Palm user Considering Blackberry

[dunkaroo]

@Dunkaroo, are you serious? You list Palm Garnet devices above Blackberry on your menu of choices? I won't argue whether BB is better than Android but I left Garnet for BB and I can testify that BB runs circles around Garnet. Garnet devices are the only Palm devices available on Verizon right now. VZW stopped selling the 755p shortly after I bought mine. They then stopped selling the Centro a few short months later. They say they will get the Pre "some time in 2010" which in Verizon speak means maybe by Christmas 2010 and more likely by 2011. Oops... I just noticed an article here at BH saying the FCC has approved a Pixi for Verizon. So perhaps Palm did belong on the list after all.

No. You're right. There's no way that I would rank an old Palm Garnet device over Blackberry. I'm sure that some Palm Vx diehard could make an argument, but I was actually referring to Palm, the brand and the company. Garnet is dead. At least it is to me, though I occasionally use my Pam TX. WebOS has some promise, but like Janet Jackson sond said, "What have you done for me lately?" And the answer from Palm is "not a whole lot."

I really think that Verizon is going to get the iPhone and Pre next year. And it's gonna come earlier than people think. The latest rumors say it could be anywhere in the 1st quarter of 2010. So, hold on tight.

Still, I'm gonna have to go with
1) iPhone - there is a reason why all the competitors are billed as possible "iPhone killers"
2) Android
3) Palm WebOS
4) Blackberry

I put Blackberry last on my list because the other phones all have push email now too. So, if you don't need a physical keyboard, there isn't really any advantage of the Blackberry over the others.

[r0k]

rok, I think it's generally assumed that the Pre will appear on Verizon right after Christmas this year or the New Year. I think Palm granted Sprint the exclusive 2009 holiday buying season. By the end of 2010, the Pre will be prehistoric.

I agree, by the time Verizon gets the Pre it will not seem new at all. Sadly this reminds me of Verizon's approach to all things Garnet. They were consistently 6-18 months behind every other carrier to carry Palm devices. And when they did get them, they had raped them. I had so many problems with my 650 and my 755p that were caused by Verizon's meddling as much as they were caused by Garnet.

No. You're right. There's no way that I would rank an old Palm Garnet device over Blackberry. I'm sure that some Palm Vx diehard could make an argument, but I was actually referring to Palm, the brand and the company. Garnet is dead. At least it is to me, though I occasionally use my Pam TX. WebOS has some promise, but like Janet Jackson sond said, "What have you done for me lately?" And the answer from Palm is "not a whole lot."

I really think that Verizon is going to get the iPhone and Pre next year. And it's gonna come earlier than people think. The latest rumors say it could be anywhere in the 1st quarter of 2010. So, hold on tight.

Still, I'm gonna have to go with
1) iPhone - there is a reason why all the competitors are billed as possible "iPhone killers"
2) Android
3) Palm WebOS
4) Blackberry

I put Blackberry last on my list because the other phones all have push email now too. So, if you don't need a physical keyboard, there isn't really any advantage of the Blackberry over the others.

I don't know if I agree with your ranking exactly, but in principle it is correct. iPhone is undisputed number 1. Android wouldn't earn such a high rank on my list because it is not well proven just yet, but it has the greatest potential to overtake iPhone. WebOS is clearly a hot contender. Blackberry has solid market share and performs well for email but has no panache lately. Perhaps if RIM got off their buts and delivered a webkit based browser, like the other 3 major OS, BB could work its way up the list.

My next phone will likely be a Curve 2. But that's just to tide me over while I wait for a Verizon iPhone. My experience with my iTouch has sealed the deal for me right now. If I wasn't happy with VZW service in my area, I'd already have an iPhone 3GS on Att.

[Matt J]

It would probably be easier if you get an iPhone and started using Gmail for your email and contacts and Google's calendar for your scheduling. Don't get the Blackberry unless it is critical to do loads of emailing away from your computer. It's pretty much the only reason to get a Blackberry over then iPhone.

I went from a Treo 680 to a BlackBerry Bold 9000. I thought about the iPhone, but I'm glad I didn't get it.

I push GMail to my Bold and it works flawlessly with the BlackBerry GMail plugin. I also use Google Sync to sync my Google Calendar and Contacts to my native Bold calendar and contacts.

I don't want to get into the BB versus iPhone debate in any detail, but there are many advantages over the iPhone.

The BB OS is fast and secure and OS 5.0 looks and works great. It can actually multitask (unlike the iPhone) and is extremely stable and reliable (perhaps the most stable and reliable OS out there). I realised how much of a compromise Palm OS-powered devices were. I got used to the reboots and freezes. I have had my Bold 9000 for about 3 months now, and it has not reset or frozen or crashed ONCE.

The battery life on a BB blows away anything out there running iPhone OS, Android or webOS. You can go days between charges is you needed to. The iPhone or Pre will need to be topped up at least once a day.

Coming from a Treo, the BB keyboard is even better, especially on my 9000.

The only advantages that the iPhone has is the larger screen and larger selection of apps, the rest goes to BlackBerry, hands down.

[Varjak]

Matt, I don't think you have to be defensive or apologetic. The case you make is a strong one. For someone looking at the main functions you describe; I think it's hard to argue that the BlackBerry (and the Bold in particular) makes a tremendous amount of sense.

[woodworthjohn]

I'm surprised no one is mentioning the BB Storm 2. I use this and am very pleased. If one uses the free Opera Mini 5 browser then you can end-run the major deficiency that everyone recognizes with the original BB browser. I read most of my news on the S2's "large" screen. As others have noted, it can be wirelessly synched through Outlook and also Google (although the OP cannot access google at work).

Having said all this, there is no doubt in my mind that iPhone is still king. I gave my daughter a 3GS and it is very smooth. It just isn't available on Verizon (which is also king of the wireless providers at least around the greater San Francisco Bay Area).

[Matt J]

I'm surprised no one is mentioning the BB Storm 2. I use this and am very pleased. If one uses the free Opera Mini 5 browser then you can end-run the major deficiency that everyone recognizes with the original BB browser. I read most of my news on the S2's "large" screen. As others have noted, it can be wirelessly synched through Outlook and also Google (although the OP cannot access google at work).

Having said all this, there is no doubt in my mind that iPhone is still king. I gave my daughter a 3GS and it is very smooth. It just isn't available on Verizon (which is also king of the wireless providers at least around the greater San Francisco Bay Area).

I didn't mention the Storm 2 because the OP was moving from a keyboard-based Palm device. I think that the Storm 2 is a great device. It is indeed a better solution for me than the iPhone, but it does take a little more technical savvy to use. With BB OS 5.0 it is pretty slick and the native browser is really not that bad. It is now quite usable.

[turnbase]

After many years with Palms and Pocket PC/Windows Mobile devices, my sweet spot is my new BlackBerry:
- Great to have push email, plus texting and PIN.
- Easy Bluetooth handsfree connection.
- Straightforward phone use.
- Voice speed dial actually works.
- Easy to set up and get synching with Outlook for calendar, contacts, tasks and limited notes. In the past I used all sorts of PIM addins, but ended up just using the basic functions anyway, and the BB rendition works fine for me.
- HanDBase and eWallet also cross-graded very easily for me, so I have all my accumated data up and running easily.
- QuickLaunch is slick as a whistle for providing access to apps on the BB.
- I've given up on handwriting and touch screens - much happier with the new BB trackpad and hard keyboard.
- The camera is surpisingly useful now, although for some reason the 8530 has no flash.
- The micro SD cards come in 32 GB, more memory than I am likely to need.
- I can access the card's memory from the desktop via USB. Not as slick as with Windows Mobile, but works.
- The sync control software is more useful than Windows Mobile but less than Palm was.
- BB's now look much sleeker and cooler than they have in the past.
- Not nuts about the browser, but it'll get better in time, and a person could always get an iTouch for Internet.
- Monthly cost is an issue for the data access, but no worse than my previous cellphones.
- I don't intend to play with more apps -- all those cool apps out there tend to be fun for a day then annoying in the long run, but to each their own. There are a bunch of BB apps out there now to play with.
- There are cool games to idle the time.
- And syncing all this on two computers using the BB as intermediary. No problems.