Advocate's Studio

Interesting results in the smartphone sales arena for first quarter 2009: the Blackberry Curve 8300 series holds the top spot, ousting prior champ iPhone 3G. Two other BB models, the Storm and Pearl, were third and fourth place, respectively, while the G1 took fifth. Engadget reports on the stats here.

I am the proud owner of two of the championship model (one for corporate, one for biz) and one of the runner-up (everything else). I have given my thoughts on both of these phones in prior entries. There is no denying that the BB Curve is a workhorse of a phone. It rarely hiccups and handles my e-mail with aplomb, if not panache. But, when I reach for a phone, I instinctively pick up the iPhone, even with its keyboard flaws. The “face to face” or “finger to screen” experience is just that much more enjoyable and the ease of use is hard to beat. I still get stuck on some of the functions and menus on my BB.

I see the two phones as appealing to different market spheres. There is no denying that the enterprise loves the BB best. The fact that the Curve is available on so many different carriers may have affected this result as well.

Nice, though, to know that I am in good company in the top two!

I am trying out something new and learning a fresh trick, I hope, because that is what we are all about at Advocate’s Studio. I am test-driving the WordPress application on my iPhone. Blogging on the fly seems so very future perfect. The upside is the ability to put "pen to paper", so to speak, whenever a brilliant thought occurs to me, rather than relying on my ever-expanding mental Filofax.

This free app is very simple, offering a view of the past several posts and the ability to add new posts with tags and categories and photos. Simple and elegant. I still need to go to the web to check my stats, but that "ain’t no big thing."

The only real downside to mobile WordPress blogging on the iPhone is a limitation inherent in the phone itself, rather than the app, and I bet you can guess what it is. Let’s just say Thank God and His Lovely Wife Estelle for a powerful predictive text function!

Over and out from my multi-tasking wonder in the parking lot of my friendly, neighborhood Indian restaurant (which could just as easily be the Motion Call at the Suffolk County Courthouse).

Yes, it’s versus in a showdown worthy of the desert table at your summer picnic! The Apple iPhone decked out for business is coming soon to an ATT store near you. Not to be outdone, Research In Motion (“RIM”) is holding down its side of the salad bowl with the new Blackberry Bold, and there are rumors of a mysterious touchscreen version of their popular smartphone widely reputed by RIM fans and employees as the “iPhone killer.”

The iPhone, pictured here  is based on the form factor and design of the wildly successful iPod music player. The newest version takes a sizeable step toward the business market. The new 3G iPhone will employ tri-band HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access), which approaches the download speeds of the Nokia N95 and the Palm Treo models. It also will include a GPS (global positioning system). A winner in the multi-media arena from the start, the higher speeds of this next generation iPhone will enable it to take advantage of new business oriented software such as Microsoft Exchange and its push e-mail technology. It also appears that Apple will be dropping the  price of its new offering significantly:  the 8 giga-byte version will be available for $199, down from $399.  The new iPhone, however, will not work with Blackberry Connect’s server technology, rendering it a less than desirable choice for the hard-core Blackberry fan and current Blackberry user.

On the other hand, the new Blackberry Boldis moving away from the clunky, pinstriped-suit demeanor of earlier models to a more stylish form factor informed in large part by the iPhone’s svelte physique. The new Bold will permit full page web viewing, management of multi-media files by Roxio’s Media Manager and wireless syncing via an iTunes utility to the user’s music collection on a PC. The Bold will be the first Blackberry to support HSDPA. Yet it remains solidly focused on its e-mail and business roots, per Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group. I could find no reliable information on its anticipated cost, but estimates with a contract range in the $300 to $350 area.

While I have held an iPhone, I have never really considered it a business-oriented option and, therefore, have mostly ignored it until now. I have a Blackberry Curve, which performs admirably as an e-mail device, but is sorely lacking in most other areas. As an avid smartphone user (my device of choice right now is a Palm Treo 750), I look forward to checking out these new phones in greater detail – any device that can effectively combine work and play in one small package is a good thing!

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