Smartphone Face Off: Blackberry vs. iPhone

August 24, 2011 4:30 pm     Posted in Cool Stuff, Featured Left  Colleen- Manhattan College g+ page

There’s no accessory more essential for a college girl than a cell.  It is THE major form of communication in college and there’s really no better way to make plans,  organize parties and  stay in touch with friends on the go. Oh and how else would you be able to send casual 2 am texts to the person you like? “Oh hey, what are you up to? Yeah, let’s definitely watch a movie right now. At 2 am. Your roommates aren’t home, right?”


By Colleen

Now that being said any phone with talk and text would be sufficient, right?

Wrong-o.

Maybe that worked back in the 1900s, but now, in 2011, it just doesn’t cut it. I don’t know about you but I am tired of seeing “Sent from iPhone” or “Mobile Upload from Blackberry”… especially when I’m still using the original enV. No that was not a misspelling. It’s silver and the back is taped. Now some people may be embarrassed by that, but as a college student who has dropped a few phones in the toilet (don’t lie, you’ve all been there before) and left some in the back seat of a cab (i’ve gone through about 4 in six months…) having a nice phone is not a priority. But with an upgrade in two weeks it was time to get back out there and check out the cell phone market.

After visiting a Verizon store I’ve finally come to terms with how limited my options are: smartphone or cheap keyboard phone. Now when faced with a daunting two-year contract (longer than most of my relationships) I just can’t seem to buy another lame phone. Smartphone it is. First decision made. Check.

There are only two serious smart phones: Blackberry or iPhone. But which one?!?! Time for the showdown (point system style).

  1. Both have internet, but the iPhone’s is faster. iPhone +1
  2. Both take pictures, but the iPhone’s are clearer. iPhone +1
  3. Blackberry’s have an exclusive group: BBM. Blackberry +1
  4. Blackberry cellphones are cheaper to buy. Blackberry +1
  5. I think Blackberry’s are cooler. Blackberry +1
  6. iPhones have music and apps. iPhone +1

Total: Blackberry 3

          iPhone          3

It’s a tie! Than again, either way it’s $720 for two years with a data plan and tha’ts not to mention the plan and the phone itself. On second thought, I think I’ll just get that cheap, plastic keyboard phone. Ugh, what should I do??

22 Comments on "Smartphone Face Off: Blackberry vs. iPhone"

  1. Guest says:
    Wed, 24th Aug 20114:40 pm 

    Blackberry's are notoriously tempermental once you get some months in. I'm not saying iPhones are great but mine seems to be going fairly well, and im just over a year into my contract, compared to the bf's blackberry of the same amount of time :/

  2. Bee says:
    Wed, 24th Aug 20114:52 pm 

    If you think the Blackberry is cooler and it's the cheaper option, why is this even a contest? Also, you're completely disregarding the HUGE market that is Android. Personally I've seen many an iPhone user jump ship for Android and I've seen Android users jump ship only to swim back as fast as possible.

  3. Audrina says:
    Wed, 24th Aug 20115:21 pm 

    Don't you always hear your friends complaining about how their blackberry is broken, AGAIN? I definitley do.
    I have had an iPhone for a year now and have never had a single problem with it nor has anyone I know!

    So… go Team iPhone!

  4. JJH says:
    Wed, 24th Aug 20115:29 pm 

    I was about to post the same thing as Bee above…why are you ignoring the HUGE Android market?? Definitely do a little more research before your two weeks is up! You may find an Android phone to be a great tie-breaker between Blackberry and iPhone :)

  5. Meg says:
    Wed, 24th Aug 20115:38 pm 

    To be honest, I've had both. I love my iPhone, but I do kinda miss BBM and the keyboard is much easier to text on a Blackberry. Overall though, my iPhone can literally do anything. I don't even need to buy a GPS with the free Mapquest app, among so many other things. My brother has a Droid and its pretty legit, but I vote iPhone all the way.

    Plus, iPhones have cooler cases :)

  6. Jessica says:
    Wed, 24th Aug 20116:45 pm 

    Well, the soon to come, iOS 5 for the iPhone has the iChat feature that acts like the BBM, exclusive to iOS 5 users only, haha.

  7. kayc says:
    Wed, 24th Aug 20117:10 pm 

    I've had a droid, my boyfriend has a blackberry, and now I have an iphone. After using the droid, I've tried using my boyfriend's blackberry to search for something online…holy hell, once you've experienced a droid, you can't use a blackberry to surf the internet (it's not only faster, but the blackberry shows you a very generic mobile view of the page). Now that I have my iphone, I love it and I don't think I'll go back to a droid (except I do miss having a keyboard (motorola droid)).

  8. kayc says:
    Wed, 24th Aug 20117:10 pm 

    Yeah, my boyfriend's BB broke after a few months (but they did give him a refurbished one), and my cousin also had the same problem with her BB.

  9. Janaya says:
    Wed, 24th Aug 20117:30 pm 

    You DO realize that blackberry's have music and apps too, right?

  10. Adrianna says:
    Wed, 24th Aug 20118:52 pm 

    I got an IPhone three years ago and recently upgraded mine to an IPhone 4 and I would never have any other type of phone. There is literally nothing I can think of that this phone can't do! I just skyped with a friend of mine yesterday in a car! That's pretty stinkin' legit if you ask me.

    IPHONE FOR LIFE!!

  11. Sarah says:
    Wed, 24th Aug 201110:39 pm 

    Uh, way to ignore Android. It's only got like the largest market share of smartphone users right now. Way to go.

  12. Rebecca says:
    Wed, 24th Aug 201111:23 pm 

    I've had a Blackberry for two years and it works perfectly fine. It has been dropped 57281 times and is still in working condition (a little scratches but nothing major). An iPhone's screen would have already been cracked in pieces. Blackberry's tend to be more durable and stronger than an iPhone.

    If you're an email feen, Blackberrys are the way to go–they have an easier interface for email. However, I'll admit that web browsing is horrible compared to an iPhone. If I'm in a WiFi area and need to go on the web, I'll switch to my ipod touch but how many times are you in a wifi area? And Blackberrys like iPhones do have GPS with the free google maps.

    Love BBM but theres something called WhatsApp that anyone can download as an app on their phone and its like BBM without the exclusivity.

    I hate touch phones (even my ipod touch drives me up the wall sometimes) and I think Blackberry phones have an awesome keyboard that's super easy to type on.

    It really comes down to what you truly want in a phone. Neither have the best of everything (i.e. Blackberrys do have apps but they're not as good nor as cool as iPhone's; iPhones can check email but they aren't true push-email and you need to update every 15 minutes to get your mail depending on the email server you're using—Blackberry's get email as soon as its sent plus it's super easy to set up with a workplace using Outlook).

    Good luck!

    (BTW the new Blackberry comes out on Aug. 31st and is a combo of touch screen and keyboard. Check it out!)

  13. Charlotte says:
    Thu, 25th Aug 20118:06 pm 

    My whole family have Blackberries, so when the time came to get a new phone, I was immediately heading in the 'Torch' direction. One thing about me though, is that I'm a research addict. So I set to google, and both phones respected websites and began making up my mind.

    I've had my iPhone 4 since December, and it's still in perfect condition.
    And for those who say iPhones break easily? Tell that to the pavement mine was smashed against in the local Chinese food places parking lot. And the Staples Parking lot. And the school gravault, outside the English building. And every other place I've ever walked on. I'm clumsy, what can I say?
    And those who say Blackberry have music and apps, as well… You're kidding yourselves. Blackberry music and apps are about as tall as iPhones knees when it comes to that.

    I'm curious as to why you think Blackberries are cooler. Everybody has Blackberries because they're cheaper, but my entire family are converting to macs now that I've gotten my iPhone and such.

    Choose iPhone, or you'll be disappointed.

  14. Ashley says:
    Fri, 26th Aug 20118:32 am 

    I give that original enV of yours a lot of credit for lasting as long as it did..especially since it used to be mine! I vote blackberry, only because i couldn't stand the thought of a completely touch screen phone. Although I hear it is something you get used to, i could never imagine not having a keyboard, or BBM for that matter.

  15. Ashley says:
    Fri, 26th Aug 20119:51 am 

    Uh. Since when have iPhones and Blackberrys been the only phones on the market? Android and Windows phones are also available, and many have 4G. Don't limit yourself to iPhones and Blackberrys. Of course, if that's what you've narrowed it down to then that's your choice, but I wouldn't choose an Apple or RIM product over HTC.

  16. Kate says:
    Fri, 26th Aug 201111:12 am 

    I have an Android and I wouldnt trade it for any other smartphones

  17. Kayla says:
    Sun, 28th Aug 201112:15 am 

    iPhone for life <3

  18. LP says:
    Wed, 31st Aug 201112:50 am 

    I have an iPhone 4 and I don't regret buying it all, nor do any of my friends who decided to get one too. I hear many people always having problems with Blackberry's software and having the phone go all weird on them. I haven't had any troubles with my iPhone :)

  19. Tess says:
    Sat, 3rd Sep 20117:33 pm 

    How cute. iPhone and Blackberry facing off for second place?

    Droids are number one.

  20. video's,youtube videos says:
    Mon, 4th Feb 20133:04 pm 

    Its like you read my thoughts! You appear to understand a lot approximately this, such as you wrote the e book in it or something. I feel that you just can do with a few p.c. to power the message home a little bit, however other than that, that is excellent blog. A great read. I’ll definitely be back.

Tell us what you're thinking...