The Apple iPhone has grown by leaps and bounds in popularity since its introduction in 2007. Over the last three years, with its innovative touchscreen design, it has significantly cut into Blackberry's market share in the smartphone market. Nevertheless, there are still things that Blackberry simply does better. Here are a number of substantial advantages the Blackberry has over the iPhone.
CHOICE
The iPhone comes basically in only one model and one form factor. Blackberry on the other hand offers a number of choices to address the different needs of its users. For example, there is the pure touchscreen Blackberry Storm. There is also the Torch which combines a touch screen and slide-out keyboard. Other offerings include a flip-style smartphone and the traditional full keyboard Blackberry design with color display. With all of these choices, you can select the right smartphone and the right price point for your wallet.
FAST SECURE MESSAGING
There is simply one thing Blackberry does better than any other smartphone, and that is messaging. You can easily and quickly send messages to your contacts using Blackberry Messenger. Not only that, the messages are secured from prying eyes via Blackberry’s Edge network, making it ideal for businesses and government users who need to transmit sensitive information. Blackberry Messenger also supports push messaging to your phone, and a Blackberry smartphone has an LED on the top that quickly informs you when you have messages.
FULL QWERTY KEYBOARD.
Nearly all Blackberry models have a full qwerty keyboard to allow you to type your messages quickly and with minimal errors. For most users, the tactile feel of the Blackberry physical keyboard are preferred over a virtual touchscreen keyboard like that of the iPhone. There was actually a study performed to compare accuracy of the touchscreen versus the push-button keyboard, and the error rate of the touchscreen was significantly higher.
TRUE MULTI-TASKING
The Blackberry operating system has true multi-tasking allowing you to run multiple applications and switch quickly between the them. The implementation of multi-tasking on the iPhone really is a kludge. On the iPhone, in most cases, the application state is saved, but the application is not running in the background. When you switch back to an application, the iPhone actually has to restart it, which really slows things down.
IT MAKES CALLS
A lot has been made about the issue of dropped calls, especially on the iPhone 4. This has partially to do with the iPhone 4's antenna design and, until recently, its availability only on the AT&T network. With the Blackberry, there are no such issues with its performance as a cell phone. Blackberry just makes solid phones that simply work.
Many people have stated that Blackberry is ceding the smartphone crown to its competitors, especially the iPhone. However, the Blackberry is still a worthy smartphone that does certain important functions better than the iPhone.
Stella Workman is a freelance writer and blogger who usually looks at savings account deals over at SavingsAccount.Org. Her most recent review looked at the best CD rates.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
