Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed, Wiley Coyote vs. Road Runner, Bullwinkle vs. Boris and Natasha — these were all great matchups. Apple's iPhone vs. RIM's BlackBerry is another great matchup. If you're in the market for a personal digital assistant (PDA), the BlackBerry and iPhone are your top two choices.

Of these two, which should you choose? Let's consider factors important to most people: cost (device and monthly), productivity, learning curve, and lifestyle impact.

Cost between the two devices is generally even (expect to pay about the same for a BlackBerry Curve as you would an 8GB iPhone-about $200), but core productivity functions tip heavily to the BlackBerry because of its keyboard and focused nature of the device (i.e., you're a lot less likely to spend several hours playing a virtual golf game on the BlackBerry than on the iPhone). Neither device is very difficult to learn, but the iPhone's graphical interface is more intuitive and consistent than any other device on the market today. By lifestyle impact, I mean what you can do with the device and how it impacts your life. In this category, the iPhone wins without competition. As the television commercials say, "There's an app for that." There is seemingly an application for everything you can think of--from calorie counting, to blowing a kiss, to checking the low and high tides of the ocean.

Here's a personal example-I run. I don't run as far, fast or as often as I'd like, but I run. The iPhone has an application that maps my run (iMapMyRun), tracks my time, distance, and pace. After a run it posts it up to my workouts on the Internet for easier review and tracking. I don't know of an application like that on the BlackBerry. Today there are more than 18,000 iPhone applications to enhance your life.

I like BlackBerry's one-handed operation. Much of what you need to do on a BlackBerry can be done with one hand. I also like its keyboard-it's the best keyboard available on a device today and there is no faster way to send an e-mail or text using a PDA than with a BlackBerry. Battery life is also excellent-especially compared to an iPhone. BlackBerry's are focused in purpose: Although there are games, music, and video available on a BlackBerry, a BlackBerry users tend to utilize its core functionality more than the entertainment options.

Things I don't like about an iPhone-can't copy and paste nor send or receive photos via MMS (multimedia messaging service). An iPhone operating system update due this summer is expected to provide both the ability to copy and paste and send photos via MMS-please welcome Apple to 2003. Battery life is short and you cannot replace the battery or use a spare, which means you'll be without your phone while the battery is factory replaced. Searching for your stuff (contacts, calendar items, etc.) on an iPhone can be cumbersome or impossible.

So which should you buy? I'll answer like the consultant I am: It Depends. If your primary purpose is e-mail/text, calendaring, and contacts and you want to be able to type long e-mails fairly quickly, get a BlackBerry. It's utility and business productivity at its best. If you want an altogether higher level of a 3G device, get an iPhone. It can do just about anything (high resolution movies, a myriad of games, remote control a computer, you name it), except type a long e-mail or technology column quickly.

Technically yours.



Bott Technology Solutions helps small to midsize businesses with computer technology needs and may be reached via e-mail at gregbott@bottinc.com or at 601-616-8509.