Blackberry to iPhone

The decision is made, and Blackberry has lost to iPhone 4.  The process has been a long, well researched search for the tool/toy that best serves my unique needs.

First, I decided I would remain with AT&T.  The service has worked flawlessly for me, the service has been good too.  I feel embarrassed that I have no gripes about them, and can't muster up angst about using service from a company that is big and dominant.  I wish I could be so shallow, it would make thinking easier.

Then, I decided I would have a smartphone.  I was an early Palm Pilot adopter, still have my HP Ipaq Windows 3.5 PDA, and a Motorola that used the first Windows OS for telephones.  The improvements in regular phones have not been enough to get me interested, and those in the smartphones have really made the devices do what I want.

Then, I surveyed the systems, regardless of carriers.  Android, Palm, iPhone, and Blackberry.  First to fall- Android.  Fragmented, klunky, open and fussy.  Not for me, I don't want to be a junior systems manager or developer.  Next, I was hoping the Palm Pre would work.  Web OS is quick, powerful and good looking.  But the hardware- that keyboard is dreadful- too small and hard to use.  That left Blackberry and iPhone, both slated for big new overhauls.

The RIM folks in Canada are notorious for system security and prudence.  That they have such great software built from what started as a pager OS is remarkable, and that it is so secure and appealing to big enterprises too.  The news for BB is the 6.0 OS, with a Webkit browser.  That would be the ticket, fast internet, an interface I know well, and the speed and utility of the current Blackberry.  Trouble is, RIM is noted for not being able to deliver what they promise, and not keeping the user base enthused about the product.  The looks we have had at the OS, introduced months ago, don't really show it working.  And what can be discerned is not much of a change.  So the only hope for BB is the new browser.  If and when it gets finished.  RIM has not been forthcoming about the hardware requirements to run this new OS, but it seems the existing devices will not be powerful enough to run it well, and new devices are slated for sometime in the future- not much to go on.

I really like my BB, and the newer ones are even better.  The next generation looks interesting, a slider, but nothing can beat the BB keyboard.  As well, the resolution of the screen is really good.  It is just too small to see much.  But again, nothing is better than the message functions on a BB.  As good as it is, the use of the web is bad.  And most emails, RSS feeds, and tweets have a link.  If there was not a choice, on balance, I would be happy to upgrade my BB and hope for OS 6 to solve some problems.

The only competitor to the BB is the iPhone.  So I waited, anxious to see how Apple would improve it, and hopefully address the issues I have with the last iPhone.

I won't re-hash the revelations of iPhone 4 from the Apple WWDC.  It was a major change in the iPhone.  The concerns I had, camera, screen, battery life, multitasking and interface organization were all taken care of in the usual elegant Apple way.

Now all I have to do is pre-order, select the apps I want to start out, and wait.