But those that know me well are also a bit perplexed when I tell them that I don't have an iPhone—that I have (and prefer) my BlackBerry. How can such a huge Apple advocate not have an iPhone?!?
I admit, the iPhone has many, many cool features. The Safari browser is very useful, the camera is better than the BlackBerry's and the Maps application (with the "current location" finder) is super cool. But there are a few key features that are missing on the iPhone that are deal-killers for me.
First, there's no way to copy something and paste it somewhere else. If someone emails me an address, I can copy and paste it into my address book. If I find a website I want to share with a friend, I can copy the URL and paste it into an email. Such an elementary feature seems to be missing from the iPhone.
Second, I can't figure out how to send attachments via email on the iPhone. The Photos app allows you to share photos in an email, but you have to start the process from the Photos app. You can't be in the middle of sending an email and decide to send a photo halfway through. And that's just photos only. On my BlackBerry, I can have a Word doc, a PDF or whatever stored on my SD card and easily send it as an attachment in an email.
Third, deleting multiple emails on the iPhone seems unnecessarily difficult. Like others, I use the email feature on my BlackBerry to stay on top of what's happening at the office. Urgent matters get a response from my phone. However, most emails I just read with the notion that I'll respond to them when I'm on my Mac next. Non-urgent emails get deleted to keep things clean. On my BlackBerry, I can just go to the top of the list and select "delete prior." In one single command, all the emails below are deleted. On the iPhone, you have to swipe each one to remove the email. With v2.0 at least you can press "edit," select the emails and press "delete," but you still have to select each one first. I can't be the only one that uses his mobile email this way!
On the subject of email (which apparently seems to be my main source of frustration with the iPhone), I use the filters feature on my BlackBerry to only let certain emails come to my phone. For example, I maintain a series of servers at work and each one scans its primary drives and syncs with backup drives every evening. With each scan (and there are about 30-35 separate scans these servers perform), I receive an email report. My BlackBerry is programmed to filter out all of these email logs by checking the subject line of the email, but I can't seem to duplicate this feature on the iPhone.
In Apple's defense, I do think they're on to something and that the iPhone will be a force to be reckon with for years to come. I have an iPod Touch (which is basically an iPhone without the phone), and I find myself pulling it out quite a bit to surf the web or check my Facebook account instead of getting my MacBook out. But when it comes to the mobile device that I carry with me no matter where I go, the BlackBerry is still my device of choice...
...that is, until v3.0 comes out for the iPhone.
-d
2 comments:
Thank you for this enlightening article. Your feedback as a Mac user (who also works in the music industry business) is just what I need to decide against the current iPhone. MOre power to you!
Mr. Flipper. As I read your article, I can't disagree more. As much as we all know there are things we wish the iPhone had, there is no way you can say your BlackBerry Pearl is better. Your 3 main reasons for not wanting an iPhone are 1) copy and paste 2) attachments in email and 3) the email setup.
While all are true statements, its like saying you dont like your toaster because it doesnt blend a drink. the iPhone wasnt made in mind for email. E-Mail is purely an extra. The Goal of the iPhone is a hybrid of an iPod and a Phone. The goal isn't E-Mail. Its not fair to compare something that isnt the original intent of a product. "I dont like the mustang, because it doesnt have a truck bed"...you get the point?
Lets look at the upside to the iPhone. The automatic Sync of your email, contacts, and calendars between your phone, online and computers, all at one time. Incredible. The ease of use, the 16GB storage space. Full Video, Podcasts, iPod, Great camera with pictures that are upload-able to your mobileMe account. All of the great apps available for the iPhone (most of which are free) What about the apps for Blackberrys?
and how about the fact that it will sync with your mac. It is the only real device that will sync with that mac that you love so much. Sure you can pay $50 for one of those programs that always give you problems, and only sync certain things, but whats the good in that?
Go ahead and settle for your blackberry, but thats a sad comparison.
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