I routinely poll our customers about the question of “BlackBerry versus iPhone.” For most end users, the deciding factor is how much email they send. The keyboard on the BlackBerry wins hands down - the virtual keyboard on the iPhone slows most people down by half.
Today I was talking to Ryan Hawkins at www.pointandclicktulsa.com. He’s evaluating Epicenter Server for his customers. He had several excellent points about why most companies might want to stick with the BlackBerry:
- BlackBerries are extremely durable, much more so than the iPhone. They’ll keep working after significant abuse. The iPhone isn’t fragile, but the touch screen is easy to scratch and easy to break.
- You can pay a few dollars per month and get insurance on BlackBerries, which generously covers theft, loss, damage – most of the common problems. You can’t get this insurance for iPhones. AppleCare doesn’t cover theft or loss.
- BlackBerries are cheap, so much so that buy one get one free is common. iPhones can cost $600 or more if you buy one outside of the upgrade cycle.
In my own experience, the ability of the BlackBerry to automatically shut off at night and turn on in the morning is a real marriage saver – my wife and I have been woken up many times in the middle of the night by the iPhone when I forgot to shut it off.