Ok, so i apologize but this is my complaint/question. My girlfriend bought me a iPod Touch for my birthday. I used it for about two weeks and returned it because i was getting ready to buy the Bold. I had a 8120, and had the itouch, which made sense because the iTouch was basically the iPhone without the phone. I love Blackberry's so very much, but to be able to utilize their full potential you have to BUY apps! This is where my struggle comes in. Ok, yes for a lot of apps on the itouch/iPhone you have to pay $.99 or $1.99, but compared to Blackberry that's dirt cheap. A lot of the applications are free!!!! That's right free!!! Where as the apps that come out for the BB that are free typically suck! This is a huge dilemma in my mind for people considering either Blackberry or iPhone. As a college student i can fairly say that it's uncomfterable and hardly affordable to buy a phone, and then spend an addition $200.00 in apps to take the full potential out of it. Just my complaint, and i'd really like to hear from others about this topic. Please let me know what you think. Am i wrong? Do you agree? Add something?


Thanks all,

-David

I agree...It is very frustrating to see all the apps that are free for the iPhone and how good they are, most for free. I really wish that people would start writing apps for the Blackberry especially the storm. I am really frustrated at the lack of content for the 9530 myself. The most frustrating thing is how long the Blackberry has been out in comparison.

my blackberry does absolutely everything i want it to do, and i haven't spent one cent on any of the apps i have. i challenge you to find me a practical iphone application that doesn't exist to some extent on the blackberry. also, who's spending $200 on apps?

One of the main problems is the limitations of the Blackberry OS requirement that apps have to live in system memory even when they are not running. A 16GB iPhone can have tons of large apps all loaded into the 16 GB. A Blackberry Bold with an 8GB memory card and 1GB of device flash memory still has to have all of its apps loaded into the 128 MB of system RAM of which less than 50 MB is free on most Bolds.

That puts a severe limitation on developers to keep apps lean and a tight limit on how many apps you can have. It is probably much more difficult and expensive to develop apps under such constraints. I don't understand why RIM can't add a capability to load apps into memory from flash when executed and release the memory when exited. Even if that capability was limited to the system flash which can be depended upon to stay in the device (unlike cards) that would still be a great improvement.

I hear that RIM is building an "App Store" like Apple's but the memory limit will greatly limit the app market compared to Apple.

carlkra you're right, the way the apps run on the system memory of the blackberry is the main problem.

I'm with jrice8002003; my BB does everything I want. I also haven't had any probs running out of memory. <shrug>

Seriously guys, iBeer isn't a must-have app.

I don't think I've paid for any of my Blackberry apps. Almost every major iPhone app is already on Blackberry or will come to the Blackberry. iPhone does not have any exclusive agreements in place. Considering how mobility is rapidly growing why would any developer limit the audience to use their app.

How many apps do you need on a mobile device? My storm has the following and I don't know how many more I would truely use:

Facebook
AOL AIM
Youtube
Worldmate Live
Beyond411
Nobex Radio Companion
Xberry Live!
SitorSquat
TeleNav
Documents to Go Premiem
Viigo

Most Blackberry apps are very small in nature so you could fit a bunch of apps and only use 100mb space.

A HUGE advantage Blackberry has over iPhone is that you can run multiple applications at once. I usually have Facebook, AOL running and I'm doing email. iPhone it's open this app, close, open another app - opps have to go back and see if I got a email reply. Very cumbersome and a whole lot of swiping. The weeks I dedicated to using the iPhone to test it for Exchange functionality I likely had the strongest fingers. It was like finger olympics!

I will admit Blackberry will never likely have the amount of apps the AppStore has. But I look through it and most is truely throw away fun stuff. I'm not interested in gaming on my Blackberry - I have a xbox360, Wii and DS to meet those needs. And frankly I don't even use my iPhone or Storm for media playback. I still have a free Zune from a Microsoft conference and it's loaded with 30gb of music. I guess in a "I wish I could consolidate all my devices" vision I would use one device for all things but I'm fine with how I utilize the technologies I have already.

It's going to be expensive it you try to turn the Blackberry into something it was not designed for. It's a professional-grade communications device and PIM. If you want lots of wow-ee bells and whistles, get an iPhone. If you want a multimedia device or a gaming device, get a PSP. You can personalize your BB for almost nothing, but turning it into something it's not is going to cost, and it will never function like a device that was designed for it's main purpose anyway.

another few apps i'd like to add to this list for our "on the fence" blackberry friend above would be:

WeatherEye
Opera Mini
ESPN
YouMail
Slacker
Slydial
YouVersion bible
eBuddy
Capture It
gCalc!
Chronograph
BBtran
MicroSky

there's also several free games out there to scratch your gaming itch. i've got 22 on my phone and didn't pay a dime. and none of them are ad-supported...i don't keep that crap on my phone. they're all pretty good games.

there's also an app called BerryStore that seems to be a step in the right direction toward grouping a number of apps together in one simple, convenient location. hopefully the developer of this app expands it, or RIM comes up with something of their own

hi i am so sorry for intruding in your space but i am desperate. i am new to this and cant seem to be able to put up a post like you did. can you help me please.thanks

click "new thread" at the top of the forum you want to post in

That is the answer. And also the hurdle that any RIM app store will have to overcome.

Yea the fact that there is a limitation on data is definitely something that would cause problems for developers, but my Bold has 1 gb of onboard memory. Which is definitely a step in to the right direction. I was doing some looking around online and funny thing is that RIM is in development of creating a BerryStore. Please check it out, it's at BerryStore.com it's in Beta but I'm trying it out and liking it. It definitely needs a lot of work, but the concept is getting there. Thank you all for responding, but i think theres still more to talk about. The Blackberry is definitely a phone more designed for people in the business world, or in a professional environment. What i'm talking about is more for the youthful appeal of phones. These phones are incredible I love my Blackberry!!!! I'm a Computer Engineer (Drexel University) and every day become more and more impressed with these devices.

All I want from the iPhone is Shazam, EverNote and Wordpress. Pandora would be nice because I don't like Slacker as much but Slacker is okay.

The iPhone is very limited by Apple's limitations. Jailbreaking frees up the iPhone. Listening to Pandora while browsing in Safari with Fring also open is great. But even with jailbreaking there are still some limitations such as e-mail and copy and paste.

a it was already stated, all the important apps are already on the berry. all the ones they show in commercials are pretty much dumb apps that serve no extreme purpose. the berry is a business-oriented phone. so it has everything ull need functionality wise. the iphone apps are just "for fun" type of things

You know, it's like shopping for anything -- do your homework before you buy. If apps (especially free apps) are a top priority then focus on platforms with larger selections of apps. It's not like the selection of apps on the BB is a secret or anything.

Spot on! One of my pet peeves, besides whiny biatches trying to get data plan features without a data plan, is this incessant desire of clueless owners trying to "iPhone-ize" their Blackberrys. Hell, if you want all the features of an iPhone, get a freakin' iPhone! Blackberrys aren't designed for everybody. That's what makes them so good for the people for whom they are designed. It's a purpose-driven device. It's not a sin to use an iPhone, or a Nokia, or something else, if it better suits your own needs. Get the mobile that best fits your lifestyle. If that's not a Blackberry, that's OK. Really, it is!

I'm sorry, but I had to pick out two of the applications you named because I've used both on the BB Bold and the iphone. Both BB versions of these applications are vastly inferior to what the iphone version does. The BB Facebook App is probably the most useless thing I have ever used. Take a look at the iphone version and you will have to agree.

Unfortunately, that "wow ee bells and whistles" is the market RIM wants. Thats where the money is. Consumers outnumber "suits" and replace their devices more frequently then corporate land does. Consumers are also more likely to buy more apps while business users will only get the few that they need.

Not with the current OS. Its at its limits. RIM will have to evolve or end up like Palm.

Everyone is making a lot of sense, but the issue comes to ArgonNJ was saying. This is a mobile phone, and even business oriented phones have to be able to market themselves to everyone. The "wow" factor shouldn't be limited to people with an iPhone. Like I mentioned earlier, I LOVE MY Blackberry Bold! I think it's the greatest mobile phone ever created, but I'm frustrated with the lack of development being held for it. There is a demand and it's not being met, there isn't enough competition amongst those who develop real world applications for it. Documents-to-go sells for $69.99! That's insane! You can buy MS Office H&S for $99.99, but it's $20 cheaper for a phone! That makes no sense to me. Even as a business phone, I'm sure there are a lot of business man and woman that would like to be able to use their phones for more and more. A theme costs $7 on Crackberry's store. That's just robbery of hard working people. These phones aren't cheap, and for many cost more than iPhones, why not have the ability to have it do more?

DocsToGo Premium is marketed towards the people who have to get things done in case they forgot their $2,000+ ThinkPad at home. Every iPhone user I know has their app pages full. But hardly any of those apps are useful. Most are one-time novelty apps such as iBeer or iFart. Business users don't use novelty apps.

I am fine with the apps I have on my phone and if I want to play games, that's what my iPod touch is for. If you want iPhone apps without the iPhone, then get an iPod touch.

On the iphone, if I'm not mistaken, you can only have one app running at a time anyway.

people should start extracting .cod files

Given RIM have just announced their results, which show an increase in userbase and a decrease in profits, some analysts may disagree with that.

Only app I want for my Bold is that iphone app to view MRI's..lol

iPhone apps that recently ported:

Shazam (big one) FREE
Pandora FREE

It would seem to me that Apps have been a very successful marketing campaign for Apple and the iPhone. Blackberry apps always seemed very "third party" to me and once I downloaded a spell checker application (on a much older BB) that caused me to have to call the carrier to reset the phone. It doesn't matter really who's better, I don't think realistically Blackberry and live in a post iPhone world without an App store play.

I don't really agree either. Amateur analysts on discussion forums always love to post "X needs to Y in order to remain competitive with Z" and Y is always something that Z does. It doesn't matter which product is under discussion but people seem to think that the lemming business model is the only way to succeed. I guess their reasoning is that is Z is successful then copying them must mean success for any of the copycat businesses. I'd love to see their supporting evidence but anyone making this claim never manages to supply any...

How many "Blackberry killers" have come and gone over the years? I expect to see just as many, if not more "iPhone killers" to do the same (i.e. die by the side of the road). You can only saturate the marketplace so much with the same products. Product diversity is what gives consumers choice -- not product copycatting.

Consider the successful products that you can recall off the top of your head. What did they copy to make their product successful? Success probably came from offering something slightly different is my guess.

It's like the old saying "jack of all trades, master of none". Try to please everyone and your product won't have its own niche to distinguish itself from the rest. Why should anyone choose your product?

Email, copy, and paste on iPhone ??? That's been out for a while now dude !

I'm pretty sure there are apps in the iPhone that are so esoteric you won't find them in the Blackberry or anywhere, not even in Windows Mobile.

1. Air Search. Basically turns the iPhone or iPod Touch into a wireless network drive. Lets you drag and drop files into the device from the PC, Mac, or Linux PC. Without any cable. PC needs Wifi NIC or just be connected to a wifi router.

2. Applications that turn the iPhone or iPod Touch into a remote wireless mouse pad. By moving your finger across the screen, the mouse pointer in your Mac or PC moves along with it.

3. Anti Mosquito software. That's right. It generates sounds beyond the human range of hearing in order to drive mosquitoes away.

4. Spectrum Analyzers. Yes, they will analyze sound patterns and display the waveforms on the screen for real time. For professional audiophiles.

5. International News Readers. The iPHone or iPod Touch is now so prevalent internationally, you can get an application that specializes in something like, news for your Pinoys out there.

7. An application that lets you control iTunes remotely. This is from Apple.

8. Gag software. You must already heard of the applications that turn the iPhone into a light saber, with all the star wars sounds everytime you swing the iPhone. One gag software makes the display looks like a glass of beer. Tilt the phone to sip, ahake the phone and foam will appear.

9. Pet software. Like those that make all sorts of cat or dog sounds so you can either communicate or annoy your pet.

10. Zen software. Intended to create all sorts of special moods through graphics and sounds. Example is the program called Chakra Tuning.

I agree 100% the BB are designed to be a tool, not a toy. Professionals have tools. Kiddos have toys.

dont get me wrong, i like to have fun and the iphone is great for web browsing and games. but to stay productive and top of my game, i need, I NEED, a BB.

although a fun topic will be the new Nokia coming out. i heard the software of the bb is on the new nokia

I have used my iPhone and a terminal emulator to configure Cisco Multilayer Switches while in the field. Now that's a great tool! I think I was listening to music at the same time. hmmm ;)

I use my iPod touch to detect wireless routers, test their connection speed and configure them right there.

Blah, blah, blah, you really need to do better then the whole iphone is a toy thing. It is the quintessential cry of the BB fan boy!

I'm surprised this is even an argument. I've owned both and I have to say, nothing compares to the apps available on the iPhone. I'm not talking about dumb apps (i.e. iFart, iBeer, etc), I'm talking about actual useful apps such as banking, news, weather, games.. Are absolutely gorgeous on the iPhone.

Compare the same application on both platforms and you will see how much fluid and practical it is on the iPhone. Case in point, Beejive.

Most of the hate comes from people who have never really used one and the 5 minutes at the retail store doesn't even do justice. I may sound like an Apple fanboy.. But I have been a BB user for quite some time now and Apple has won me over. I do prefer the BB's design (physical keyboard > touch), I hate the feel of having to always plug in my iPhone due to horrible battery life and I've had my iPhone replaced several times as the device isn't built like a tank as most BB's are.

With the recent launch of the BlackBerry App store, I'm optimistic for RIM as well.

Having had my iPhone stolen.. It's a chance to go back to BlackBerry now. There were a lot of times when I did have my iPhone that I wished I hadn't gotten one.. and other times, I was like a fat kid with a cup cake. I already miss some of the apps though. I'll wait and see what Apple has to offer in terms of new hardware in June/July to see if I'll jump back or stay with the BB Bold.

I had several BBs and have gone back and forth between them and the iphone. The fluidity, quality and quantity of applications for the iphone wins hands down. Apps written for the ancient BB OS look like crap compared to the same application for the iphone. I said before, RIM needs to overhaul its OS if it ever hopes to stay competitive with the others. I was just reading the other day that the much anticipated OS 5.0 won't really be much different from OS 4.7. So much for any innovation from RIM.

Most of the people who have negative things to say about the iPhone have never owned one. That's where the problem lies.

or they downgraded to an iphone.

i take it aesthetics mean way more then functionality.