Hello all!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far. I know I am!

Okay, so I currently have the Blackberry Curve and wanting to upgrade to either the Blackberry Storm or Apple iPhone. My current carrier is with AT&T, but I can switch at any time since I am not on contract anymore.

Do any of you use either of these phones and can tell me the pros and cons of each related to your VA business?

For example, my Blackberry checks my email account so I am positive I won't miss important emails from various clients. I can also reply back via my phone if traveling and what not.

What are your thoughts?

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Aspiring VA - Jean
http://network.govirtualwithjean.com

Hi Jean -

For what it is worth - I currently don't have either but have researched both extensively knowing that I will need a PDA soon.

Personally, I have decided on the Blackberry Storm and am anxiously awaiting Verizon to put it on sale on the 21st. It *seems* to me that the Blackberry is more of a business tool and the Iphone more for personal use - I could be totally mistaken but the push email and several other factors of the Blackberry have lead me to this conclusion. And now that the Storm has some of the same features that make the Iphone so great - I am sold!

Good luck with your decision!

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Suzanne
ASC

Hi Jean,

I actually have a Blackberry Pearl and an iPod Touch. The iPod Touch is basically an iPhone without the ability to place calls. I honestly can say that I use my iPod Touch for everything and really wish I had gotten an iPhone instead of a Blackberry Pearl. I can surf the internet with ease, I have three different email accounts loaded onto my iPod. Anywhere there is wi-fi, I can access my email and the internet without being charged for data (not sure if that is the same for iPhone users though). There is an App Store that has many applications you can load onto your iPod and iPhone. Some are free and some are not. I know several business people that are now using their iPhone for business. Like I said, I use it to check email, my business email.

However, being fair to Blackberry, I don't really know what features the new Blackberry Storm has. I can say -- I prefer my iPod Touch over my Blackberry.

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Darlene Victoria Gonzalez
The Voice & Vision Behind Your Business

LOL. Dang it Darlene, I just talked my DH into getting me the Blackberry Pearl..hmmm - What should I do now? The iPhone isnt available to me, yet! that's what you get when you live in the sticks. Maybe I should get the Pearl and be happy with it and make it work for me!

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Kena~
Everyone smiles in the same language

I tried the Blackberry Pearl a few months ago, but I could not get used to the small size and that track ball thingy, so I returned it to Verizon. A couple of months later, I purchased the LG Dare, and I love it. The LG Dare is almost identical to the Blackberry Storm. It has touch features that work really well for me. I can obtain my email and surf the web. Sprint's Instinct is equivalent to the LG Dare.

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VirtuallyDee

Hello everyone!

Thank you for the responses. I actually had a Blackberry Pearl and like Dee - I did not like the small screen size and therefore upgraded to the Blackberry Curve. Hopefully the significant other will get me a Blackberry Storm for Christmas LOL

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Aspiring VA - Jean
http://network.govirtualwithjean.com

I've had the Pearl and I agree, the screen is indeed smaller and I think at some points the trackball stops working, at least mine did, which made the phone pretty much useless. I upgraded to the Curve and while I like it I too, it fell on the airport and my luggage rolled over it, damaging the screen badly. I should probably look at the Storm or maybe something else outside the Blackberry brand. Thanks for mentioning the alternatives, though I somehow think I'll stick with the BlackBerry. It is all I know and familiarity is comforting to me.

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Carlana Charles - Ciboney Virtual Solutions
Web: http://ciboneyvirtual.com Blog:http://ciboneyvirtual.com/blog

I have an Iphone and I have to admit! It's the best tool I have when I'm away from the laptop. I still work full-time at a news station and it allows me to keep all my business e-mails, my IM's through AOL, my web browser which it great!, and everything I need to do my job right on my phone. With the Unlimited calling plan, the Unlimited Web plan, and Unlimited texting plan, it's about $150 per month. It's the best money I've ever spent. 50% of it is written off at the end of the year so it's worth the money. I have all my bank accounts, bills, voice recorder, IM's, mail, blogging, podcasts, commercials, and everything on the I-Phone.

This is just my experience and I wouldn't trade my phone in for anything.

Hope this helps,

I have a first generation iPhone and it does not suit my needs. I live out in the sticks and wifi is not readily available unless you visit a McDonald's. This makes checking email basically impossible for me if I am on the road.

I don't know if the newer iPhones on the 3G network have this problem, so you should check. If I had to do it over again, I would choose a Blackberry. But, I can't complain because the phone was a gift from a client.

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Diamond Virtual Services

The new Blackberry Storm is 8G! My husband just ordered it so I am going to let him play with it first to see if I get it next..... I will let you know, it comes in 2 weeks.