I am addicted to crack
CrackBERRY that is. I finally broke down and bought a new cell phone. I knew I had kept my Motorola V551 past the two year renewal date but I did not realize how far past until I pulled my phone out at the AT&T store and people started laughing.
So rude.
It had been almost four years, apparently. Here is a photo of my new BB 9000 Bold next to my Motorola V551, god rest its obsolete soul.
I tried the LG Vu a few months ago because I wanted a touch screen but have an unnatural fear and distrust of Apple so could not bring myself to get an iPhone. I returned the Vu within the thirty day window, though, because I just wasn’t crazy about it. Did you know you can use your new cell phone for thirty whole days and return it free and clear if you simply don’t like it? I had no idea until the sales girl told me. Most convenient.
(Do keep your old cell phone around in case you decide to return the new one and run into a snag like I did. What the sales girl did NOT tell me was it takes between two and seven days to reverse the two year contract you committed to when you bought the phone you are now returning. That means you cannot turn around that same day and buy a new phone at a reduced price because the system still thinks you have two years (minus thirty days) to go on your contract. At least that is how it works when you buy your phone at an “AT&T Authorized” dealer like Parrot Cellular. Just an FYI.)
This time out it was between the iPhone (it is best to face your fears) and the Blackberry and it all came down to texting. iPhone sucketh for texting.
Sure the iPhone has a cool UI and you can move things around with your finger on the touch screen and the screen is way big and automatically converts to landscape when viewing the Internet and videos, but the keyboard is also controlled by touch. Translation: no keys to press.
On the LG Vu, the touch screen was pressure sensitive so I could use the edge of my finger nails to tap the touch screen keys. A stylus would work, too. The iPhone, on the other hand, is only sensitive to touch. That means you have to get your fat and fleshy finger positioned exactly over the right letter before you touch the screen. That virtual keyboard is tiny, man. I tried it out in the store for quite some time and never got the hang of it. Even the AT&T rep at the store, who has an iPhone and loves it, says he still hits wrong keys all the time and doesn’t use his iPhone much for texting.
Hello? A phone that sucks for texting in this world of texting and IMing and Twittering and sending email from your phone? That sealed the deal for me.
A few pros and cons about each phone from my perspective:
iPhone
Pros:
- Good browser
- Bigger screen
- Touch screen is cool and fun
- Automatically converts the screen to landscape when you turn the phone on its side
Cons:
- Texting is difficult due to the small keys on the sensitive touch screen and no option for using a stylus or your fingernail
- Landscape feature only work on some applications. It does not work when texting, so you cannot convert to landscape to try to get a bigger keyboard so you don’t make so many touch errors.
Blackberry 9000 Bold
Pros:
- Better email application
- Better screen resolution, though smaller than the iPhone
- Voice dialing
- Camera & video
- Keyboard for texting works like a dream
- 1G on board memory, expandable with microSD memory card slot
- Can sync with your PC or laptop’s calendar, contacts, tasks, etc.
- I am already addicted to the games that came with the phone. Perhaps I should list this as a “con.”
Cons:
- Smaller screen than the iPhone (but it is very clear and still of good size)
- Bigger than my old phone (though it still fits in the phone pocket of my purse)
The iPhone blog has a nine minute video comparing the two phones dated back in May. I found it helpful to a certain extent, except for the part where they don’t even mention texting much less compare that feature. Probably because the Texting War has been in full swing for some time now and Apple is losing (though they claim they are not.)
What cell phone do you use? Do you like it or do you love it? Are you synced to your email and contacts? Play any games? I need to load up my phone with fun applications. Any suggestions?
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