Ben Parr

I hate Blackberry's because they are inflexible and I dislike the navigation very much. I have never had an iPhone, but I would assume the user experience is much better and you can probably do more cool stuff with it. - Rahsheen™

Ben, to get a true answer you need to tell us what you plan to do with your phone, for example if music is more important, go with the iPhone. If email trumps all, go with the BB. Another important factor is what service are you on or has great coverage in your area. - Globecode

Reading news via Google Reader's real important to me with what I get next. Emails and texts are pretty damn important, as is Internet speeds and functionality. I'm looking for something that's going to allow me to get actual work accomplished during commutes. - Ben Parr

For me, the deciding factor in favor of the iPhone is the development platform. Apple is making third party development so easy and convenient (at least as soon as they open up their beta program for everyone) that I expect tons of high quality software for the iPhone. Admittedly, I don't know much about the state of the third party software market for the Blackberry but I can't imagine it will be able to keep up with the iPhone. - Ole Begemann

If you want to get work done, and if that includes writing, you need something with an actual keyboard. I am unable to type with any reasonable speed on the iPhone, so I would rather go for a Blackberry or a WM smartphone with a pull-out keyboard. Probably the latter, because of the keyboard/device size quota. - w0nk0

Your mileage may vary on that. I always had difficulty with the Cingular 8525's (HTC Wizard, I think) slide-out keyboard but I can type like a madman on the iPhone's keyboard. Best bet is to just head into an Apple store and give the keyboard a whirl. - Akiva Moskovitz

If typing is important to you, get your hands on both and try them out. Some people absolutely have to have physical buttons (even if they're minuscule) in order to feel comfortable typing while others don't really care. The iPhone still gives you the best browsing experience out there if that's important (and it should be ;-). Until BB comes out with their iPhone look-alike, you're also getting pretty much half the screen-size compared to an iPhone. - saeba

The one real drawback to my iPhone is the lack of keyboard - even via bluetooth. Based on your goals, though, internet usage (including wi-fi) and even email I like better on the iPhone. However, if you need to carry docs, tasks or edit anything, a WM smartphone is a better option. The upcoming 2.0 software and accompanying apps hold a lot of promise for the iPhone. - adventureran

Saeba brings up a great point on screen size. Physical keyboard seems to be another big issue. As for Google Reader, if you have to use Google Reader, a bigger screen is probably going to be better. If you don't mind using a 3rd party RSS reader, then you may be able to get away a smaller screen. I agree on testing out the iPhone's keyboard because you will find out in a few minutes if it will work for you regarding work accomplished. - Globecode

Re "if email trumps all" - unless you have Enterprise support then most providers' BIS is a paltry few megs of storage. And when a BB goes wrong it goes badly wrong and it is not usually something you can fix yourself. Go with the iPhone with proper IMAP email service, or your company's Exchange Server. Once you get used to the soft keyboard you can rock out a reasonable email although you won't be writing novels. It might be a cliché but the iPhone knocks socks off Windows, Symbian, and Palm in usability. - John Samuelson

What did you choose finally? - Axel

Yes I'm curious too. - John Samuelson

I decided to give the iPhone two months to get the bugs worked out before I buy it (most likely). - Ben Parr

Go for it now if you have the chance. It's really no more buggy than any other device. - John Samuelson

I would go for a Blackberry right now. 1. I do not want to switch to AT&T. My experience of them (landline and wireless) is that they suck. 2. I am on a CDMA network that I am happy with (Alltel) so hacking an iPhone isn't an option. 3. I like to have a qwerty keyboard. I have one on my little kyocera right now, and it works fine (size wise). That's my $0.02 - Ian May

If you're not already a BlackBerry user, I'm guessing that the iPhone will be far more enjoyable and usable to you -- plus, with the array of apps available for it now, it's also likely to be far more *useful*. But don't take anyone's word for it -- go to a store and test them both out. - Dylan Tweney

i love my iPhone. both v.1 and v.2 make me smile. blackberry? not so much. for pure email babysitting, blackberry can't be beat. for anything and everything else, the iPhone rules. - sean808080

My main use for a cellphone is SMS and email, and some SM sites, such as Brightkite, Plurk, etc. Also Feed reading. I use Gmail to import all my personal and business mail and do not need any synching etc. - Ian May

what are SM sites? 8) - dekay

SM = Social media - Globecode