brian baggett dot com

Ray Ozzie is right. Most apps that matter have been ported to other mobile platforms or at least have functional equivalents on the other platforms. DDH Software's HanDBase is availble for pretty much every platform. There's an official AIM client for every modern phone, and even quite a few older phones.

I have an idea as to why your iPhone usage patterns are different than other phones. First off, I seem to recall that pretty much every cell phone you've used in your adult life were company-issued. You're less likely to spend money on something that isn't yours, especially when you know your employment situation could change and your phone could be ripped from your hands at a moment's notice. If you had a modern BlackBerry, the 8700 series or newer, that was solely your own I can guarantee you would spend money for apps. Secondly, the iPhone pushed the AppStore as a selling point. In fact, they made the over-priced phones little more than an old Nokia stick-phone without apps. Sure, it has a web browser that actually works and it synced with iTunes, but it's not all that different than a phone from seven years ago save for the fact that the UI is prettier while at the same time more error-prone. You have to spend money on apps to justify the price of the device itself. The non-subsidized price of the iPhone is roughly $200 more than any other comparable phone.

I won't reiterate why I think the iPhone sucks, see http://johnhavard.com/blog/iphone-hate for details. What I will say is that I hate my iPhone. I wish I had bought a BlackBerry instead. Then again, I needed a new phone a few weeks before a major update to the BlackBerry product line and I needed the new phone immediately due to the fact that there are very few phones that like a good spin in the washing machine.

As for why RIM and other companies are rolling their own app stores, the reason is obvious. They want a cut of every app sold.

“I seem to recall that pretty much every cell phone you've used in your adult life were company-issued.”

In my adult life, I've had 11 cellphones in 10 years. The first four weren't smartphones nor were they company provided. The next five were BlackBerries. My company subsidized the first three BlackBerries, but I actually owned those phones. The last two, including the one I still use, is company property.

“If you had a modern BlackBerry, the 8700 series or newer, that was solely your own I can guarantee you would spend money for apps.”

Most of the popular apps are free, so probably not. There would have to be a broad enough selection to get me to pay. I do still have a Bold and I can put apps on it (I did buy BeeJive a few years back) but I choose not to.

“Secondly, the iPhone pushed the AppStore as a selling point. In fact, they made the over-priced phones little more than an old Nokia stick-phone without apps. Sure, it has a web browser that actually works and it synced with iTunes, but it's not all that different than a phone from seven years ago save for the fact that the UI is prettier while at the same time more error-prone.”

The only thing the iPhone has in common with something like a Nokia 5160 (my first cell phone!) is that they're both cell phones. The UI and browser you sort of gloss over is a huge deal. No other phone had a browser that was worth *anything*. They were all horrible. This is the reason why RIM recently bought Torch Mobile. The BlackBerry browser is awful. Even Opera Mobile and Bolt don't really improve the experience. The UI *is* the selling point. It's that UI and the plethora of apps that keep people from leaving AT&T in droves. As to being error prone, my “no apps loaded” BlackBerries would crash far more often than my iPhone does. I had two 8700's in the course of a year and two 8300's in the course of a year. They'd spontaneously reboot, the transmitter would die, they'd freeze … maybe that's just me. My Bold has been much more reliable but still … my iPhone freaks out a lot less than my BlackBerries ever did.

Also, apps aren't compatible between models of BlackBerries. An app written for the Storm usuallywon't run without modification for the Bold or the Curve and vice versa. One of the smart things Apple did was make really just one phone. The processor speed may differ and a couple of models do 3G and one doesn't, but you have to admire how easy that makes to develop apps.

“You have to spend money on apps to justify the price of the device itself. The non-subsidized price of the iPhone is roughly $200 more than any other comparable phone.”

Not true. Let's not forget that an iPhone is still an iPod as well. All of my movies, TV shows, DVD's, and music will fit on this sucker so if I want to carry one less device, I can. It's not as if the phone is useless without the app store.

“I won't reiterate why I think the iPhone sucks, see http://johnhavard.com/blog/iphone-hate for details. What I will say is that I hate my iPhone. I wish I had bought a BlackBerry instead.”

To each his own. The iPhone certainly has weaknesses:

* A network that is not as good as it should be. My coverage in NYC was worse than in Water Valley MS.
* The worst approval process for apps ever. Ever.
* Silly, carrier imposed restrictions on usage (No slingbox over 3G?!?)
* The fact you have to jailbreak to use *YOUR* phone the way you want to.
* Long amounts of typing are still better on the BlackBerry.
* No backgrounding of apps

“As for why RIM and other companies are rolling their own app stores, the reason is obvious. They want a cut of every app sold.”

They better hurry. Web apps will probably overtake installed apps in a year or two.

One last thing: The BlackBerry Bold is the best traditional (i.e non-iPhone) smartphone I've ever used.

Apple must be doing something right to have their competitors clawing at it (Storm/Storm 2 & the Droid).

When I used to travel for business, I'd always have my BlackBerry, my work laptop, and my laptop. The work laptop I'd put in my checked luggage. The BlackBerry was great for keeping me on top of my work email 24/7 but was useless for web surfing. The last two trips I've taken for business have been different. In Vegas last June, I took my BlackBerry and my own personal netbook with the iPhone; no need for a work laptop and in retrospect I really didn't need the personal one either though it did come in handy to practice my presentation. In NYC last week, I took my work laptop and my iPhone … I needed no personal laptop because most of what I do on the web, I do through my iPhone … which when I had coverage worked great!

Let's forget about the network. That's a misfeature of AT&T and not the phone. As you mentioned, AT&T's network is odd in that they'll have excellent coverage in the back middle 40 of nowhere, but if the population gets above 3 per square mile they're not really interested.

The BlackBerry browser is indeed useless for all but the simplest html. Even then it tends to do the wrong thing. That being said, iPhone Safari will occasionally break, especially on mobile-oriented pages that aren't designed specifically for the iPhone. I certainly won't deny that the Storm is a weak attempt at an iPhone killer, although I think its purpose wasn't to provide an alternative to the iPhone for those in the market for a new phone, but to provide a shiny new interface for those shopping for a new BlackBerry that are mildly jealous of their friends with iPhones.

BlackBerry users come in three flavors: those with company-issued phones, those who ended up with a BlackBerry due to “luck”, and those who really like the platform. RIM only needs the company-issued phones to stay in the game. BES+MDS is a powerful business tool that has no competitor. While the price of admission is steep, far out of reach of small business, it's a minor cost to big business and is likely made back within a few weeks of deployment. RIM doesn't really care about those that stumbled into the BlackBerry universe as they're typically transient, caring only about what phone was on sale or free this week. Those that like the platform will continue to use the BlackBerry no matter what. That being said, they're still a small fraction of the customer base.

The googlephones have a more sinister purpose — expansion of the pangooglecon. I'm willing to bet that Google had this in the works longer than the iPhone but simply waited to strike until the time is right. The big boy in town, the Apple iPhone, is annoying people with its expensive upgrade paths, poor integration with certain services, e.g. Google Apps, and countless annoyances that have major developers leaving the platform and other long-time Mac developers ignoring it.

Backwards compatibility is excellent. A modern BlackBerry can run old grayscale and monochrome apps without issue. Just like the iPhone, any app that needs to use new features will not work on hardware or OS releases that lack that feature. The storm is the exception as it's significantly different than its siblings.

As for me, I'm switch back to BlackBerry. The phone just plain works. SMS and email work well. The phone doesn't need its warranty voided just to make it useful. Only one app on the iPhone, RadarScope, which I highly recommend for anyone living in storm-prone areas, has no exact BlackBerry equivalent. Downloaded graphics just aren't the same as higher resolution Level-III data rendered locally on the phone with GPS capabilities, especially when you're more interested about velocity (tornados) and not reflectivity (rain). I would have gone with another Curve after the washing machine incident, but the contract price for the Curve was $249 while the 8GB 3G was $199. As soon as I get my new BB in and verified working, the iPhone (UNLOCKED! EXCELLENT CONDITION L@@K!) will be up for sale.

In regards to Safari vs. BB Browser: Safari on the iPhone has been more robust than its desktop counterpart for me. So many sites (like this one!) auto-render properly for the iPhone that it's not even an issue for the most part. Think about how long we had WAP browsers on phones (I had one in 2001) and the web only really became a viable thing on smartphones with the iPhone. That's huge. Web apps will be how apps are distributed for the iPhone in the future to circumvent the idiotic App Store policies. I guarantee you RIM knows this.

I really don't see Google as this huge, evil entity. I have a blog post in draft status where I talk about this and maybe one day I'll get around to posting it. I've already had the pleasure of a DOJ background check for work I did years ago … compared to that, Google is downright benevolent. I'm with Scott McNealy: “You have no privacy. Get over it.”

I have faith that within an iteration or two, the BlackBerry will start to catch up to the iPhone. Maybe. The Torch Mobile acquisition will hopefully fix the horrid browser.

In regards to Safari vs. BB Browser: Safari on the iPhone has been more robust than its desktop counterpart for me. So many sites (like this one!) auto-render properly for the iPhone that it's not even an issue for the most part. Think about how long we had WAP browsers on phones (I had one in 2001) and the web only really became a viable thing on smartphones with the iPhone. That's huge. Web apps will be how apps are distributed for the iPhone in the future to circumvent the idiotic App Store policies. I guarantee you RIM knows this.

I really don't see Google as this huge, evil entity. I have a blog post in draft status where I talk about this and maybe one day I'll get around to posting it. I've already had the pleasure of a DOJ background check for work I did years ago … compared to that, Google is downright benevolent. I'm with Scott McNealy: “You have no privacy. Get over it.”

I have faith that within an iteration or two, the BlackBerry will start to catch up to the iPhone. Maybe. The Torch Mobile acquisition will hopefully fix the horrid browser.