Credit: Marketing Charts
In the last month, I’ve owned the Droid 2 with Verizon, the Samsung Captivate and Blackberry Torch with ATT. Hands down, the Blackberry Torch is the better Smartphone, and here’s why.
- As a professional, I depend on the capability of my mobile device to deliver emails fast and furious. My Blackberry Curve always delivered emails ahead of Microsoft Outlook.
- The Torch is not as heavy as the Droid 2 and heavier than the Captivate. It’s durable and can withstand a drop to the floor for sure. By the way, it comes in red!
- The battery power for the Samsung Captivate stunk; I did not survive a day at Disney World without the juice disappearing. Try finding an outlet at Disney; when you see one, let me know and I’ll map it for my next visit.
- The screen on the Torch does not come in vivid color as the Samsung; nor does it need to. I’m not on the Blackberry to watch movies, browse unnecessarily, or tap the apps. In fact, it’s nice to have some basic apps like Foursquare, maps, Twitter, and Facebook. But, there’s no way I’m going to read my Kindle on my mobile device.
- Loading email on the Torch was a cinch. For the Droid 2, I loaded my work email in seconds, but a client’s email account never loaded until after 3 unsuccessful calls to Verizon tech support. On the Samsung, I never did get that client account to load and it caused problems for me during vacation.
- The Blackberry emails were simple to load because Blackberry remembered my account information from my previous Blackberry Curve.
- How many apps do you really need to tap on your mobile device? If you have an iPod Touch, you’re tapping them there along with music; if you have a tablet device, you’re certainly tapping them there, too and perhaps getting emails. So, the phone you choose doesn’t necessarily need all those juice-defying apps and whistles.
I’m back to Blackberry and staying put.
Respectfully (and I mean that), your testing is highly suspect, somewhat akin to “planes are better than horses because they use less hay”.
In Comparing the Blackberry to MS Outlook you’re comparing hardware to software. There’s no way on non-Blackberry phones to make the same comparison to determine if it’s BB or MS responsible for the speed difference
Weight, durability, and ability to handle a drop can all be judged on an equal basis, but remember that weight usually goes hand-in-hand with battery size, and if you want one, you have to accept the other.
You mentioned previously that Disney had VZ coverage but not so much with ATT. You have to expect the battery life to be terrible for any phone when it is in a fringe area of it’s network. The phone uses a lot of energy searching for, and switching to the few cell towers it can find. Take a cellphone in a private plane ride, and the battery will die in hours for just this reason.
Screen color and vibrancy are selective values person-to-person. I like mine more muted and somber, while my daughter likes hers in bright neon with a bedazzled case.
Comparing loading email on the phones should be done starting with an equal footing. What you’re saying with the ease of use on Blackberry is: that you had a race, and the contestant with the head-start, won.
App’s in themselves do not drain power, but the resources they use do. On one phone you might have 10 colorful interactive apps running with hardly any battery use, while on another you might have Google Earth running, constantly using both the GPS and WiFi. It’s the resources that kill you .. but a warm battery does feel good in your hands on a cold day 🙂
I so love your expertise because it’s so different to mine. Wish I had some of it to make my online and mobile life a tad bit easier, more productive and streamlined.
Alas, my views here are so much like the rest of the world without your brain bits. We/I have no clue how to truly compare Smartphones other than use them, lose them, throw them, and get another until it works in my comfort zone.
Thanks, Ray!
Ah, but if you don’t want to pay for hay, or don’t have access to hay…not such a bad metric to compare by, is it? Jayme didn’t say “Blackberries are better than Droids” and leave it at that, she explained her reasoning. Knowing her criteria, I’m easily able to evaluate whether or not I agree.
Not that I don’t agree with your points, but this is how most non-tech consumers consume. This is how they evaluate their software: by their experience. I have a Palm Pre and I LOVE it. A friend has one and he hates it – complains it’s slow, doesn’t do what he wants – but then neglects to tell you how many times he’s dropped the damn thing! I’m looking at you, Rob.
Tee Hee!
Exactly. Steeltoad is right about the apples and oranges and apps vs. hardware vs OS comparisons, and yet it is the overall user experience that matters. And that mileage will vary per user.
I got an HTC Incredible, Android phone but smaller than the Droid X, which I think is too big for most women’s hands. I LOVE my HTC. I’d never go back to a feature phone. How did I ever live without a Smartphone?
I saw the HTC brand, and you know what? I had never heard of it! So, went with the brands I knew.
I’m still a dumbphone holdout because 1) I was holding out becoming THAT connected to everything, afraid of being one of THOSE people and 2) the fates conspired to screw up my upgrade eligibility with AT&T so by the time I am, I’ll be getting iPhone 5.
That said, everyone I know gets different results from their devices b/c they use it differently with different expectations. Most people I know like their iPhones as devices, less as actual cell phones but I’m in part of the South where AT&T gets semi-decent coverage. Most folks I know generally like their Samsung or HTC or other iPhone copycats, may prefer their Google droids.
Think picking the right smartphone for me will be about how I will use it most and to what priority I assign email vs. apps (which I am sure to have plenty of games and time wasters) vs. picture and so on. The other kicker is compatibility and as I use MAC, I know that when the time comes.. it should all work together. Anyway, interesting post.
Davina, you’re replying to a blog posting on a Public Relations / Social Media blog on the topic of smart phones and the functions they offer.
Newsflash: You already are THAT connected to everything 🙂
Touche my friend 😉 I am connected, but not anywhere, everywhere, all the time. It’s a conundrum of the mobile movement: that freedom to not be chained to a desk is great and yet, I see people getting chained to their phones. That’s a resolution of mine, that when I do upgrade to a smartphone, I will learn to turn it off, put it away and enjoy dinner and movies and life without having to check email, Twitter, post to FB every 9 minutes. I want it to run the phone, not have it “run” me if that makes sense.
So, I’m into spring cleaning in winter, Ray; well, I’m thinking about it. I have a box of cords, chargers, adapters, connectors, USB cables, and more. What shall I do with them all?
Don’t forget to honor the 30-day return policy ATT has; that saved me from dying with the Samsung Captivate battery sucker. And, you two are killing me; hilarious.