Milk n spit bad for Blackberry...need Iphone or new BB?

[MotoSook]

So I was feeding the baby last night when I picked up the Blackberry. The baby loves to tap on the Blackberry (I lock the keys) and bringing it up to his ear like he's calling his honeys. As soon as he saw the BB in my hand last night he reached for it, and I gave it to him as I usually do.

Well he had the Blackberry in one hand and his bottle in the other hand and sucking on the bottle. He must have gotten a text from one of the honeys, 'cuse he pulled the bottle out of his mouth and pulled the BB closer only to catch the drool and milk that spouted out when the bottle was extracted.

I wiped the BB down and dried it with a hair dryer...now the thing is kaputs! Keys are not working. Should I take the batttery out, and run it under the facet then dry it?

Or should I get a new BB (Bold?) or an Iphone?

My contract isn't up for a few months with the BB. I considered buying a used on on Ebay or a new one outright, but I need opinions on whether the BB makes sense when the Iphone has all the apps and features for about the same price.

I already have an Ipod I travel with. I suppose I can give it to the wife if I got an Iphone. I love the BB and lately I've been optimizing it for web surfing. I love the GPS mapping and navigation (BB Maps). With my BB, I never feel the need to bring a map with me when I travel for work, and I can always get on the web.

So! Blackberry or Iphone? (I'm on ATT service)

[widgeon13]

Had a BB before retiring but now have iphone and really like it. I think it will stand up better to milk and drool.

You also get the good daddy award for feeding the little guy.

[Rot 911]

Souk, I had the BB's for years. Got an Iphone 3 months ago and damn it is so much better than the BB! Has a very good GPS system on it that also links to google maps. And of course there is not end to the applications you can add. If you are like me and don't have hundreds of pictures you want to store, the 8G phone is perfect.

[stomachmonkey]

My wife dropped her BB 8130 into a 3 inch puddle of mud at a construction site during a deluge. It lay there for about 1 1/2 hours before she found it.

She of course tried to wipe it off and turn it on, NG.

When I got home I completely disassembled it. There was mud and grit in places you could not imagine.

Once clean and dry it worked flawlessly.

The keys are pressure sensitive and you may have baby gunk under the rubber pad that needs to be addressed.

Or just get the iPhone, love mine.

[MotoSook]

I'm gonna give the cleaning a try to see if it'll work and last until my contract is up. After that it looks like the Iphone may be up for some abuse in my hands. Thanks guys.

[MFAFF]

No matter how good a BB is until they let you have a 'light sabre' app its just not going to 'cut' it...

Seriously.. ever tried using it during a majorly boring meeting? ..or the Uzi?

Maps.., e-mail etc all fade into the background..

Best work tool ever.

Mind you I have both.. BB for work and Iphone for fun...

[jyl]

The advantages to the BB over the iPhone are
(1) corporate IT support: if you need it for work email, many IT depts still don't support iPhone
(2) physical keyboard: for heavy typing I think it is still better. I can type okay on the iPhone (most of my PP posts done on it) but not as fast. There is a learning curve with the iPhone onscreen kb, expect to dislike it for the first weeks.
(3) better battery life. If used heavily (constantly surfing web using WiFi, also bluetooth turned on) iPhone battery will last only about 8 hours of constant use. If use mostly as a phone, and turn WiFi and Bluetooth off unless actually using them, then battery life is no problem.

For everything else, iPhone is really superior.

I'm comparing a kb-based BB here, not the Storm.

[jyl]

Oh, I've mentioned this before, but the Palm Pre looks to be a heck of a device - kind of the best of both worlds, physical kb and full-sized touchscreen, great os. It is on Sprint initially.

[MotoSook]

See...I really like the full QWERTY key board on my 8800 BB. The positive, firm keys I like and have gotten really use to typing on it. The thing has been like a tank. I can't remember how many times I've dropped that thing...or how many times the baby has dropped it..and the battery goes flying out. Battery back in and the thing boots up and keeps on going.

Can the Iphone do that?

Also, I like the e-mail features of the BB. I have a few accounts that I get e-mails from and I like the way it's set up. Does Apple have a service like BB where I can register different person e-mail accounts to pull into my handheld?

I use to use the BB for work. I actually bought it because my former employer wanted all their managers to have a BB, and they gave initial and monthly allowances. My new employer isn't BB friendly so I mostly use it for personal use. I realy log onto the actual e-mail accounts anymore.

Oh....my BB can go two days with heavy use without a recharge. I love that. It would suck to have to plug the Iphone in after a day's use...rushing to plug it in at the end of the day.

[Aurel]

I would get an iphone. Just for the dyno app you can put in it.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by jyl

The advantages to the BB over the iPhone are
(1) corporate IT support: if you need it for work email, many IT depts still don't support iPhone
(2) physical keyboard: for heavy typing I think it is still better. I can type okay on the iPhone (most of my PP posts done on it) but not as fast. There is a learning curve with the iPhone onscreen kb, expect to dislike it for the first weeks.
(3) better battery life. If used heavily (constantly surfing web using WiFi, also bluetooth turned on) iPhone battery will last only about 8 hours of constant use. If use mostly as a phone, and turn WiFi and Bluetooth off unless actually using them, then battery life is no problem.

For everything else, iPhone is really superior.

I'm comparing a kb-based BB here, not the Storm.

All true. I like the browser better on the iPhone, but I wanted the full qwerty keyboard. Go play with a Bold and iPhone, both are at AT&T. I went with the Bold and love it.

[jyl]

See...I really like the full QWERTY key board on my 8800 BB. The positive, firm keys I like and have gotten really use to typing on it. The thing has been like a tank. I can't remember how many times I've dropped that thing...or how many times the baby has dropped it..and the battery goes flying out. Battery back in and the thing boots up and keeps on going.



Can the Iphone do that?

The BB kb is superior. I have had BB's since the pager-sized BB that took a AA battery, and I could type very fast on the BB. My typing on iPhone after 5 months is at 1/2 the speed. As for durability, I haven't dropped the iPhone so can't say how tough it is. I use a rubber case that would likely protect it against falls. The BB is tough, I've only broken one BB by dropping it.

Also, I like the e-mail features of the BB. I have a few accounts that I get e-mails from and I like the way it's set up. Does Apple have a service like BB where I can register different person e-mail accounts to pull into my handheld?

Yes, it does that fine.

I use to use the BB for work. I actually bought it because my former employer wanted all their managers to have a BB, and they gave initial and monthly allowances. My new employer isn't BB friendly so I mostly use it for personal use. I realy log onto the actual e-mail accounts anymore.



Oh....my BB can go two days with heavy use without a recharge. I love that. It would suck to have to plug the Iphone in after a day's use...rushing to plug it in at the end of the day.

No way around it - if you use the iphone heavily and constantly for webbrowsing, streaming video, playing movies off memory, etc, then battery life will be an issue. You will not get 2 days of such use. Of course, such use isn't even realistic with the BB other than maybe the Storm

[jyl]

But, I can happily surf PP, watch embedded video, check websites, and post from the iPhone (as am doing now) so you do get something in return for the kb and battery life tradeoffs

Oh, I switched from VZ to T to get the iPhone and I do notice the coverage is not quite as good. If I were going to get a BB I would consider switching back to VZ.

[spuggy]

Originally Posted by Souk

Keys are not working. Should I take the batttery out, and run it under the facet then dry it?

Errr, no. That's very unlikely to end well.

You could try squirting switch contact cleaner in there. But that would probably work better if you disassembled the keyboard first. Given that new replacement keyboards for Blackberrys start at $5 (depending on model, which you don't say), well...

Lots of disassembly guides if you google for 'em.

[masraum]

I work with a guy that's got an iphone and complains about it a lot. He gets moderate reception with it and has other various issue.

I've got a G1 and love it. The only issue is that you generally only get about a days charge out of the battery.

[daepp]

How about simply dialing a new number or call a contact from your address book - how does the iPhone compare to a conventional cell phone with keys?

[jyl]

Dial from keypad - big button on screen, better than the numeric kb embedded in the BB qwerty kb
Dial from contacts - type first few letters of name, name pops up, touch to dial. Or, touch "k" to jump to k's then scroll to karen and touch to dial.

Basically, I think the iPhone is a slightly better phone (debatable), the full qwerty kb BB is a markedly better email device, the iPhone is a much better web surfer and games/other apps device.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by jyl

But, I can happily surf PP, watch embedded video, check websites, and post from the iPhone (as am doing now) so you do get something in return for the kb and battery life tradeoffs

Oh, I switched from VZ to T to get the iPhone and I do notice the coverage is not quite as good. If I were going to get a BB I would consider switching back to VZ.

ATT in NY sucked royally. A call would not last for more than 2-3 minutes before dropping. Occasionally you'd wake up and your phone would be switched off. Would happen for a few days then stop for a while. Always thought ATT were issuing shut down commands to free up bandwidth. Used to happen to a few people I knew.

Same plan and same phones down here in TX has been awesome. Only time I drop calls are at 3 specific spots, near entrance to DFW and when I pass the outer markers.

[phoenix_iii]

I am sure this has been addressed, but why would you put a high powered transceiver by your baby's head? <10yrs old = not supposed to use cells phones (or is it 6?) because they are still developing, etc.

bad.

[jyl]

From souk's description, the baby wasn't making a call. In standby mode, the BB or any other cellphone is dialed back to very low power. Even at full power, brief exposure to a cellphone isn't going to harm anything.

I am sure this has been addressed, but why would you put a high powered transceiver by your baby's head? <10yrs old = not supposed to use cells phones (or is it 6?) because they are still developing, etc.



bad.