I have AT&T for my carrier and I was up for an phone upgrade. A few months ago I purchased a brand new 9550 (had the Pearl2 before that) that was unlock and I loved it!!! Since this was a Verizon phone, I could not use AT&T's 3G network so I decided to go with the "next best thing", the Iphone. Well, 24 hours later I was returning the phone back to the story. I was unimpressed. Here are the reasons why, though they may seem petty, was enough for me to give it back.........
1. No LED status indicator. I didn't realize how much I actually depended on this. For example, if you get a text or better yet miss a text, you MUST push the home button to turn the screen on to see if you received a text or not. With the Blackberry, a quick glance at the status indicator LED would let you know that. This will never be capiable with any current Iphone as they do not have any such "bulb". There are apps that can "flash" the screen but I can imagine that would play a big part in the battery life. I've read on a few Iphone forums that the users wish they had an LED indicator, while other said that it would be annoying to have this feature. But as annoying as it may be, it is an OPTION with the Blackberry.
2. No sound profiles. Well, it actually has two. Silent, which you only have the option to change vibrate to on/off. The other option is just a general option where you can change the loudness on the ring via a slider. There is a Sound Profile app that'll cost you about $7.
3. You cannot use any apps outside the Apple App store unless you "jailbreak" it. Jailbreaking will void your warranty. We all already Blackberry is open to all outside apps.
4. Home screen does not "flip" when turned to landscape. May be an app for that.
5. Scary to think what happens to this phone when the battery actually dies, since you can't replace it (not a reason to totally ditch the phone but worth noting).
A few things that were pretty sweet on the Iphone........
1. Safari. Very nice and extremely user friendly. Was very fast but I don't have anything to compare it with since my Blackberry could not use the 3G network. Hopefully RIMs new browser will be up to par.
2. A trillion apps..........Nuff said........It'l be quite awhile for Blackberry to catach up in that department.
3. No clicking. This is bitter/sweet for me. For typing, clicking is a MUST for me and I missed it dearly. But for larger "depressions" like icons and such where mistakes are minimal due to the fact of the larger area to push on, a simple tap on the screen was very nice. I wish a "tap not click" was an option on the Blackberry, as I would be tapping icons and clicking text.
Well, I hope this helps anybody thinking about getting an Iphone to replace their Storm. I should have did my homework first but I would have never looked for things that one would think SHOULD be standard on a phone........
Went from 9550 to Iphone and back to 9550!
