Dumped the Iphone....back to BB!

Monza_dh · Monza_dh's Garage

After three weeks of dealing with missing calender entries, lost contacts and the worst excuse for a battery, I finally called it quitts and went back to the BB. While I liked the actual "phone", itunes, Safari and a few apps of the iphone, I could not deal with the compatibility issues with Outlook 7. I am part of a large high tech company with 42,000 echange users and my IT support team couldnt deal with it either.

luckily I didn't even pay for either one since it was an approved upgrade of my corporate BB and had a 30 day return policy. So they overnighted me a new Bold and sent back the iphone and boy am I glad. I guess I took the way BB works for email for granted.

While I liked the instant web searching and screen zoom, etc I never got used to the iphone keyboard. Going back the Bold was like riding a bike, jumped back on like I never left it.

Joeaksa · 11-14-2009, 06:02 AM

You are not alone. I have several friends who jumped at the Iphone, then just could not get used to it, returning to the BB.

Two things I kept hearing was battery life and signal strength. Sometimes the battery lasted less than 2 hours (and you cannot just pop a fresh one in) and anytime you get out of the big cities and roaming the signal was terrible.

gr8fl4porsche · gr8fl4porsche's Garage

Yep, common problem.

For some reason Apple struggles making their devices MS compatible.

Took about 5 itunes updates to get 3rd Gen Ipods to work with Vista years ago.

I use GMail with MS Exchange Server and it works well as far as pushing Contacts, Calendar, EMail. Google did it, not sure why Apple can't.

dad911 · 11-14-2009, 06:09 AM

Turn off wi-fi when you're not near a wireless connection, and battery lasts for days.

I can stream music with Pandora 8 hours, and still have battery left at the end of the day.

Also has not been a problem with our office exchange server.

stomachmonkey · 11-14-2009, 06:19 AM

I have no issues with exchange. Mail, contacts, calendars all work fine. Yeah battery could be better but 3G here in TX is screaming good. I never bother turning WIFI on so I get a couple of days life.

Wife's BB finally bit the dust a week ago. Surprised her with an iPhone. Some things she likes, some things she misses from the BB, like her little scrolly ball and physical keyboard. Over all she's happy with iPhone.

It's not for everyone. What a boring world if we all liked exactly the same thing.

Joeaksa · 11-14-2009, 06:19 AM

What if you need WiFi? He did and the battery life was terrible.

His usual comment was "I do not have a mobile phone anymore, its always plugged in charging!" The BB simply is not that way.

The IPhone wanted everything you get in a computer and TV, yet light and the battery simply cannot keep up. Make the battery switchable so you can plug in a fresh one when needed and it would change everything but they didnt.

stomachmonkey · 11-14-2009, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

What if you need WiFi? He did and the battery life was terrible.

His usual comment was "I do not have a mobile phone anymore, its always plugged in charging!" The BB simply is not that way.

The IPhone wanted everything you get in a computer and TV, yet light and the battery simply cannot keep up. Make the battery switchable so you can plug in a fresh one when needed and it would change everything but they didnt.

Agreed, battery is annoying but they do sell plenty of plug in juicers that'll get you another 6-7 hours. No different that carrying another battery and you don't need to turn the phone off to use them (switch battery). And they are fairly cheap, ~$30. Cheaper than a spare battery. Some run on AAA and some run a rechargeable pack.

But I agree, battery life needs improving.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

I know what you mean about switching phones. I tried an AT&T Tilt. I liked the WM operating system, but the side slide out keyboard did not work for me. I like the smaller keyboard, so that you can thumb type with one hand.

I switched to a Treo Pro and all is well.

scottmandue · 11-14-2009, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

It's not for everyone. What a boring world if we all liked exactly the same thing.

Like grandpa said...

""If everyone liked the same thing...

Everyone would be after grandma"

gr8fl4porsche · gr8fl4porsche's Garage

You may have had a lemon Iphone. Lots of bad batteries and other problems with the devices. I know many people who complained to the Apple store - received new phones and all the problems went away.

I use mine constantly throughout the workday. Push email on 1 account and fetch every 15 on the other. I usually turn off wifi when not in use but forget quite often as well.

I am also a 3000 minute/month phone user on top of the near constant data usage.

I need to plug my phone in after about 10 hours of heavy use.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

What if you need WiFi? He did and the battery life was terrible.

His usual comment was "I do not have a mobile phone anymore, its always plugged in charging!" The BB simply is not that way.

The IPhone wanted everything you get in a computer and TV, yet light and the battery simply cannot keep up. Make the battery switchable so you can plug in a fresh one when needed and it would change everything but they didnt.

This is one thing I really like about the Treo Pro. Unless it is plugged in, the phone will go to blank screen mode after a set amount of time. When it does that, it also switches off the Wifi connection, and turns the 3G/EDGE data connection back on. Saves a lot of battery life this way, and you get Wifi as long as you are using it. Really slick.

I have come to the conclusion to BB people are BB people because that is what they need. An iPhone looks neat to them, but just doesn't function the way they need it to function.

The same is true for the others. Me? I need a phone with a physical keyboard that is small and below the screeen. Why? Because it is easy to manipulate the keys and hold the phone with one hand. I love the look of the Treo Pre. But until it is a GSM phone, it is worthless.

masraum · 11-14-2009, 09:03 AM

I don't like a blackberry, but then I don't NEED one for work. When I leave work, I'm done with it, unless I'm on call. If I'm on call, I get a call and then go to my PC. Since I don't use a phone for work, the blackberry is just a big heavy phone for me. I have a G1 (Google phone), and I love it. I can get my work email on the phone, but it's basically my personal phone. It's much better as a personal phone than a work phone.

BB are better work phones.

Hugh R · 11-14-2009, 10:04 AM

I bought my first IPhone last Sunday. Still getting up to speed on it. First thing I noticed is that the battery life really sucks, compared to my old BB. Turning off WiFi and putting it on standby, which can still receive phone calls helps a lot. A friend pointed out that I should listen to music on my IPod, and save the IPhone battery life for use as a phone. I'm going to be on a Tech Scout for a feature for 7 days beginning next Tuesday, and traveling in a van for hours at a time. With a combination of a few books, and loading a few movies on the IPod/IPhone, I hope to fight some boredom.

jyl · jyl's Garage

iPhone battery life is not great. Partly because people use the iPhone so heavily, much more than Blackberries etc (the carriers report than bandwidth usage is 3-4X higher for iPhone users than for other smartphone users, and bandwidth i.e. transmit/receive is what burns up the battery). And partly because its not a big battery.

To max battery life, turn off WiFi, set to Fetch not Push. Easy enough to turn WiFi back on when you want it.

If you're going to be in a van for hours, carry a $20 car charger and if needed a USB extension cable (if you're in the back seat).

An extra battery is not a bad idea. Check iLounge All things iPod, iPhone, iTunes and beyond | iLounge reviews for the best one. There is also an iPhone case that has an external battery built in.

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

iPhone 3G / 3GS Battery Extender Case, iPhone 3G Battery Case

Super_Dave_D · Super_Dave_D's Garage

Stupid iPhone Battery - why cant I surf all day long, fetch email for 5 accounts, run wifi and blue tooth, run Yahoo messenger, take and edit pics and play games......forget it.

Dave L · 11-14-2009, 01:54 PM

I have gone the opposite, I keep my Blackberry in my bag expecting to switch back from the Iphone but I dont. Typing out emails on the Iphone is a pain but I also have a notebook for that.

onewhippedpuppy · 11-14-2009, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dad911

Turn off wi-fi when you're not near a wireless connection, and battery lasts for days.

I can stream music with Pandora 8 hours, and still have battery left at the end of the day.

Also has not been a problem with our office exchange server.

My BB lasts for days WITH WiFi.

Different strokes. The iPhone seems to be a better toy, but I can't imagine using one for work. Also, if you have to turn off all the features and not listen to music on it, doesn't that defeat the purpose?

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

I like my iPhone, I just hate the AT&T 3G (going, going, gone...) service.

holtjv · 11-15-2009, 06:51 AM

I went from bb to iphone then back to bb--couldn't take the virtual keyboard when traveling. Then got a G1..pretty good.

Last week just got the Verizon Droid and it's killer--good battery, great, fast O/S and very good service.

Interestingly, they made the device so that you can hear yourself when you speak, like an old wired phone. Keeps you from talking too loudly. You can imagine the product engineer saying, "why in the world would anyone want that?"