Iphone or Blackberry?

Hey guys,

I realize both are pretty popular but which do you prefer? and why?

I'm trying to get some positive and negatives on both since DH and I want to get contract phones but not sure which to choose out of the two.

What about an Android?  I'd do that in a heartbeat over a blackberry.  I've been very happy with mine. iPhone has more apps, but I've found everything I need for my Android and it costs a lot less. I have a Samsung Galaxy S, which has been very good, and I hear a newer version is coming out soon.

I have a BlackBerry Curve and an iPod touch.  I like my BlackBerry.  It's far from perfect, but it does what I need.  I like that things seem to open faster than on the iPod, and if I can get mobile versions of websites, it's very convenient.  However, I also have the iPod for lots of apps that I use regularly, so I'm not sure I'd like the BlackBerry so much if I didn't also have the iPod.  A lot depends on what you plan to use it for. 

I'm going to get rid of my I-phone & get an Android as soon as I can upgrade on my contract late this year.  I don't think the I-phones are very good technology personally in that they don't seem to be built to last.

My I-Phone crapped out (luckily) just before the 1-year warranty was up & so I got it replaced for free.  A few days more & I'd have been out of pocket for a new phone, still having to fulfill the mobile provider's contract.  That's really poor value to me for something that I'm paying that much for.

A friend at work, her I-phone recently bit the dust, she's past her 1 year warranty & still has time on her contract.  If she wants a working I-phone, she's going to have to shell out £130 for a replacement, or her mobile provider said they would swap her contract for a different phone - also for £130.  She doesn't have the £130 for a new phone or for switching at this point, so she's gone back to a PAYG phone she had that is 10 years old and she still has to pay out the contract for her I-phone that no longer works.

I'm sorry, but for something that costs that much, they should last longer than that and/or provide a better service than that!  That's simply unacceptable, IMO.

Everyone I know that has gone to Androids are very happy with them.  Once I can get out of the I-phone, I'll never go back to it.

I have an Android (got it last month) and I'm happy with it so far . It's my first contract phone because I've never really spent enough money on my phone to justify an expensive contract (which is why I didn't go for an iphone).

The Android has everything I need - I get 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 250 MB internet a month for just £11.25 a month (it's a £15/month contract but I got a corporate discount on it ). I mostly decided to go with a smart phone so I could use the internet on it and download apps (like the Kindle app) - which is really useful for passing my lunch hours at work... I can check my emails/FB/Twitter and read a book without lugging my laptop/actual books around .

I have a Blackberry Torch and an Ipod Touch.  What my husband and I love most about Blackberry is the Blackberry instant messenger.  We can communicate via instant message anywhere and it doesn't eat up minutes or MBs anywhere in the world.  If one of us travels somewhere we can instant message each other for free.  I really wanted an Iphone, but the Blackberry instant message app has paid off for us big time.

I'm going to get rid of my I-phone & get an Android as soon as I can upgrade on my contract late this year.  I don't think the I-phones are very good technology personally in that they don't seem to be built to last.

Aw, DH and I just switched to iphones because we don't think blackberrys or android phones are built to last. DH used to have a blackberry but didn't get on with it at all. He then got an HTC Desire HD and that broke after 7 months. It developed three separate problems when he upgraded to the latest Android operating system and would need to be rebooted (it said "SIM card error") every few minutes. The technician guy said that Android installs each new update on top of all the previous ones, so it's common for problems like that to develop. DH's sister has an HTC Wildfire and has the same problem with her phone always rebooting and freezing. DH also didn't like the app store very much and didn't like how the apps weren't vetted so he had to install anti-virus on his phone. Oh, and battery life was really really terrible. Wouldn't even last him a full day with average usage. We then realised that we have a 1st gen ipod touch that hasn't developed any problems in over 3 years, and an ipad that's never developed any problems either. We love Apple's interface, love the app store, and love the quality of their products. It's kind of embarrasing how much we <3 our iphones. 

hmm android eh? I'll look into that a bit more.

Blackberry messenger sounds great since we text everyone and constantly. It would be nice to save some money atleast with each other.

I like the idea of having actual keys to press. I imagine it takes longer to send a message on a full touch screen phone. I have the ipod touch and love the apps on it but I feel like it's so fragile to use as a phone.

Thanks for your input, very interesting responses.

I'm another one who recommends an Android phone! I got mine a couple of months ago - got the Galaxy Mini, which is more of an entry level smart phone. But DH has the Galaxy S and it does just about everything his does. And it only cost me 100 pounds! I bought it outright and got a sim-only contract. I pay 10 pounds a month, and I get more minutes/texts/internet than I can use! I absolutely love it.

It also has the Swype technology, which I absolutely love for texting/typing:
Swype for Android demo

I'm going to get rid of my I-phone & get an Android as soon as I can upgrade on my contract late this year.  I don't think the I-phones are very good technology personally in that they don't seem to be built to last.

My I-Phone crapped out (luckily) just before the 1-year warranty was up & so I got it replaced for free.  A few days more & I'd have been out of pocket for a new phone, still having to fulfill the mobile provider's contract.  That's really poor value to me for something that I'm paying that much for.

A friend at work, her I-phone recently bit the dust, she's past her 1 year warranty & still has time on her contract.  If she wants a working I-phone, she's going to have to shell out £130 for a replacement, or her mobile provider said they would swap her contract for a different phone - also for £130.  She doesn't have the £130 for a new phone or for switching at this point, so she's gone back to a PAYG phone she had that is 10 years old and she still has to pay out the contract for her I-phone that no longer works.

I'm sorry, but for something that costs that much, they should last longer than that and/or provide a better service than that!  That's simply unacceptable, IMO.

Everyone I know that has gone to Androids are very happy with them.  Once I can get out of the I-phone, I'll never go back to it.

I've had every iphone now and not had a problem with them, if you're worried about your iphone reliability I'd suggest Apple Care, if you shop around you can get it for as low as £25 and Apple will fix/repair/replace your iphone for up to 3 years (1 year standard and 2 years extra).

To be honest, very few of the smart phones seem to last more than a year, I had a work blackberry (8650) and after 6 months I needed a replacement as the track ball was absolutely shot but my 9900 was really good.

I guess it all depends on what you use it for, if you want email then the blackberry can't be beaten, but the aps suck and the web browsing is pretty poor.

If you want a mix of aps then I'd really suggest Android.

If you prioritise music and aps then I'd 100% go for iphone.

 I have a `1hr45 minute commute a day and listen to music the entire way and back again so for me the iphone was a clear winner, but if you're on a budget or it's not that important to you, then I'd go Android. Also iphones really work best when you have a mac, as an all mac house I really get the best out of it, but if you didn't really connect it to your mac/pc then it would be pretty pointless

I have a blackberry torch, and I do really like it a lot! The thing for me that I love the most is that I can BBM my sister in NY all day long! And I do! Send each other silly pictures, text! I love it! I have no real desire to buy any apple products, as I have had a bad experience with a ipod, so the Blackberry is great for me. I love the keyboard also, I am not a fan of a touch screen keyboard. But I love the Torch because of the touch screen and the keyboard. I only pay £25 a month, cheap as chips!

Also iphones really work best when you have a mac, as an all mac house I really get the best out of it, but if you didn't really connect it to your mac/pc then it would be pretty pointless

Yeah, we're not a Mac household & I don't like how tied into I-tunes the thing is.  I use it mostly for internet surfing, texting, and phone, in that order.  I think an Android will be a better choice for me.

I'm not sure how the Androids are serviced, so that's one thing I'll look into.  I really didn't like how when I had a problem with the I-phone, the mobile shop was all 'well it's nothing to do with us' & the nearest I-phone centre (or whatever they're called) to me is in Sheffield - so not convenient at all.

ETA:  If none of the smart phones really last anyway, I might just go back to my old-school PAYG 2G Sony Ericsson (still have it) & forget about smart phones.  I don't like the idea of cluttering up the planet with all these smartphones that crap out in < 2 years or so. 

I have a Blackberry Torch and an Ipod Touch.  What my husband and I love most about Blackberry is the Blackberry instant messenger.  We can communicate via instant message anywhere and it doesn't eat up minutes or MBs anywhere in the world.  If one of us travels somewhere we can instant message each other for free.  I really wanted an Iphone, but the Blackberry instant message app has paid off for us big time.

I was under the impression that once you are out of your mobile phone suppliers area, BBM isn't free...am I wrong? I do hope so!

I'm going to also suggest Android. 

I have a rooted HTC Desire running CyanogenMod and I guess that's what I love about Android, you have the ability to change it in ways that you can't with other phones. 

If you are interested in a messenger like BBM, you can get Kik messenger which is a lot like BBM, but for Android.  It will use your mb, but it is push so the usage is minimal.  I use this to talk to my husband all the time and am attempting to get my sisters to install it.  Both of us have contracts with 500mb a month and never come close to using it, and I'm on the phone all day long.

I had swipe but when I rooted the phone I didn't re-install it.  It just got annoying after a while and kept crashing when my phone restarted.

My only gripe with the Desire (and I have heard this about some of the other HTC phones) is that the battery life is less than desirable.  The standby time on it is ok, but if you are a very heavy user, I you need to make sure to charge it during the day.  I have a charger at work and will plug it while I'm at my desk.

I was under the impression that once you are out of your mobile phone suppliers area, BBM isn't free...am I wrong? I do hope so!

Messenger is free no matter where you are.