Droid Pro smart phone versus blackberry!

[PC4Life]

Motorola has claimed that its new droid pro smartphone device is going to be as better as blackberry. What do you think about this claim?
should we think positive?

[r0k]

Motorola has claimed that its new droid pro smartphone device is going to be as better as blackberry. What do you think about this claim?
should we think positive?

The two devices are aimed at two different audiences. Despite attempts to "go consumer", Blackberry is primarily an enterprise email device. This means that if email is of paramount importance to you, and you don't want to bother with a gmail account, then a BB can be a better fit for you than an Android phone. The down side of BB OS is the java based OS and rather sparse app selection. Another down side is OS fragmentation. You might buy a BB phone with one OS only to find a few months later that the best and newest apps won't run on your phone unless you upgrade. Eventually, you will find you can't upgrade.

However, if you think apps are important and you don't mind the moderate OS fragmentation (which IMHO is still a LOT less than that in BB OS), then Droid is definitely the better, more modern device. Perhaps BB is bragging about the new webkit based browser. Anything of BB, even with OS 6, is not competitive with Android. Period. So in this regard Motorola is telling the truth. If they are talking about enterprise level security and corporate email features they they are blowing smoke and BB is still better. But overall, Android is newer and better so I would tend to agree with Motorola's claims. Even if you do get the latest BB OS, you still have to contend with archaic limitations like the inability to run apps from microSD card. And this is in spite of RIM's promise to fix this way back in 2008.

I have found BB app world to be a sad joke. I even had the displeasure of paying for an app and having the system lose track of my registration information. On a Droid, you get a 24 hour refund period. Clearly superior to the app situation on BB OS.

I considered an Android phone before choosing iPhone, but I must admit I was sufficiently turned off on all things Blackberry by my experience with my BB 8830 that I didn't so much as glance at BB OS. A more relevant comparison would be to look at iOS versus Android versus webOS. I'm afraid that BB OS is on the sidelines these days with RIM rapidly losing ground in the area of smartphone growth. BB OS is growing slowly but is eclipsed by Android and iOS. Also note that RIM has just announced plans to bring QNX to its smartphones. This means the end of the line for BB OS. It will probably come to the same ignoble end that PalmOS Garnet and Windows Mobile. If I had to choose a phone based on likely longevity of OS, BB OS and Windows Mobile would be crossed off my list.

Short and sweet: Go for a Droid. Superior is in the eye of the beholder but newer technology is a safer bet than technology (BB OS) that is likely being end-of-life'd or at least drastically modified in the foreseeable future. If RIM lost my credentials for an app I purchased only a few days later, how do you think this bodes for any BB apps you purchase on BB OS today and want to carry forward to QNX a few years from now? I would say you can safely ignore BB as a smartphone alternative for now.

[Varjak]

I agree with the bulk of what r0k wrote. Despite their superficial resemblance (at least the Torch and the Pro), they are really vastly different, and would likely appeal to vastly different users.

I disagree with r0k's conclusion though. The BB is great for some, as the Droid is for others. My father, hardly a technophobe (quite the opposite as he was a Palm user going back to the original), is not going to use many of the extra abilities Android gives him. He wants: Phone, e-mail, BBM, and maybe some texting. He doesn't even use the web much on his BB's. And he wants robust hardware and robust operation of the features I mentioned above.

I on the other hand, don't care as much for those core functions, and will likely go Android.

Horses for courses....

[PC4Life]

thanks a lot Jeff and Varjak for your reviews... now lets people decide which will be best for them

[Ed Hardy]

The two devices are aimed at two different audiences. Despite attempts to "go consumer", Blackberry is primarily an enterprise email device.

I have to disagree with this statement. I was at the launch event for the Droid Pro, and Motorola has definitely positioned this device as an enterprise device. Motorola's plan is to use the power and flexibility of Google's operating system to lure away current RIM customers.

As you point out, the Android OS can do a lot more than the BlackBerry OS can. But the Droid Pro is still aimed solidly at current BlackBerry users. Its design -- tablet with screen and keyboard on its front -- is the same RIM uses for almost all its devices, and the keyboard on the Droid Pro is very reminiscent of the one on the original Bold.

Motorola is working hard to match the security capabilities of the BlackBerry OS. The Droid Pro will contain additional security software that's not standard in the Android OS.

As this smartphone gets closer to release, we'll see how successful this plan is.
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[PC4Life]

Healthy argument is never bad. This is what forums for.
Thanks