I had a BB 8820 for a few years and it just worked and was super stable. I 'upgraded' to an iPhone last year. Since then I have been reasonably happy with the iPhone but not with the connectivity to our Lotus Notes Servers or the very poor battery life of the 3GS.
We have Traveler to connect to our Domino servers and whilst it is OK, it is often down and I seem to drop calendar entries and contacts on a regular basis. I have the opportunity to do a straight swap for a Blackberry Bold 9700 and am considering it. I don't use the iPhone for multimedia so perhaps it is time to move back to BB. Thoughts? Anyone gone back to the BB 9700. What's the battery life like in everyday use?

- Tim

I've used both and am a stickler for the physical keyboard. I'm perfectly functional using the virtual keyboard but prefer the real keyboardof the 9700.

Previous to the 9700 I had a 9000 and thought it was the best smartphone on the market (for me at least) and with the release of the 9700 it has taken the place of the 9000. I get about a day of battery life; however I keep my phone on 3G + wifi all the time. That said, I've invested in several desktop cradles and keep one wherever I spend an extended period of time to keep the device fully charged ... and it serves as a desk clock for me. Best $12 investment I've made for each of these.

I'm happy with the multimedia functionality (I can view the occasional youtube video).

I use my device primarily for email/phone/chat ... IMO, it does this better than any other device ... which is why I've stuck with it.

If you really want an iPhone type experience, get an iPod touch to do multimedia / games and keep the BB for everything else.

I upgraded from the 8320 BB Curve to the 9700 and love it. Just a little practice to get used to the different shape of the keys on the keyboard but now I'm typing my e-mails just as quickly. It's a lot faster than my 8320. I keep the 3G/EDGE/wifi on all the time time too. I mainly use it for e-mail and as a phone with some web surfing so my battery lasts me about 2+ days.

I have an Apple iTouch too and I just can't get used to typing fast and correctly on the virtual keyboard. It's good for all those other apps to help distract me on long plane flights.

TF

iPhone is so much better than blackberry.

Blackberry is so much better than iPhone.

I was a hardcore corporate BB user, for heavy email and calendar use. I skipped all the iphones, and I was a BB addict. After one month with the iphone I will never go back. Keyboard needs a few days to adjust, but it guesses your words and learns on the fly. I was most concerned about the keyboard, but after a few weeks, it is a total non issue. The apps for iphone are great. It interfaces with my corporate exchange server. It opens the doors to new ways of productivity that BB just cannot do. I would encourage you to take the plunge. I doubted the iphone for years. I was wrong. In my work (heavy BB corporate user), the iphone is great. Really great. Took me a month to really understand how powerful of a device it is for business....

At my company access to corporate iPhones is limited to Vice President level, all of whom were heavy Blackberry users. They see the advantage of the phone but don't want to pay the cost of the phone for everyone. I think your story is true for many people who took the plunge and switched.

Quick update. The iPhone is mine but I have been using it for work, but with a new position I got a 9700 for work. As a result, I will be keeping the iPhone and getting a work Bold-9700. That suits me fine....

- Tim

Not to hijack this thread, but do any of you have opinions between blackberries? I'm trying to figure out which is better between the Storm 2 and the Tour. I believe both are internationally enabled on Verizon, but have seen very few comparisons that come up with a solid answer as to which is a better phone...

The BBB9700 will eat 2 maybe 3 iPhone battery cycles for breakfast. Much as I love the iPhone's bag of tricks, the BB is a better device if longevity and stability is your thing.

Work has me getting a bb 9700, and no point in arguing with them. I have an iphone. I have the option of transferring my personal number to the company and then ending up with only the bb, vs. getting the bb, and keeping the iphone (while carrying two phones and paying for a personal phone)..

my thought is the nearly $1k saved by not paying for my iphone plus no aggravation of carrying two phones outweighs having the iphone... thoughts?


I'm thinking i'll port the number, and get an ipod touch for when i'm traveling and want music/etc. Though that might change when I get the ipad in my hands.

If you port the number, will they let you port it back if you leave?

BTW the media player in the BB 9700 works fine and you can import iTunes playlists.

yep, number gets ported back if/when i leave, so says the policy

Used Iphone 2G and then the 3g version: at the time I used it it was more like a toy - a leisure/personal phone for me, as we were issued Nokia S60 smartphones for work. After awhile I quit all the iphone-related games and just used the Nokias for a long period of time.

When permanently moved to US past summer, I faced the Blackberry vs iPhone question: I had no chance of using Nokias as I'd end up paying 20 cents for each text message, and as far as I'm using it for my work as well as personal needs, I'm pretty deep into typing those things on a phone keyboard, and I can't do it so good on the sensor one of the iPhone. I gave it a try, but returned the phone back in a week - productivity loss(in my case-i can't blind type on it-I have to look on the screen.)
I ended up sending about 2500 text messages in July. I didn't care as the company paid for it anyway, but I thought about the Blackberry version, and so we transitioned all of our corporate "texters" to blackberries and started using emails instead of those text messages.We could've even used the Blackberry Messenger, but Russia's department of Defense banned the pin-2-pin functions for blackberries used inside the country. The results are great on the financial side as well - I pay 30$/month for mine, and their costs are even lower - roughly 11$/month for unlimited emails - just what was needed. Not only I'm annually saving the company I work for thousands of dollars, I do it exceptionally comfortable.

When it comes to the models, I currently use the Bold 9000, as it has the biggest keyboard, which is good for me and my way of using it. It is a bit wide for one hand blind typing, so after this one dies(I'm on my 2nd one already) I'll try the 9700 - read a lot about it and am willing to see for myself. As the Tour is practically identical to the 9700(by measurements), I'd say it should be a good choice. When it comes to the touchscreen - well, in my point of view, we all love the Blackberry for their hardware keyboard, as well as the idea that it is, in first place, a work device for e-mail and other needed stuff. I can't associate work and hundreds of emails with sensor screens. It will probably change soon, but as I see it, not yet.

The reason you can't find the answer is because they are two very different BlackBerry devices. While the Storm 2 is much improved over the original storm and works quite nicely, it does not have a physical keyboard. It does have a very nicely sized display although the iPhone uses the screen real estate more effectively.

I can tell you that I spent 2 months a year ago using the original Storm and original Bold and that I found the Bold much better suited for all around usage from browsing to e-mail.

Of course, the lack of a physical keyboard is a deal breaker for me (as it is for many others). I have an iPod touch and iPhone and have used the virtual keyboard extensively but it still isn't good enough and I don't like sending messages with errors even with those silly disclaimers that beg forgiveness because I'm using a "smart" phone.

For you, only way to find out is to go to a Verizon store and spend time using each.