[Anthony569]

Just wondering if there's kindred spirits on here.

Went from a common boring flip (after too many years than I care to admit) to a smartphone last week. First choice was an Apple iPhone before being disgusted after a few days and switching to the same BB (8310 Curve) that I got for my gf last Christmas.

My issues....

1) Battery drain was ridiculous. Literally two charges a day. Bought a very-protective case that apparently wasn't also battery-heat-friendly. Even had to cancel the WiFi for damage-control on the battery, which made streaming on YouTube a joke on ATT's current EDGE network.

2) Had to have the the fingers of an anorexic dwarf to make the keypad for texting, email, etc. reasonable. Too many annoying touch-keypad crossovers.

3) Customer-service finger-pointing between ATT & Apple was enough to make a consumer of both seriously contemplate a wrist-slit out of frustration.

4) Ringers? Don't get me started....wow. Stock was predictably lame, and only the best-of-the-best hackers... with alot of free time on their hands....could go there when it came to circumventing iTunes in lieu of taking it in the arse with "approved" songs/ringtones.

So I returned the iPhone and got the same 8310 Curve that I bought my gf for xmas...one of the best decisions I ever made in the tech-spectrum. Might be $15 extra a month on my ATT plan for RIM vs. an iPhone - but well worth it.

[ricpac]

what can i say?
great decision

[jeremyckitching]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry 8100: BlackBerry8100/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Good man!

[Anthony569]

Here, here.

Very happy BB camper...beers are on me.

Originally Posted by ricpac

what can i say?
great decision

[bL4ckB3rry]

I did the same, got rid of the iPhone for a BB Curve.

[hegedusa]

I have a customer (I'm an IT consultant) who decided to get an iPhone for his business. So he popped into the apple centre on an impulse and got an iPhone (on UK's O2 network). He called me to help set the thing up as he had no idea whatsoever what to do.

Some of the setup was slick (like being able to register for a new contract online) and some of it was downright irritating (wouldn't let him send email unless it's through O2's portal).

Anyway, even after getting it connected to his wireless router, he found it frustrating. He needed the thing for business, and in particular, email. It was very haphazard - he'd have to tell it to get mail, then wait while it loaded the one he was interested in. Sending mail was a bit of a lottery - no signal, then retry, then wait, then resend. It just wasn't simple. It would crash from time to time and reset itself. It was annoying to use - it didn't always recognise the finger swipe required to start it. Typing emails or texts was a gamble - the keyboard's just not usable for even relatively short communications.

So within the 14 day refund period, he took the whole thing back to Apple. They really didn't like him returning it, but did refund his money.

Anyway, he went out and bought an 8320 on Orange and is extremely please with the ease of use and the "it just works" philosophy of the Blackberry.

It's user interface may not be as slick looking as others (especially the iPhone, which I must admit, looks fantastic) but its usability and reliability are what makes it a much more useful tool.

[PARAZZI]

i hear you out guys, i sold my iPhone cause right now I am looking for a BB Curve (8320). i had the chance to play around with my buddy's BB and i must say, i am looking forward to getting one really soon.

[dankarlinski]

Wirelessly posted (8320 Curve: BlackBerry8320/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Nice. The iphone isn't the greatest phone on earth. A LOT of issues with it. I'm really clad we got another one from apple to RIM devices. The curve is a fantastic device... An iphone killer for sure.

If you ever have any questions, comments, complaints, concerns, or just want someone to talk to, the ppl on this forum are great and love to help.


Welcome to blackberry forums

[aiharkness]

Originally Posted by Anthony569

Just wondering if there's kindred spirits on here.

Went from a common boring flip (after too many years than I care to admit) to a smartphone last week. First choice was an Apple iPhone before being disgusted after a few days and switching to the same BB (8310 Curve) that I got for my gf last Christmas.

My issues....

1) Battery drain was ridiculous. Literally two charges a day. Bought a very-protective case that apparently wasn't also battery-heat-friendly. Even had to cancel the WiFi for damage-control on the battery, which made streaming on YouTube a joke on ATT's current EDGE network.

2) Had to have the the fingers of an anorexic dwarf to make the keypad for texting, email, etc. reasonable. Too many annoying touch-keypad crossovers.

3) Customer-service finger-pointing between ATT & Apple was enough to make a consumer of both seriously contemplate a wrist-slit out of frustration.

4) Ringers? Don't get me started....wow. Stock was predictably lame, and only the best-of-the-best hackers... with alot of free time on their hands....could go there when it came to circumventing iTunes in lieu of taking it in the arse with "approved" songs/ringtones.

So I returned the iPhone and got the same 8310 Curve that I bought my gf for xmas...one of the best decisions I ever made in the tech-spectrum. Might be $15 extra a month on my ATT plan for RIM vs. an iPhone - but well worth it.

It's about priorities. What works best for you. . . . Happy to have you in the group.

[Anthony569]

Thanks.

Yeah, when I first picked it up I was admittedly even a bit smug vs. the Curve I got my gf. Registration was easy, the Safari browser on iPhone is arguably pretty cool and iPod touchscreen-coverflow on it was another nice bell/whistle...

But it only took me a few days to get frustrated with it because of its issues, and I wasn't going to bank on Apple to have timely firmware flashes re: the battery, etc.

Love the Curve now that I actually have and use one instead of watching everyone else with theirs and wondering "why are they so hooked?"

Now I get it....

[pegb856]

I also think you made an excellent decision, but then I am prejudiced since I also use the 8310. Great device.

[Anthony569]

^5 on your icon, btw....I laughed so hard when I read it that I almost shot my coffee out of my nose.

Originally Posted by pegb856

I also think you made an excellent decision, but then I am prejudiced since I also use the 8310. Great device.

[StephBKNY]

Anthony and I went into the AT&T store yesterday, because I need a new headset for my Curve (one of our cats tortured it). Anyway, Anthony saw the woman who sold him the iPhone, she has one too. She said she loves the iPhone (of course she will say that, that is a $400 sale compared to the $100 the Curve costs after a contract renewal and rebate).

Anthony told her about his problems with the battery on the iPhone and she was like "oh yeah that happens for the first month, then it works itself out."

I thought to myself, "Is she kidding me? Who needs to play the battery game for a month."

Then, after saying she "loves" her iPhone, Anthony and I were telling her why we love the Curve, to which she got this disappointed look on her face and said "I should have gotten the Curve."

I'm sorry, but for what a smartphone costs (and what it is worth), you shouldn't have to look at someone else's and wish you had that one. You should be happy enough with your own.

The only thing that impressed me about the iPhone was that it plays You Tube. Other than that, I like the browser my Curve came with. I fixed some of the settings and it is perfect IMHO. And it plays music nicely, so as long as I have my phone, and can listen to Metallica at the gym, I'm all set.

Of course I have to give Anthony credit. I kept telling him not to buy me the Curve and he did it anyway. It isn't that I didn't want the BB, it is just that, ever since we got engaged, I feel like I have everything I need. (I know, I should save the corn for Thanksgiving...)

[kmhphoto]

My wife and I are now running both 8310's and iPhone's on T-Mobile UK. Our current contracts with Vodafone expire in a month and we'll then decide either to keep using the 8310's or use the SIM's in the iPhone's.

With both handsets trying to be a jack of all trades they both have their strengths and weaknesses. The Curve 8310 is a superior phone and text messaging device but barely adequate for surfing while the iPhone is superior at web surfing, e-mail and untouchable as a personal media player.

The perfect device would be brought to the market if Apple and Rim collaborated on it but that's not likely to happen


I find it interesting that Apple are the only company in the world who have been able to force the service providers to not only sell the phone at full price but also hand over a percentage of the monthly line fee.

[blade28]

Good decision!

[mazzel]

Chalk me up as another convert. I just got home from the att store having turned in my iphone a little over a month ago. Bought and started using a w580i thinking I wanted something smaller. Alas I just picked up the Curve having taken this month to really decide if removing the iphone from my life was the wise thing to do.

However, spending all day lurking around this site and pinstack I began to remember why you all and I love our blackberries. Here I am back to remember all the fun I had downloading themes and programs.

I need to research html viewers and IM programs and start downloading google applications and get this show on the road!

[greggebhardt]

The iPhone is not selling near as well as Apply thought it would: Report: iPhones piling up at AT&T stores | One More Thing - CNET News.com

[Runamuck]

Originally Posted by Anthony569

Just wondering if there's kindred spirits on here.

Went from a common boring flip (after too many years than I care to admit) to a smartphone last week. First choice was an Apple iPhone before being disgusted after a few days and switching to the same BB (8310 Curve) that I got for my gf last Christmas.

My issues....

1) Battery drain was ridiculous. Literally two charges a day. Bought a very-protective case that apparently wasn't also battery-heat-friendly. Even had to cancel the WiFi for damage-control on the battery, which made streaming on YouTube a joke on ATT's current EDGE network.

2) Had to have the the fingers of an anorexic dwarf to make the keypad for texting, email, etc. reasonable. Too many annoying touch-keypad crossovers.

3) Customer-service finger-pointing between ATT & Apple was enough to make a consumer of both seriously contemplate a wrist-slit out of frustration.

4) Ringers? Don't get me started....wow. Stock was predictably lame, and only the best-of-the-best hackers... with alot of free time on their hands....could go there when it came to circumventing iTunes in lieu of taking it in the arse with "approved" songs/ringtones.

So I returned the iPhone and got the same 8310 Curve that I bought my gf for xmas...one of the best decisions I ever made in the tech-spectrum. Might be $15 extra a month on my ATT plan for RIM vs. an iPhone - but well worth it.

I use both currently...haven't decided if I want to swap out for just one. Both have big tradeoffs for me.

I'm one of the not-so-few who actually like iTunes. And try as I might to enjoy the media player on my Curve, which is "ok," it's just not my iPod.

Getting ringtones onto the iPhone, even without jailbreaking it, is pretty trivial. If you can go thru all the hassle of converting a video to play properly on your Curve, you should be able to get ringtones onto the phone without paying iTunes for them. In fact, I have the same ringtones on both phones right now. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. If you are a Windows user, there's even software out there to automate the process and do all the big mean hacking stuff for you.

If you Jailbreak your iPhone, you can do all sorts of cool hacks on it. I've not yet as I'm undecided about it. But some of what is possible is pretty cool stuff.

Customer service issues?!?!?! LMAO. Don't even get me started about finger pointing at a cell phone carrier. Apple's Genius Bar is the BEST customer service I've had from any consumer electronics maker in my frickin' life. Make an appt, go into the store, walk out with your problem fixed. Try that at Tmobile or Verizon! Walk into THEIR store, they pick up their phone, call some customer service rep then HAND you the phone. Gee thanks for being absolutely worthless to me! Gimme a friggin break. Apple is awesome at customer service. I bought my phone at AT&T but the first one had a slight issue with the screen. I walked into the Genius bar and walked out with a NEW (not a refurbed) phone within 20 mins.

Your complaints about battery life are kinda warranted. I'm a H@Home user on Tmobile and, when the service actually works without rebooting the Curve every call, it drains my phone pretty fast. But my eyesight ain't the best and I LOVE the larger screen on the iPhone. I'll trade battery life for a more readable screen and a highly serviceable browser experience.

But lets be fair...the iPhone is an iPod with phone features. Bare bones phone features. And virtually no connectivity outside of email. For corporate use, the Blackberry wins hands down. But I don't think that's Apple's target market anyways...they want the Sidekick-esque marketplace. Apple never has catered to the corporate world and seems content with second place there, so I think they see the same opportunity in the phone market.

Really, it's been kind of fun to have both an iPhone and a Curve. I'm holding what many consider to be the best of the best in the marketplace. What's fascinating to me is the Apple iPhone is first generation while the Curve is what now.....8th generation? The differences between the two aren't so far apart. That should tell you something.

[takeshi]

Originally Posted by kmhphoto

...while the iPhone is superior at web surfing, e-mail and untouchable as a personal media player.

Why would you say that the iPhone is superior at email? I've heard nothing but the contrary -- particularly compared to a Blackberry. I especially can't see how the iPhone can compete with a Blackberry on BES in this arena (unless maybe HTML email is your personal priority).

[kmhphoto]

Originally Posted by takeshi

Why would you say that the iPhone is superior at email? I've heard nothing but the contrary -- particularly compared to a Blackberry. I especially can't see how the iPhone can compete with a Blackberry on BES in this arena (unless maybe HTML email is your personal priority).

Having experienced both side by side, for me the iPhone is superior. Others may prefer the Blackberry.
The more I use the Curve, the more I like it and will probably keep both phones. Neither is a clear winner.