apple App-store for your add-on software (a major pain in the behind).
I've got an iphone, HTC Touch, N95, N96 and E71 on my desk at the moment and use the E71 99% of the time.
It's my primary source for voice & data (that's email, web, blogging, navigation, voip, video up & download etc.).

E.