Blackberry vs. iPhone VS. just a PDA like Palm

Hi, i've put this question in the parenting forum because i'd like to hear from other parents, especially the moms - what do you use to keep track of all your appointments, kids'activities, important dates, contacts, etc. I really love my calendars and still am on an ancient standalone PDA (in addition to a hanging one at home) - wondering which smartphone would be the better "planner" for me. . .


Thanks!

Frankly, I think the days of the standalone PDAs are over.


I used various Blackberries for years and made the transition to an iPhone a few months ago.


- Calendaring and task management is very strong in the BB. It is a business machine, after all. The built-in calendar in the iPhone could kindly be described as "lacking". Unkindly I would say that it's mindblowingly crappy compared to the rest of the platform.

- To add insult to injury, there's no task support out of the box!

- Contact handling is good on both, although I feel that the iPhone is a bit more streamlined when it comes to instantly getting from a contact to calling or texting that contact and so forth.

- The "Favorites" feature of the iPhone's phone function blows the Blackberry speed dials out of the water since you don't have to remember which button corresponds to which contact.


Remember how I said that calendaring is lacking on the iPhone out of the box? Well, there's an easy solution. The apps are the strength of the iPhone. There seems to be an app for almost anything. And that includes calendaring. Buy Pocket Informant for the iPhone (or get the free version to try it out) and you have a superlative calendaring and task management app. Far better than the stock apps on either platform. You need to do a bit of config-jitsu to get the sync with your desktop working (they're they're coming out with a better sync platform ina few months) but after that it handles itself.


Bottom line, I love my iPhone. With Pocket Informant, it is brilliant at all the planning you seem to do.

Hi, axptguy, thank you for answering.


Yes, the BB seems to be not the right gadget for me. I currently have all my info on Microsoft Outlook's Calendar and Contacts on our home PC and i've been told that i would not be able to sync the BB to it. I've been told the iPhone can sync to MS Outlook.


I'm a big fan of Palm. I love every Palm handheld i've had. I really wish they had kept up the pace!


HK2

Of course you can sync that stuff to your BB. I did it for years from my home Outlook installation. The BB sync app is excellent.


And yes, the iPhone can sync to Outlook. Just sync via iTunes. With Pocket Informant you can sync calendar and tasks over the Internet (via Google Calendar and ToodleDo), while MobileMe from Apple lets you sync contacts over the Internet.


Palm currently makes a nice touchscreen phone called the Pré which has been a darling of the critics. However it has not met with huge success. It's hard to compete with the iPhone. I had Palms way back. Palm V for years for example. I think you'll find that the iPhone gets you some of the Palm vibe back, while the BB will not.


Here's more info on the Pre: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Pre . One advantage over the iPhone is the slide out keyboard. Still, it doesn't have the app ecosystem of the iPhone, and the apps are really the differentiators nowadays.

I love and use my HTC alot.

Hi, Katetam,


Which model of the HTC do you have?

I am currently using HTC Magic, with upgraded software of HERO.

Husband used HERO, and now using Google Phone Nexus One. Brother in law and sisters are all using HTC Magic and HERO too.


So far, we all love HTC!