blackberry v. iPhone - which is best? Or do I need something else?

[edam]

Hello, hoping some of you IT-savvy people can help a dimwit.

I want to be able to check my emails when I'm out of my home and my office, without carting my laptop around. Suspect this means investing in a Blackberry or iPhone. Which is best? (My current mobile is supposed to be whatever it was the last best thing about connecting to the net was - 3G or summat - but actually is rubbish.)

And do you know the best/cheapest place I can get one?

(Btw, I use Macs at home but am about to start a new job working in a proper office with PCs and stuff. So something that could link to my Mac iBook would be nice. And PC stuff may claim to do that, but sometimes it doesn't really work. Although I don't want to talk myself into an iPhone if I don't need it as I imagine like all Mac stuff it's really expensive...)

'I don't need to change the world, I'm just looking for a few emails..' (apols to B Bragg)

i got a iphone last month and it is the best purchase i have ever made my mum has a blackberry and it is poo!! if you are only interested in the boring side basic capabilities like emailing and messaging then blackberry might be the phone for you though but if you want to be able to play addictive games and have silly applications aswell as doing the boring bits then i say IPHONE ALL THE WAY!!!!

BTW I

Are your emails just text, or do you need to look at attachments like PDFs as well ?

I have a Blackberry pearl, and it works great for checking emails, and writing quick replies. My US colleagues all have iPhones, and they deal with attachments much better, and the touch keyboard seems to give you a pretty good typing speed for longer messages. But we aren't allowed them as the roaming data costs to go overseas is horrific on iPhones (don't ask me why, but we've been told this)

hello! sorry i missed you, what was the seminar? anyway, i have an iphone, it's ace, you need one. sorted.

I've just bought an Android phone by Motorola, that does all the things you want and more. Was highly recommended by an IT geek friend who uses a Mac.

But, I am in America, so no idea if that phone is available where you are.

I have a work blackberry and an iphone. The blackberry is crap tbh - it's just an email tool as far as I'm concerned. But if that is all you really want then it would be fine.

On the other hand I love my iphone with all it's lovely lovely apps.

Get an iphone. I love mine; DH has a blackberry, but is jealous of my iphone...

Syncing with mac is great. Email function and everything works very well. I subscribe to the me.com service for email, but also get alternate email addresses onto my iphone as well.

The apps are great but somewhat addictive. I have various free games for me and DC, and practical things like news and Ocado.

I'm not techy, but have found it very easy to use.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much iphone cost, especially as (probably like you) I didn't need a really big capacity one.

Forgot to add - i would have gotten an i-phone if it had been available with my carrier. But who knows if that will happen anytime soon.....so got the next best thing (according to research)

I have an iPhone and it even has an app that replaces the need for my Tesco clubcard! It displays a barcode to scan [very sad]

It has taken over my life. I would be lost without it now.

There are other options like the "android" phones I think.

I;m just waiting for a mumsnet app, because then I will no longer need to sit at a computer - I can do everything on iphone!

I got an iPhone 6 weeks ago and love it. I don't need it in any way - don't get a lot of call, play music, or use it for email (my email acct is 95% spam, so I don't want to download that).

I just love the apps, and the 24/7 internet access.

lymond i save the mumsnet threads im on page on the safari app on my iphone so my laptop is quickly becoming redundant

ooh, lots of lovely replies!

I was kind of lusting after my sister's lovely iPhone that she brought round to show me last week but started this thread in case I was going mad and didn't really need something that snazzy. But you lot have convinced me I do. MN is v. bad for my wallet sometimes...

(Hoxton, sweetie SO v. sorry darn seminar cancelled the coffee break. Grrr. Did JA tell you we basically convinced each other to give up smoking over lunch? It was a Primary Care Foundation thingy on urgent care centres. And yes, let's do networking soon - wonder whether we can each stick the other on exes? )

I have both and I often have to forward emails with attachments to my Iphone in order to read them properly. The zoom facility on the BlackBerry is rubbish along with everything else.

so that's another vote for iPhone then...

I say iPhone too! My DP has a BB, or twatberry as he calls it. He is jelous of my iPhone but won't admit it or get one because then hed have to admit the iphone is better

SoupDragon, have you used the Tesco app actually in Tesco yet? I've downloaded it but a bit afraid to use it in case it doesn't work and there is a queue behind sniggering etc

I can recommend the Ocado app [snob shopper emoticon] .

ah, but does it have a 'persuading one's little sister that one isn't merely jealous of HER iPhone' app?

Don't want to hijack someone elses thread but can someone answer a related question? I have a wk BB and an Ipod Touch (which I believe does everything an Iphone does minus the phone!). Prefer Ipod every time, much easier to use and navigate but the one thing that BB has over Ipod is GPRS. I can only access the Internet and my emails on my iPod if I have access to a wireless connection. I assumed it was the same for an Iphone (am I mistaken?). iPod is 4G so pretty new -is there any way around this problem?

If all that you need to do is check your emails, then a blackberry is best. It synchs in quickly and you can just sort out all your emails on the go. I get around 100 emails a day so it's IMPERATIVE that I keep on top of them when I am out of the office otherwise life just becomes unmanageable.

If you want a toy with lots of apps, that can surf the internet easily (the blackberry doesn't btw - there is nothing more cumbersome than a blackberry trying to access a website) then you want an iphone.

DD (11) has an iphone. I have a blackberry.

um.... I'd thought MN had persuaded me and now I don't know what to do!

Suppose I'd better work out which is cheaper.

Has anyone seen the app which you use when you are having a poo which allows you to network with everyone else linked up who are also having a poo at the same time

Oh sorry old fromage. The other thing to think about is how easy it is to use. The blackberry just emails quickly and easily. IMO the Iphone emailer is nowhere near as good. All this touchscreen stuff is much slower. DD and I had a race once as to who could email fastest and I won at a canter, simply because the emailer on a blackberry is faster and easier.

My summary

Blackberry - a one-trick pony, but it does that trick really really well

Iphone - a really good toy that does lots of stuff relatively well