It was the best of phones, it was the worst of phones.
Let me begin by saying I am not a technically apt person. I understand how to use a smart phone. I understand how to even set up a smart phone. Heck, on this journey, I learned (after a painstaking four hours) how to jailbreak a smart phone. But if you’re looking for an in depth review of a very technical side of a Palm Pre, an iPhone, or a Blackberry, you’ll probably be disappointed.
However, if you’d just like an ordinary girl’s opinion on three popular smart phones, you’ve come to the right place.
BEGINNINGS AND HISTORY….
You should know: I don’t like a lot of frills – Email, text, an actual phone, GPS of some kind, a little internet here and there, and of course…the illustrious Twitter – that’s all I really need. I’m not a “must have the latest gadget” kind of girl either.
I’ve been a Blackberry Pearl user on AT&T from the beginning. For several years. Once I finally learned how to type on the darn thing, it was actually a very easy phone to use. It was constructed terribly; I went through THREE replacements in one year, usually as a result of the trackball falling out, sticking, or the A/S key not working but that’s what insurance is for, right?
I found AT&T quick and helpful in replacing it. The battery life on it was spectacular. I could use it heavily for a couple of days without needing a recharge.
IPHONE TEMPTATIONS…
Then one day last summer, my friend upgraded to the iPhone 3G. He asked if I wanted to have his old iPhone (1G). I said sure. And so the iPhone and I became friends. Aside from it’s width and me dropping it all the time (it was hard for me to grasp and I have pretty long fingers!), it wasn’t too much larger than my Pearl. Typing on it was fairly easy after a few days (although the auto-correct feature got me in trouble on more than one occasion…). And it was fun. The email fetching and resulting hangups/reboots were a little annoying, especially when email is such a large part of my life but overall, it wasn’t too bad.
As I began to travel, I noticed my battery life would be drained extremely fast with moderate usage and honestly, the AT&T signal isn’t the best in the parts of Nashville I frequent the most. It’s not good in SoCal. Or Texas. Traveling with my iPhone became frustrating.
Then it broke.
Out of nowhere, the phone stopped receiving a signal altogether, although it took me a day to realize it. I just assumed AT&T didn’t reach Wichita Falls, where I was when it stopped working.
I went to the Apple Store, and they replaced it (even though it was out of warranty) for no charge. I thought maybe I’d get a better reception with the new phone, but was let down.
FRUSTRATED AND SPRINTING…
So, several months into traveling regularly, I learned that Sprint not only uses Sprint towers, but they also ping off of Verizon towers when roaming. Double the signal? Hmmm. So, I decided to sell the iPhone to get out of my AT&T contract and move on over and return to my first love, the Blackberry. A Curve this time. The data plan was $20 a month cheaper, too. I jailbroke my iPhone for a friend in South Africa and sent it on her merry way.
A week before I made the jump, the Palm Pre confirmed it’s release. My friend, fully knowing my deep rooted affection for all things Blackberry, told me to hold off. He went through some training with the Pre and kind of compared it to a iPhone/Blackberry Hybrid. It looked cool, it had a keyboard, and it was on Sprint. I was a new customer and could get a good rebate on it. So I decided to wait.
PRE EXCITEMENT. POST DISAPPOINTMENT…
I got the Pre and for the first couple of days, I LOVED it. Sure, it had a few nuances that annoyed me – no auto correct spelling at ALL on the phone, no way to change the notification for a text message or an email, and some counter-intuitive user interface bugs, but I’m sure enough people would complain about these basic features that they would be fixed in the first update. However, even though the Google Syncing features were incredible…even though the screen quality was incredible…even though the font smoothing was incredible…with moderate use, my battery would be gone in under 8 hours.
Unacceptable.
The battery thing ruined it for me. Sure, there are some other random bugs which i know will get worked out (email syncing was unpredictable, and switching between applications was slower than I’d hoped for) but the combination of these inconsistencies plus no battery life took me right back to the Sprint store today, only a few days later.
BRINGING BLACKBERRY BACK…
Thank you, Sprint, for having a 30-day money back guarantee.
I traded in my Pre today for a (much cheaper) Blackberry Curve.
It’s the smart phone equivalent to being with a soulmate. There’s a spark of newness, yet there’s familiarity. Sure, it’s not the best looking guy in the place, and not even the most fun, but it’s stable. It’s loyal. It’s consistent. It’s reliable.
OVERALL…
If you get good AT&T reception and like to have fun, get an iPhone. If you could care less about the fun stuff on your phone and simply want it to be functional, the Blackberry is for you. And if you find yourself in the middle and don’t mind waiting until the Pre gets its bugs worked out (especially the battery life), The Pre might be worth the wait.
Might.
