Dear BlackBerryCool: My Switch From iPhone to BlackBerry

Posted
by
Kyle McInnes
on November 10, 2011, at 9:38 PM
in Editorials
. Tags: , , , , .
Comments: 10 responses
10 Comments

We recently got an email from a reader that switched from iPhone to BlackBerry and loves the move. It’s a good story because it highlights the value that the BlackBerry form factor and platform bring to your daily life. Sure, the iPhone is an amazing device that has revolutionized mobile software, but it has yet to provide the same caliber of messaging and efficiency. Read the full story after the jump.

BlackBerry vs iPhone

Dear BlackBerryCool,

I was an iPhone guy for a couple years. I loved it. I told anyone who would listen that I wouldn’t ever have a different type of phone. But then one day my iPhone broke and I was forced to borrow a spare BlackBerry from one of my friends and now I will never go back. While BBM is great, it isn’t what makes it for me. It’s the fact that I can really work on my phone.

With my iPhone, I played games and read emails, but that was it. I never responded to emails since I hated the touchscreen keypad and I couldn’t ever edit documents when they were sent to me. Instead, I saw what was sent and then put it off until I was at my computer. This meant that when I was finally at my desk in the morning, I had a massive pile of email to deal with. Now, I’m able to quickly respond to emails no matter how much needs to be written and I can work on documents when I’m on the bus or waiting for someone. RIM really gets business. Both the calendar and the blinky red light are clearly made by people who understand the needs of a mobile workforce. These simple features make me a more efficient person and allow me to figure out what is going on as quickly as possible.

Someone asked me how I could live without my iPhone after I had been practically fused to it for so long. It got me thinking about what I truly miss about it. I realized that when I broke it down there were really only a few apps that I missed. I miss my iFitness app which tracks my progress at the gym, my poker odds calculator and I miss the Ottawa Public Library app. That being said, the reality is that I rarely have time to read for pleasure or play poker these days and while I still go to the gym, I’m now forced to track my progress on an Excel spreadsheet that i created on my BlackBerry.

The sad truth is that at some point we all need to grow up and I realized that the iPhone was my childhood and now that I’m a grownup I need a BlackBerry.

-Micah

EDITOR NOTE: We suggested to Micah that he try Gym Technik for his BlackBerry fitness tracking needs.

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  • Anonymous

    Condescending prick

  • Mr. BB

    Ike no one said anything about android! Would you use an iPhone? Instead of an android one? The point is is that the IPHONE, not android, is a kiddie like device only for the fact that it’s more of a recreational phone than a work horse phone like a blackberry or an android phone. I used the android platform but I went back to blackberry because of its encryption and productivity functions. Android is a decent paradox between blackberry and iPhone if you like a little of both. The blackberry for most users is a safe bet because of its simplicity, design and it’s global capabilities. For the rest of us the key here is productivity, encryption and communication. Oh, and by the way the blackberry keyboard is grown and sexy!

  • vb

    i also returned my iphone back in for my blackberry torch 9810.
    the iphone couldn’t do a lot of text and email that my torch does.
    the torch is fantastic.

  • http://about.me/kylemcinnes Kyle McInnes

    A lot of the comments are suggesting Android but I’m curious if Android keyboards are really a substitute for the BlackBerry keyboard. I’ve tried other keyboards on Windows Phone devices and such and they’re never anything close to a BlackBerry keyboard. I don’t think people give RIM enough credit for the ergonomics and design of its mobile keyboards.

  • http://about.me/kylemcinnes Kyle McInnes

    A lot of the comments are suggesting Android but I’m curious if Android keyboards are really a substitute for the BlackBerry keyboard. I’ve tried other keyboards on Windows Phone devices and such and they’re never anything close to a BlackBerry keyboard. I don’t think people give RIM enough credit for the ergonomics and design of its mobile keyboards.

  • Anonymous

    I use overdrive media console to borrow ebooks from the Ottawa public library.  I could use it to borrow from just about any public library i had a card for.  Anything else with the library is easily done using the browser. 

  • Kobi Versano

    I relate so much to what he wrote. Blackberry is defiantly a grownup’s device.

  • Shaywooden88

    I so understand where you’re coming from. However, there are some things that lack on the new bb that the iOS picks ups. For instance, when surfing the web hands down iPhone wins because of the easy use and simulation of an actual computer. On the other hand iOS and other phones like Andriods will always lose because BBs have the best messaging functions every and high productivity. I don’t think I could live without my BB and I feel all the same about iPhone.

  • Scott Karbon

    Take a look at this site’s URL. I’m not sure but I think it might be targeted at BlackBerry fans.

  • Ravi Singh

    I am switching back from Iphone to Blackberry myself. The blackberry conforms to my requirements, whereas I appear to be expected to conform to the Iphone’s requirements.