iPhone 3G Review - Part 1

I want to preface this review with the fact that I am coming from T-Mobile where I had a BlackBerry Curve 8320. So much of my review will consist of comparisons because it's foremost in my mind. The devices are VERY different (in my mind) and I would say are directed at very different audiences. The BlackBerry models and software is more utilitarian and targets the enterprise user with a HEAVY focus on email, and in my opinion it is the best here hands down... no question. I don't think there is a close competitor for business type applications and usage.

With that said, the BlackBerry kind of sucks for internet and other personal goodness. Don't get me wrong, it is hanging in there with apps like Facebook and other things... and the Storm (as well as the Bold and Curve 8900 I believe) have a MUCH improved internet experience... but I don't think they are as good or as slick as the iPhone in this regard (or the Pre from the videos I've seen... the Pre is using the webkit, same as the iPhone, so the web experience should be identical... signal strength aside... more on that later). I had contemplated buying a NetBook or cheap laptop just to have around for web browsing so I had a larger screen, etc. I didn't really like this idea because I think I would eventually stop using it or it would become cumbersome (it CERTAINLY doesn't fit in your pocket).

My recent decision to go with an iPhone consisted of quite a bit of research that encompassed: AT&T as the carrier, so their signal strength in my area since that's where I am most of the time; The iPhone itself compared to other phones that I could buy (understanding a LARGE portion of what is getting fixed in the 3.0 software release for the iPhone and what that fixes); and finally the applications available to any phone I might purchase.

The Palm Pre:
The Pre shows promise because it has the ability to multi-task well (though it remains to be seen what the performance will be with multi-tasking... so let's assume it will be adequate... AND, there is rumor that Apple will be starting to utilize multi-tasking with the new model of iPhone because it will have a faster CPU and more RAM... but that's rumor at this point). Not only that, it is also using the WebKit for its browser (like the iPhone), and from what I can see the browser experience is pretty much identical to the iPhone (cellular carriers and signal strength aside). I, personally, like the idea of the slide out keyboard for several reasons: 1) I am coming from a line of keyboard phones (Palm Treo w/Palm OS, Palm Treo w/ Windows Mobile, finally BlackBerry), so I am more comfortable with a physical keyboard; 2) This allows the screen to display more info since it is not being filled with the keyboard on-screen (this is not a *huge* deal, but I personally think it would be nicer and have found the lack of screen real estate when the keyboard is up to be somewhat limiting on the iPhone... but not a big deal); 3) I always fear that the "touch" portion of the touchscreen will stop being responsive (this has happened to me on several touch only devices, some older Palm devices included). Some of the videos of its capabilities are impressive (here's a 26 minute video that provides GREAT coverage of it's features... at least what they'll tell us) ... but SO much is still unknown because Palm and Sprint are keeping very tight lips on capabilities, etc. They don't want any bad press before the launch is my guess. Not only that... this is a COMPLETELY new phone and operating system from the ground up, so it has NO proven track record (other than Palm's track record, and I've always been a fan of Palm). This also means that accessories and software (applications) for the OS will be very limited for quite a while I would think. Developers are going to have to get ramped up on this OS, and are they *really* going to spend on this phone/OS unless it takes off like gangbusters?? Me thinks not... not until it gets some presence in the market and proves it can hang with the iPhone. This finally brings me to Sprint. Sprint has some good things about it, but they are bleeding and the Pre is pretty much its last effort to gain back some ground in the market. So who knows what will happen to Sprint in the meantime... but I doubt they will be investing in new towers for a bit. And that brings me to the lack of coverage where I live. It's not EVERYWHERE around me that is a problem... but my house and the neighborhood I live in basically are not even on Sprint's coverage map (it's listed as "Roaming"). That pretty much clinched it for me... and the fact that AT&T's signal strength at my house is now stellar (as good as Verizon in my area, which is saying something).

As far as the iPhone goes, I am still struggling with getting all of my email accounts, calendars and contacts squared away. Don't get me wrong... if you have one email/calendar account and one set of contacts to sync up, you should be golden. I have several, and it seems you can't have them all doing updates at the same time... so I have to make some decisions on what to do. Don't worry, I will share my experience with everyone in case someone else is in the same boat. That will all be in Part 2 most likely, since that is currently my main focus.

One quick thing I found that bugs me. You can't create an appointment and invite someone else to it. This is what prompted my current project to get me and my wife on the same calendar and also simplify my workflow... more later.

750 Free Amazon Kindle MobiPocket Books from Diesel eBooks « Amazon Kindle, Books & Amazon News Blog

750 Free Amazon Kindle MobiPocket Books from Diesel eBooks « Amazon Kindle, Books & Amazon News Blog: "750 Free Amazon Kindle MobiPocket Books from Diesel eBooks"

Just found this and didn't want to lose track of it. Hopefully this can keep me busy for a bit. ;-)

8GB microSDHC card!

I found a Kingston 8GB microSDHC card at Amazon this past weekend for $27! I had it overnighted Monday (with some other stuff, and I'm a Prime member, so that was only $3.99 additional) and got it Tuesday.

I then named it the same as my previous 4GB card and copied over the contents. I haven't been able to fix my desktop pc yet (where all my music is), so I haven't had a chance to put more music on it.

I'm actually in the middle of setting up a Windows Home Server where I will house my music (there will be another post on that whole thing), but until then I don't have access to it to add to my bb.

I also plan on using my bb for some podcasts, but I'll need to be pretty selective because I don't have many opportunities to listen to them. So, in the past, they have just taken up hdd space. I may even try some video now that I doubled my capacity, but I don't think I will enjoy video on the bb. Screen is too small (same went for my iPod video).


Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

EBooks: MobiPocket is missing subscriptions and automatic download OTA

As I've stated in previous posts, MobiPocket is a great application and possibly my current favorite (but not necessarily most used of course). I was also comparing it to the Amazon Kindle because of it's Over-The-Air store on the BlackBerry. However, that experience is currently lacking some needed (IMHO) features.

1) Why can't I set it up to remember my credit card info so I don't have to go through that process when purchasing a book from my bb? That is annoying to me and cumbersome. I think there should at least be a choice.

2) It would be great if I could subscribe to magazines or newspapers, and even RSS feeds formatted for portable devices. This brings me to 3...

3) It would be nice to be able to set it to automatically download new content I either buy or that is updated via a subscription.

So, that's my wish list to make MobiPocket even better. If those things came about, I would have very little desire to buy a kindle (other than the fact that the Kindle is still a better reading device and has size and clarity over the bb).

One last thought on this, the carriers could pickup the distribution piece with their data plans. I can't ever see them doing something like this (no strong business reason), but it's an idea anyway. ;-)


Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Reading physical hardback books now sucks for me

Well, I finished "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown as an eBook, which I purchased from my phone Over-The-Air from and through MobiPocket. I finished it Tuesday night, and I believe it's possibly the quickest I finished a book. Not only because it was a great book which made it easy and fast to read, but because having the book with me at all times in my phone, not needing any external light source to view it in dark areas/rooms and because the size of the BlackBerry along with how easy it is to turn pages, etc, allowed me to more easily read in areas I would normally never have my book or opportunity.

Since finishing Angels & Demons electronically, I returned to some physical books I have that I want to read. Laying down last night to read was frustrating. Not only did I need to have a light on, but it was also uncomfortable. It is a hardback book, so that has something to do with it I'm sure, but I don't know if paperbacks will be much better.

I doubt I'll "give up" on physical books, but I suppose this is more about me saying I actually enjoyed the eBook experience from MobiPocket on my BlackBerry Curve!! And that's saying something!


Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Headphones and Bluetooth Headsets

I have two things on my mind as I sit on my flight to Dallas. The first is headphones, and the second, more troublesome and disturbing to *me*, are Bluetooth headsets.

I'll start out with headphones because I'm using them as I type this on my berry. With all the travel I've been doing, I've had a chance to try the various headphones I own. For a while I have been using my Sony Over-The-Ear Noise Canceling headphones. The sound is decent, but the bass is only good if you turn on the noise canceling feature, which isn't always wanted. Even then, it sounds more "boomy" then punchy (i.e., sloppy). I also should point out that the volume through the berry on them couldn't get very loud at all, but that's more an issue of the drivers in them not being very efficient. I tried the headphones the Curve comes with, and while they can get loud (VERY loud), they do nothing to block out background noise, which there is *plenty* of on a plane. They also have a *serious* lack of bass or fullness in their sound. So, they absolutely sucked on the plane, but they were okay in normal quiet environments (aside from the weak, less full, sound). I also have a pair of Shure in-ear headphones that I fitted with the sponge inserts (so they breath and don't create a suction in my ear while flying... before changing to this, on one flight, it caused me *serious* pain and an ear infection as it caused mucus to enter my ear canal from the pressure changes and the suction... it woke me from a sleep from the pain). These let in a tiny bit of background noise, which I actually appreciate, while still providing strong bass and full sound. They are what I am using right now to listen to music while I type, and they are proving to be mostly comfortable. Though I expect I will have some pain later... Nothing too bad. I also have a Motorola Bluetooth Stereo Headset that works really well for music and the occasional call interruption while listening, but it does little to block out background noise, and you aren't supposed to use BT on planes anyway. I guess my point is, the in-ear headphones are currently getting my vote for plane use, but I lean towards the BT Stereo headset for everyday (non-plane) use. They've been working well for me when in the house and yard work, even mowing the lawn, and the biggest reason I favor them is because of the lack of wires to get in the way. I don't think I realized how nice that would be when I first bought them, but now I would like even better BT Stereo Headphones. There are even some that include noise cancellation, but I don't know that I am willing to spend close to $200 for a new pair. I will most likely stick with what I have for quite some time.

Now onto Bluetooth Headsets (non-stereo) for everyday phone use on the go. It is nice being able to communicate handsfree, yet private, with a Bluetooth headset, but finding a headset that meets all of my requirements is proving impossible. The reason I'm even on the hunt is because my dogs literally ate my previous one that worked fairly decent for me. It was a Jabra Mono/Stereo headset that was essentially a standard mono headset in appearance and function, yet you could plug in an optional left (other) earpiece and get stereo sound. The sound quality wasn't as good as my Motorola Stereo set, but it allowed you to only use the single piece when not needing stereo music. This made it very pocketable, which is important to me, and the sound quality of the mono piece was generally better than most mono headsets... It also could raise the volume very loud so I could hear my callers in loud environments. It had a separate on/off switch that means it would only turn on/off at my will. It also had a vibrate feature that was great for alerting me of calls while driving with the stereo very loud, etc. I don't want to be that guy walking around with a BT headset in his ear even when not talking on the phone, so pocketability is key. I'm also not going to be that guy with a phone and headset perched on my belt... No thanks (so no BT Headset case).

I have been searching for the best option and was hoping to raise the bar in noise cancellation in the process. My Jabra was ok, but there certainly room for improvement. I had also gone through about 5-6 other headsets before finally settling with the Jabra. Too many headsets have a combination of the following problems: horrible background noise issues; horrible reception (though this is often the fault of the phones BT transceiver and not the headset) to the point that putting your phone in your pocket degrades quality; horrible fit; not enough volume for loud areas; battery life; etc.

Recently I purchased the BlueAnt Z9i because it got decent reviews and was supposed to deal well with background noise... It is also *very* tiny in length, but it was rather thick and stood off my face farther than I would like. In using it, it didn't fair very well. There was still an abundant amount of background noise, and the volume wasn't that great. It also seemed that people couldn't hear me that well. I returned that after about a day of use and opted for the Aliph Jawbone 2 because it was supposed to be the absolute best for noise reduction. I'm sure it works really well for some peoplean but I had several issues with it; 1) to power it on, you hold the talk button, but this "button" is essentially the entire front/outside of the headset. So putting it in my pocket would inadvertently turn it on/off when you weren't expecting it... So you try to answer a call unsuccessfully. 2) this same issue of the talk button being the entire face of the unit, and how easy it is to press, means that trying to adjust the headset better into the ear to hear better frequently resulted in ending a call... This was most frustrating. 3) the fit wasn't spectacular. 4) my callers still heard plenty of background noise, but they did say they could still hear me clearly. I would love for this headset to work for me, but I will be returning it as well.

I still don't know what the right headset will be for me, but thank goodness I can return them when they don't work well for me. I'd simply go without one altogether, but between driving or needing my hands free while troubleshooting something while on the phone with support, I have found it hard to not have one. Some I may try, there is a Plantronics Discovery 925 (I think) that seems decent, a Motorola H12 that may work and was recommended to me, and possibly some others. In the end, I may get the same headset my dogs ate, because at least that was "good enough" for quite a while, and the battery life was incredible at something like 8hours of talk time and 10hours of music!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

BlackBerry is proving a decent eBook reader using MobiPocket

I wasn't sure at first if the BB would be the right platform for trying to read eBooks, and I'm still certain that a true eBook reader like the Kindle would be better than it, but after using it for a while now and actually enjoying it, I'm ready to say it works (for me).

I also was able to find a post on how to fix the OTA (Over The Air) MobiPocket book store on my new T-Mobile Curve (I will post that at a later time because it also made the Sprint Mobile NFL app work on my T-Mobile Curve and probably other things). Since I got the store to work, and I was looking for something new to read and wanted to read Dan Brown's "Angel's & Demons" and not finding it physically in the several places I tried to but it, I decided to buy it from MobiPocket for $7.99.

So far I've been able to read it more situations than I would if it was a physical book for the simple fact that I have my bb with me at all times and never really carry physical books with me unless I know I am going to be able to read (which isn't often). I'm already a slow reader, but add in the fact that I don't often have what I'm reading with me and it can literally take me months to finish a book. So far, using the bb, I have been able to get quite a bit reading in (comparitivly). It's also great for reading at night since it has its own light source.

Finally, the other nice feature about using the bb is that one thing serves two purposes for me at the same time. You see, I like to listen to movie scores that match the mode of the book I'm reading while I read. So the bb can serve as both my media player and my book. On top of that, it has Bluetooth Stereo (A2DP), so I can use my wireless headphones which I like while laying down (nothing to get tangled when moving around). Also, the device is so light that my arms don't get tired while holding it, and I find myself not having to switch my position much, if at all.

So far I am very happy.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Viigo Beta on the BlackBerry

Today I realized there was a beta of Viigo for the BB that gives the same updated user interface as what I was using on my WM Treo. This made me very happy because I was missing the updated UI and features. I also have to say that I am happy with how stable the beta is on the bb as opposed to what I was experiencing on WM. I truly do not think the instability I saw on WM has anything to do with Viigo's development. Most apps on the WM platform had issues, which is why I switched to the BB.



One feature that is planned but currently unavailable (and I got a response from Viigo that a timeframe is currently unavailable) is the Audio/Podcasts feature which *was* working on the WM beta version I tested. I'm guessing the delay is a download issue since the BB goes through either a BIS or BES. I've found that several things that worked or pulled down one way on my WM device either do not work on my BB or react/display differently. I've been attributing this to BIS. I've also noticed and heard from my friend how some things do not work for him that work for me, or vice versa. I have to believe that this is due to how the carrier manages their BIS servers.



One instance of this is, on his T-Mobile Curve, the MobiPocket OTA eBook Store does not work, yet my Sprint Curve works with it just fine. On the flip side, true html web and html email work perfectly for him on T-Mobile, while not at all on Sprint.



I intend to post more comparisons when I get my T-Mobile Curve at the end of this week (hopefully).



One thing that was apparently just released by Sprint for the BB, and I just installed, is their mobile NFL app. I'll be semi-bummed to lose that switching to T-Mobile, but not enough to stop me. I'm not sure that app is all that good anyway, and Wi-Fi is much more important to me, as well as html email and web.





Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

GPS Navigation from a phone

Now, as I hope you are beginning to see, I believe there's really no substitute for a dedicated device for most things. However, having a device that is spectacular at a couple things, while having the ability to do other things pretty well, is usually a good thing in my book. It may not be the best at that additional function, but hopefully it gets you by in a pinch. The BlackBerry is a stellar wireless email device, and a great phone. So far, I've found it to be a more than adequate music media player (video hasn't been a priority for me so far, so I haven't tested that), and I'm even starting to think it may be a pretty nice eBook reader (but I'd much rather have a Kindle). Now I'll discuss my thoughts on it being a GPS device.

First, I'd like to point out that I've never owned a stand alone dedicated GPS device up to this point, but I've used them many times and understand their strengths and weaknesses. This isn't a review of dedicated GPS devices, but I will tell you I will probably own a Navigon 2100 Max sooner than later, and the following are some reasons why I'm switching to a dedicated device...

The first GPS experience I "owned" was the Palm GPS kit for the Treo 650. It consisted of a dedicated Bluetooth GPS unit and Tom Tom Navigator software. I have to say that this combination was generally VERY good. The Tom Tom software was literally identical to the standalone units, and the GPS receiver was a REAL chipset being used in regular standalone devices. The feature set was great, and navigation was easily as good as a standalone unit. So you may be asking, what's the problem? Well, all was great until the phone rang and you took the call. During the call, any turns, exits to take, etc, would not be announced because you were on the phone and it basically was put on pause. Another downside was that, because the GPS was Bluetooth, you couldn't use a Bluetooth headset at the same time for calls... And I don't like to hold the phone while driving. The other piece that bugged me was the multiple devices and having to plug both it. The plugging in part was actually pretty ingenious on Palm's part, because they gave you a car adapter with two charging wires for both the phone and GPS. The last piece is that the kit cost about $250, which was cheap for GPS back when I bought it (VERY cheap actually), but map updates through Tom Tom are not cheap and are one off things.

My next GPS experience was through Verizon with their VZNavigator application. Now that I have a Sprint BB and tried their navigation software, I can say that VZNavigator rocks! ... For a *phone* GPS that is. Verizon also updated their software to include traffic updates, but that was less impressive and didn't seem to route you around it... Just showed you when you would slow down (weak). The nice idea about a GPS service like this is that map updates would happen automatically and faster (in theory). However, because of the nature of that service being that the maps/software was NOT on the phone, it 1) took longer to route the trip, and 2) would have to recalculate much more if you went off route, say due to construction or an accident. It certainly would recover, but it seemed it didn't have enough data and couldn't easily pick an alternate route. In fact, it seems you don't get any real choices in choosing routes at all. You have no way to say, "avoid this area because I know it's a mess". Though, not all standalone GPS units have those features either, but the Tom Tom and Navigon I know do. One great thing about the Verizon solution was that my Bluetooth headset worked, and in fact it spoke the directions into my headset, and allowed me to use it during calls (but I would often *not* take a call because the GPS would stop working during that time). So, in closing on the Verizon solution, I'd have to say the it is by far the best *phone-based* GPS solution I've been able to use.

Sprint's solution on the BlackBerry is weak. But I should start off by discussing my reasons for thinking it might be better. 1) The BlackBerry Curve 8330 has a built-in GPS chipset that is autonomous from the cellular transceiver. In theory, this *should* provide better response and ability (in practice, it felt worse than the Verizon solution without a real GPS chipset). 2) Sprint said the GPS was "simultaneous and autonomous", and this made me think that it would work even when I was on a call... It doesn't. I should say that in all cases of phone-based GPS, when you finish the call, the GPS does pick back up where you are, but it's not the speediest thing (in all cases except for the Palm Tom Tom solution which kept the GPS going the entire time), and if you missed a turn while in the call you are in for a lot of rerouting and trying to get back on track. Sprint uses TeleNav for its service, and I think it sucks compared to VZNavigator. I also tried the BlackBerry Maps application, and while it felt more like a traditional GPS centric app, it was one from 1999, and it also became apparent how often the GPS chipset was losing a fix.

I've seen some AT&T phone GPS solutions and wasn't impressed. I also don't think anyone should pick a carrier for a GPS solution, but rather buy a standalone unit.
This is one area where I DON'T believe a multi-use device is capable enough. However, having the feature could come in handy in a pinch, and I don't know that I would be upset because something is better than nothing. Also, I had too many times where I had to take calls while driving (it's part of my job) and got way off track. One time, I was on a conference call that I had to participate in and it was even running long, so it went on for over an hour, and I realized I was no longer on the right path. I actually had to hang up and wait for the GPS to get itself together which took longer than normal and then it had to go through calculating a completely new route. It turns out I went 30 minutes out of my way, so that phone call added an hour to my trip. So, while I was hopeful that the Sprint BB would offer better GPS features, I figured I'd be buying a standalone soon enough.

As it turns out, this post took me two days to complete (I'm busy) and I ordered a standalone GPS to arrive today in time for my week long trip next week. I will be posting my review of my new GPS soon.

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Continued - BlackBerry as eBook Reader

Okay, while I'm still skeptical of the format (meaning, such a small screen and not a dedicated reading device such as the Amazon Kindle), so far I am liking the idea of my BB as an eBook reader for the simple reason that I *always* have my BB on me, and therefore have found opportunities to read where I would normally not have a book with me.

One thing that actually concerns me slightly (slightly mind you) is that it seems the OTA MobiPocket eBook store doesn't appear to work on T-Mobile's Curve, which is what I'm getting shortly to replace my Sprint Curve. My best friend has the T-Mobile Curve and could not get it to work (and it's documented on MobiPocket's support forum as well as other various posts on the web that this is a problem). He also has a Sprint Curve that his work gave him, and he can get to it through that... but it was spotty for him (his Sprint Curve is going through a BES server from his employer, whereas mine goes through the Sprint BIS server... so that could account for the "spotty"-ness). I was likening the OTA MobiPocket store to the wireless service of the Amazon Kindle, and that seemed appealing to me. Now, I know it's not the same as the Kindle.. not even close really, but the idea that I could finish a book in an airport and purchase and download another right on the spot seemed cool to me. Honestly though, I can sync with my PC... and I could easily purchase a new book before I finish the current one so that wouldn't happen. So it's really no big deal.

I'd much rather have a Kindle, but in the meantime, while the price is still over $200 and I have a perfectly good BlackBerry, I may actually deal with this format for a bit. My biggest concern now is battery drain from the backlight being on for hours while I'm reading. ;-)

BlackBerry as an eBook Reader?

Okay, I read some post about using the bb as an ebook reader. The rationale used was, "you use the bb to read email, why not use it to read books?" It also cited MobiPocket Reader as the best solution, in part because they have an over the air (OTA) eBook store for the BlackBerry.

I have to say I was skeptical since the screen is so small and I wasn't sure what the experience would be like... But the thought of finding yet another use for a single device has always interested me (though I have come to realize that one thing can't be all things well... There are often sacrifices too big to succeed).

I installed MobiPocket Reader and accessed the online book store. I downloaded a sample of Dan Brown's 'Angels & Demons' since I haven't read that yet, but want to purchase it. I figured it might be a decent way for me to see if the bb is a device I could see myself using to actually read a book. I have to say the OTA bookstore and its experience is pretty good.

After reading the sample of the book, I actually found myself kind of forgetting I was using a bb to read the book. This was after much tinkering to get the right font and font size so that holding the bb at a comfortable reading arms length was similar on the eyes to reading an actual paperback. I don't believe the initial font was good enough, but I may have run full circle on the fonts. Once I had that set, other than the limited amount of text displayed on the screen causing constant page turning, it seemed very natural (I was surprised). The process of moving forward and backward in the book is easy enough. To page forward, you can use the spacebar, which is nice and easy, but you can also use the trackball to go forward and backward, also very easy. The last piece of the pie, and I need to do some more testing on this, is how well it would display images in books. Angels & Demons has a picture of the word Illuminati that is pretty key to the story for you to see... It looked great. Very sharp and readable. And the ease in which you can page forward and back made it nice to go back and reference like in a regular paper book.

MobiPocket Reader also has some other abilities I have yet to explore. One of these is the ability to create annotations, and I believe bookmarks. This could make it easy and quick to get to and from various key places.

While I'm still unsure if I'm willing to drop upwards of $10 on an eBook, it's an interesting prospect. Time will tell if I make the plunge, but with my travels and the idea of carrying less, I like the idea. I'm already considering not carrying my iPod and using my bb instead. The fact that it has a standard headphone jack and takes high-end headphones without an adapter is great. Pair that ability with being able to also read a book while listening to music, which is all I do when traveling, it sounds like a pretty slick package.

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Posting from my CrackBerry

So, while I wish there was a native app for posting to various blogs, I suppose email is easy enough. I mean, there's not too much you need to do in a post other than type text, and I'm pretty sure I could post pix from email too.

Posting from my BB is great, because I don't get to sit in front of a computer for personal reasons much, but I pretty much always have my BB and can write my posts in pieces where I get breaks (like this post which has spanned many hours and even in the midst of a family party like right this second).

My brother-in-law is sitting next to me with an iPhone, and it reminds me why they frustrate me so. They are VERY slick on many fronts, but no hardware keyboard and pretty much only a touchscreen, on top of other things like no memory expansion, etc, make me glad I don't own one. But there is a slickness to them, and graphically they blow the BB away... But life isn't eye candy.

Anyway, I have some other observations on the BB I will post soon, like using it for various things.

Switching from Sprint BB to a T-Mobile BB

This is for many reasons... I may name some over the course of time in comparisons, but here are some initial thoughts:

1. My current Sprint BlackBerry will simply go to my wife, so no loss on equipment and all that.
2. My biggest reason for wanting the T-Mobile Curve is because it has WiFi!! Pretty much all cell phone carriers signals suck where I live (except Verizon, but I've grown to hate them and am canceling my service with them... I believe I wrote in previous posts why I dislike them). With WiFi, I don't have to only rely on the carriers signal strength as I can simply use ultra speedy WiFi. This obviously goes far beyond just my house (hotel rooms, etc), but I work out of my house when not traveling and therefore spend probably 90% of my life in my house.
3. T-Mobile has seriously upped their signal game... it looks like I will have a better signal in my house than in the past, so that's a plus.
4. T-Mobile offers @Home for $10/mo. This is essentially making your house a T-Mobile HotSpot and allows your cell phone service to route through your home WiFi!! It provides unlimited calling @Home, and obviously removes the concern of signal strength. ;-)
5. T-Mobile is MUCH less restrictive on their network than Sprint and especially Verizon who is the most prohibitive, even disabling many features on phones.
6. T-Mobile seems to be keeping up with BIS (BlackBerry Internet Service) software updates better than Sprint, as my friend & I upgraded our Curve's to the latest BlackBerry OS (4.5.x at the time of this writing) which offers many feature enhancements such as HTML email and real web browsing. Setting all the right things in my Sprint Curve, I just couldn't get those features to work at all (same old ugliness). The T-Mobile Curve worked with all of it (to get those features, the BIS server has to be on the latest version... or at least a version that supports those features).
7. While Sprint certainly created some great plans as far as pricing and features (passing Verizon for value), T-Mobile seems to offer even more for less. Sprint may have some services like the Sprint Music Store (ugh) and SprintTV (even worse ugh... why bother), and I'm betting their cell data speeds are ultimately higher in average (based on signal strength of course), the features that matter most to me are at T-Mobile.
8. Lastly, I found the T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve on Amazon for $25... BEFORE the $100 mail-in rebate!!! That means I will actually MAKE $75 by buying the phone (if I send in the rebate and after the 6-8 week delivery period). Buying the phone from Sprint or T-Mobile costs you $249 up front, then there is the $100 mail-in rebate. To get a phone that will work better for my needs for so little... I couldn't pass it up. The biggest downside, and it's killing me right now because I'm SO impatient, is that it's not in stock and my estimated delivery is between September 11-17... to top it off, I will be traveling the week of the 11th... so my new shiny phone could be waiting for me at home while I'm on the road. :-(

Anyway, these are some of the reasons... like I said, I will probably list more in comparison posts. For now, if someone is trying to decide where to buy the BlackBerry Curve from, I'd say buy it through Amazon and get the T-Mobile Curve. ;-)

BlackBerry to replace my iPod

Well, that title has more sensation than reality. ;-) However, my playing with the media player on my BlackBerry today put it in a very good light. The sound quality is damn near as good as the iPod for songs in the same bit rate (if not as good). Because I only (currently) have a 4GB card in the BB, I decided to limit the quality of songs to 192kbps (I mean, it IS for *mobile* use, so I doubt I'll really hear a difference with so many other noises around me in those situations). I synced my BB through WMP11 (Windows Media Player), so it automatically converted the songs higher than 192kbps for me. I tried to sync a playlist from WMP, but it did not show up in the BB. This honestly doesn't bother me because I generally listen to whole albums at a time anymore. If you have a ton of playlists and really like that feature, you may want to try something different. I believe there is a sync utility from BlackBerry to allow you to sync with iTunes and all it's playlists. I stopped using iTunes a while ago and I'm not looking back.

As far as playlist capabilities are concerned, I was actually really impressed with the BB's feature set on creating playlists. It allows for both Automatic and Manual playlists. Like I said, this isn't a driving factor for me, so what it has is plenty good for me.

The fact that the BB Curve has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack is AWESOME! It allows you to use much higher quality headphones without having to buy or mess with an adapter. ALL phones trying to provide media playback should have this. Listening with some higher end headphones produced sound that (I believe) equals the iPod on the same exact file and bit rate. I also used my two Bluetooth Stereo headsets that have the ability to control the media player functions aside from normal call functions. Their sound was great through the BB Curve, but they are obviously no match for the higher end wired headphones. However, the fact that there are no wires and you can control the media player from them makes up for a lot in convenience. Good for several activities. Lastly, I tried the stereo headset the BB Curve comes with. Their drivers were obviously more sensitive, so had higher volume levels, but the sound really wasn't very good (as can be expected).

I had the Verizon LG Chocolate2 which was *supposed* to be like an iPod phone... no thanks!! The media player ABSOLUTELY sucked... and that's saying it lightly. It had proprietary connections and more. It didn't even have the ability to read the ID3 tags and determine the songs track number to play them in the correct order... instead it played songs alphabetically. WTF?!?!? The BB has no such issue. In fact, the only complaint I would have about how it organizes songs is that for Artist, it uses the individual song artist instead of the "Album Artist" value which is a better way to sort in my opinion. It's really not a big deal, and some people may prefer this way.

I don't see this replacing my iPod any time soon, mainly because of storage limitations. My iPod is 60GB, and the most you will ever be able to get in a BB Curve is 32GB when they eventually release microSDHC cards that high. For now, I will most likely get an 8GB card (I don't think I can wait for the 16GB ones due out later this year... partially because they will be much higher in price for a good while). When 32GB cards are available for reasonable prices, I could see me carrying my iPod less and less. The iPod will probably always be a "better" media player... but convenience and only carrying one device has to count for something. Being mobile and travelling taught me that.

Just couldn't take it... Switched to a BlackBerry Curve

There were several things that bugged me to the point of deciding to switch from the Treo 700w and Windows Mobile devices in general to a BlackBerry Curve from Sprint. I'm not sure I can capture them all here, but I'll give it a shot.

1. OS and Apps crashing - I updated to the latest firmware for the 700w. It was still WM5, and I don't know if WM6.x solves these issues, but I didn't want to risk spending more on a new device to find out it's the same old same old.
2. Battery Life - The battery just wouldn't last long (not even a full day) and that's without push email working (more on that later). I did not set it up to automatically download email either because the battery would drain even faster. When traveling, there are MANY instances where there is no opportunity to charge... I also can't be without a phone when traveling.
3. Push Email not working - This was not the fault of the device or WM, but rather my companies inability to get Exchange ActiveSync working. HOWEVER, that would *only* enable push for work email, not any personal accounts... so getting those personal accounts emails still required manual intervention or no battery life. That's just not acceptable to me.
4. Beautiful Apps with great features/functions... that don't always work - I can say, after only a couple days of using the BlackBerry and the apps (some the same as the WM apps), that the WM versions are MUCH prettier to look at, and in some cases have better feature sets (Viigo as one specific example). However, these apps seem buggy and prone to issues. I don't think it was the application developers fault, but it is what it is. Maybe I'm even alone on this finding and those apps are working perfectly for others on WM, but my experience was not good... and this follows back through the history of Windows CE, PocketPC, etc. Some of the apps I'm referring to have a pretty long history on Windows Mobile through it's life stages... so with that kind of history, shouldn't they work better?
5. Multi-tasking and pitfalls - One thing WM had over the Palm OS was multi-tasking... but the BlackBerry handles that in spades now. WM seemed to have issues here if an app was posing problems, which happened frequently enough. I don't doubt that the BlackBerry could run into these same issues, especially bumping into a memory limitation, but if the apps are more stable, I have to believe it will happen less.
6. Touchscreen functions as opposed to hardware buttons only - I know there are WM phones that do not have a touchscreen, but I'm certain they are plagued with many of the same issues listed above. The problem with the touchscreen is that you have to change your input method, and in MANY cases need to pull out a stylus and use that because whatever you need to press or click is too small for your fingers. I set the touchscreen to lock when in a call on the Today screen... but then it displayed a lock message over some of the on screen buttons and I couldn't tell which was which to mute the call or put it on speakerphone. All of the touchscreen functions REALLY bugged me to no end. Any way I sliced it, I was getting a phone that did NOT include a touchscreen. (for those out there in love with their iPhone and touchscreen only input... good luck. I have a friend who's iPhone touchscreen stopped working in certain sectors of the screen, namely the unlock slide, and also the "one (hardware) button" eventually broke. When he went to speak to the Apple "Geniuses", they told him there was nothing they could do to fix it and he would need to buy another one... WTF?!?!?)

So, I am VERY happy with my choice thus far and plan on posting my findings about the BlackBerry. I also plan on detailing things I liked better on Windows Mobile than the BlackBerry and vice versa. I'll probably discuss apps for it and review them as best I can.

Obviously, everyone's mileage and opinions vary... this is just mine.