Travel Technology - HTC Fuze vs Blackberry Bold

I am a current AT&T Tilt user (Windows Mobile 6.1), but I am on my fourth handset in a year and now this one is developing problems. I called AT&T and they offered to replace the phone with a different model since I have had so many problems. The two 3G options that they gave me were the HTC Fuze and the Blackberry Bold. I'm trying to figure out which one will be better for me.



Here are the things I like about my Tilt:

The Exchange sync works slicker than snot on this phone and I really like having the ability to sync multiple Exchange folders, my calendar, and my contacts to my device. The Tilt supports Blackberry Connect, but I never used it since the Exchange sync works so well - so I'm not familiar with what options Blackberry gives for sync.
Ability to set mail to infrequent or manual activesync during off-peak times (ie - make the darn thing not buzz when I'm asleep)
If they would just work out the screen-orientation bug, the latest Opera 9.51 mobile beta is awesome. I don't browse much on the phone, but it sure is a nice browser.
Windows Live Search. I'm guessing this isn't available on BB.
Google Maps App - is there a BB equivalent?
Battery life was excellent after switching from IMAP to Exchange
I used my device for tethered internet access over bluetooth ALL THE TIME. Speed is good - comparable to my old Verizon internet card.


Here are the things I don't like:

Not impressed with HTC's quality at this point in time
Bluetooth implementation in WM is a little annoying. My favorite headset stays off in my cupholder in the car. If the phone rings I have to answer the call and THEN turn on the headset. If I turn on the headset while the phone is ringing it won't answer the call like my old RAZR would, no matter how many times I press the answer button.


Also, I hope the BB interface is better than WM in terms of use without a touch-screen. It would be very annoying to use the Tilt without the touch screen so I hope BB has done a better job? I hear there is a trackballythingie to help with this.

Any input on these subjects would be appreciated. If the BB Bold takes care of the things I liked and maybe fixes the things I didn't like I'm thinking that's the direction I'm going to migrate. Any input appreciated!

The Exchange sync works slicker than snot on this phone and I really like having the ability to sync multiple Exchange folders, my calendar, and my contacts to my device.

Are you syncing over-the-air? If so, to get the same thing on a BB, you'll need the corporate BB plan, which is $45/month (vs. $30 for your Tilt).

Also, I believe BB's do not sync multiple Exchange folders (over-the-air or by wired connection).

Are you syncing over-the-air? If so, to get the same thing on a BB, you'll need the corporate BB plan, which is $45/month (vs. $30 for your Tilt).

Also, I believe BB's do not sync multiple Exchange folders (over-the-air or by wired connection).

My plan already includes BlackBerry Connect, so I don't think I need a different plan. Used BlackBerry Connect very very briefly on my Tilt when my mail was still IMAP, but it was screwing up my other data sessions.

The folder issue is perhaps more troubling. When I was shopping for the Tilt, I looked at BB also. It looked like all of your email is in one giant jumbled folder. Is this true? It also didn't look like you could go back and read a past email (like from 2004) because only new messages get sent to the BB?

I have the bold, freakin' love it. All the email does go into one folder, but there are some third party apps out there you can use to separate it. If your office is running a BES server, you can go pull old e-mails, etc. out of folders using/search, etc.

I was also weighing the same question of Fuze vs Bold. That is, until I checked and found that there is no Slingbox mobile player for the Blackberry.

Slingbox has a beta out for BB. Not sure what the latest status of it is though.

I got the Bold and am generally happy with it. Getting the SQL database to install correctly on the Blackberry Professional (BES light?) was a four hour pain in the butt compared to how easy ActiveSync is, and there are some things that are unnecessarily difficult on BB, but overall it appears to be a much better designed product than windows mobile. I do miss the touch screen a little bit, but not when it was answering calls prematurely in my pocket :rolleyes:

I was hoping AT&T would release the Samsung Omnia soon because that would be an even cooler phone than the HTC Fuze.