Help Me Choose - iPhone 3GS or Blackberry 9700

2L84SLEEP · 8 Jan 2010 at 12:27

Coming to the end of my Orange contract, looking to stay with them, and will be moving on from a Nokia N95. Wife has an iPhone 3GS, which I like and am fairly clued up on but my other choice is the Blackberry 9700. On looks alone, I would prefer the Blackberry, and what I have read of it, it seems like a well put together phone. Have never really looked at Blackberrys before though, always thought they were more suited for business use as opposed to personal use, or had expensive contracts, but I realise this is now not the case.

Just wondering if anyone uses the Blackberry 9700 as an everyday phone, what it is like, if they could give a simple explanation of the Blackberry email service and if there is anything major I would be missing out on if I went for the Blackberry over the iPhone.

Thanks

Yas786 · 8 Jan 2010 at 12:38

I use a BB 9700 and have to say its one of the best BB devices ive ever used...having used the 9000 Bold for a yr which is another great device.

As an everyday phone its simply awesome...its so easy to type out an email on the keyboard or a text....phone call quality is spot on ie very good. It doe multimedia pretty well too ie the camera isnt too bad 3.2mp with a flash but could be better in all honesty. The trackpad is a god send, very easy to navigate around the menus etc etc. The only gripe that people or some people have with the 9700 and BB's in general is the web browsing isnt that great but for me i dont see it being a problem ie it suits my needs pretty well. The BB email service or BIS as its called is needed for push email and blackberry messenger, which is a real time messaging service like Windows messenger but its always on and only limited to BB's...no other devices can use BBM. Most networks will either charge you an £5 a mth for the BIS or they will include it in your tariff...depends on who you go with really.

Only things i can think of missing out from the iphone to the BB is the big touchscreen on the iphone and the excellent web browser on the iphone...other than that the 9700 will do everything the iphone will do including listening to mp3s, taking photos and videos which i think its better at than the iphone as the 9700 has a built in flash which helps.

Id suggest you pop into a Vodafone or O2 store and see if they have the 9700 on display to play around with...they arent everyones cup of tea but a lot of people are ditching the iphone and going over to the BB 9700 which says a lot i think.

Also for more views, opinions etc click on the link in my sig and have a browse there.

randomshenans · 8 Jan 2010 at 13:59

I'm getting my BB 9700 on Tuesday, touchwood. Same situation, with Orange and coming to the end of the contract. I'm not fussed with the touchscreen, and browser wise you can get Opera Mini for the BB which has tabbed browsing and is much better than the default browser so that helps.

2L84SLEEP · 8 Jan 2010 at 21:13

Thanks both for your replies, very helpful. Hoping to head in to town tomorrow and maybe get some hands on experience with one, defo veering towards one though.

2L84SLEEP · 9 Jan 2010 at 00:41

Just out of interest, does anyone have one of these on Orange and if so, what contract?

Thanks

Matt7613 · 9 Jan 2010 at 00:43

I picked one up from Orange on a Dolphin contract with 900 minutes, Unlimited texts, Blackberry Data Plan + Maps, Magic Numbers and Memory Card, £24 pm

2L84SLEEP · 9 Jan 2010 at 01:19

That sounds pretty good, was that instore / online, special deal etc

gam3r · 9 Jan 2010 at 19:50

defo go for the bb! you will get irritated by the touch sooner rather than later!

chr1stopher11 · 9 Jan 2010 at 20:09

hold on, I saw a deal on mobiles.co.uk and they said I would get an unlimited data plan for the BB Bold 9700. Does that included push email, BB messenger and internet browsing?

bigredshark · 9 Jan 2010 at 21:54

I have both an 8900 (work phone) and an iphone (personal). They're very different devices, the blackberry is a good phone, sms and email device and it has great battery life. It's lousy for internet browsing and not great for media. The iphone is a good media player, excellent browsing device and there are a multitude of actually useful apps. But it's not a great phone, you don't want use the keyboard too much and the battery life sucks.

I'm happy with the fact I have both to be honest, if I had to choose I'd take the iphone as it can do more but it's not as good a phone. You priorities may differ.

smokedog · 10 Jan 2010 at 00:10

Just got my 9700 today and it's the first Blackberry device I've ever owned. It's to replace my HTC Hero, which I managed to crack the screen.

It's a very different experience. I was getting sick of the slow response of the HTC and virtual keyboard. The one thing I notice with the 9700 is that browser is shockingly bad. Slow as hell and has problem rendering some sites. Also the lack of free apps compared to Android.

Do I regret getting the 9700? No, I knew the 9700 wasn't a media device. The design of the 9700 is so much slick and UI is lighting fast with no lag. The keypad is good but I don't think its as good as the Nokia E71, which was one of my favour phones.

2L84SLEEP · 10 Jan 2010 at 00:20

Well I got to the Orange store and the phone is indeed nice but for some reason, Orange has decided to write 'Orange' right along the bottom of it, which just ruins the look of it for me. If I went to Carphone Warehouse, Phones 4 U etc, do you know if they would do an unbranded version but still on Orange?

Ironic Namesake · 10 Jan 2010 at 00:22

What's the battery life like on the 9700?

I currently have an iPhone 3GS , E71 and just ordered a Nexus one , but am due for an upgrade in February.

Tempted to get either an E72 or a 9700 - I love the keyboard on the E71 and E72 keyboard should be similar. Although I would like to try a blackberry - never owned one before.

Yas786 · 10 Jan 2010 at 00:27

2L84SLEEP said:
Well I got to the Orange store and the phone is indeed nice but for some reason, Orange has decided to write 'Orange' right along the bottom of it, which just ruins the look of it for me. If I went to Carphone Warehouse, Phones 4 U etc, do you know if they would do an unbranded version but still on Orange?

I think they do but not 110% sure on that.

Ironic Namesake said:
What's the battery life like on the 9700?

I currently have an iPhone 3GS , E71 and just ordered a Nexus one , but am due for an upgrade in February.

Tempted to get either an E72 or a 9700 - I love the keyboard on the E71 and E72 keyboard should be similar. Although I would like to try a blackberry - never owned one before.

Battery life on the 9700 is superb...even with hard useage i get a good full days use out of it ie sending texts/emails, making phone calls, sending and receiving messages on BBM etc etc and even playing word mole or brickbreaker for a good hr or so. But saying that soon as i come home i just drop it into the sexy BB charging pod...a definite accessory as it makes your BB act like a bedside clock.

Yas786 · 10 Jan 2010 at 00:28

chr1stopher11 said:
hold on, I saw a deal on mobiles.co.uk and they said I would get an unlimited data plan for the BB Bold 9700. Does that included push email, BB messenger and internet browsing?

Best to ask them as it may not include BIS aka blackberry internet service which gives you push email and BBM access.

CAPTAINBUMFLUFF · 10 Jan 2010 at 00:31

iphone 3gs thousands of apps decent battery life and great internet navigation

smokedog · 10 Jan 2010 at 00:38

Ironic Namesake said:
W
Tempted to get either an E72 or a 9700 - I love the keyboard on the E71 and E72 keyboard should be similar. Although I would like to try a blackberry - never owned one before.

I don't find the 9700 keypad that good to be honest, no where as natural as I did with the E71.

Yas786 · 10 Jan 2010 at 00:40

CAPTAINBUMFLUFF said:
iphone 3gs thousands of apps decent battery life and great internet navigation

Check on the 90k odd worth of apps...most of them useless.
Hmmm decent battery life??...ermm yeh if you turn off 3G and push email then you could get some extra battery life...funny that the 9700 you dont need to turn such things off so the battery on the 9700 kicks the iphone into the ground and rubs its face in it.
Great internet navigation??...yes that i do agree with but the browser on the 9700 isnt that bad...opera mini and bolt browsers do a fantastic job of internet browsing...i use the one that comes with the 9700 and it works perfectly fine for me....in fact most of my posts on here now are done through my BB.

Ironic Namesake · 10 Jan 2010 at 00:41

CAPTAINBUMFLUFF said:
iphone 3gs thousands of apps decent battery life and great internet navigation

Decent battery life? My battery hardly lasts a day !

smokedog said:
I don't find the 9700 keypad that good to be honest, no where as natural as I did with the E71.

I have some keypads for the 9700 and seems quite similar to the E71 - but difficult to try out if not on a phone!

Yas786 · 10 Jan 2010 at 00:42

smokedog said:
I don't find the 9700 keypad that good to be honest, no where as natural as I did with the E71.

Whereas i found my brothers E71 keyboard a royal pain in the arse to use

...its far too easy for me to type a long email on my 9700 without realising just how wonderful it really is.