The smart phone wars are heating up more than ever and with more players entering the market and some stepping back in after seeing the success of phones like the iphone it gives the consumer a lot of choices to work with.  Out of all the offerings available the top two choices amongst most smart phone buyers are still the iphone and the blackberry offerings.  Can’t decide which is right for you?  Here is a quick break down and our opinions that can help you decide.  (for this comparison we will be comparing the iphone .vs. the current Blackberry offering such as the Bold, Curve, pearl,  and Tour

First we can discuss user interface.  I personally was a long time blackberry user that made the switch to the iphone, why?  Well one of my key reasons was the much more user friendly operation of the iphone.  This is really where Apple excels in all of its products, but the Blackberries are no slouch either.  One nice thing about Blackberries is that they have kept their operations very similar through out their different makes and models.  Functions like the Blackberry key still work the same on just about any phone they have made in recent years.

However when it comes to features like internet browsing the iphone provides a much more practical and easy to use experience not only from the touch screen capabilities but just having the larger screen to work with makes viewing sites much easier.

Applications:  Both phones come with a nice suite of standard apps such as calenders, notes, organizer tools, and media viewers.  Currently both competitors have an app store, but another huge advantage has to go to Apple in this category as well.  There are simply more choices of third party apps for the iphone than any other mobile device both paid and free, and they are very easy to access view and download.  Very few have issues and the Apple App store even makes keeping them up to date a breeze.  Blackberry has been playing catch up with its own app store and although more are becoming available they are still behind the curve.

Reliability and build quality:  Both phone makes are in the high end of the mobile industry with the average retail price being around $400-$700 dollars.(with out contract)   When investing this much into a device a user must expect good performance as well as good build quality.  After owning and using various Blackberries and all of the iphone models I would have to say Apple still has the edge in this category as well.  Any phone no matter how well made is bound to have the occasional issue, these are after all mass produced consumer electronics that we carry with us every single day and are exposed to a variety of wear and tear.  However I have seen more out of the box problems with Blackberries than with Apple products.  Issues with keys that don’t work, trackballs that wear out, and corrupted software that causes constant resetting to name a few.  Apple is not immune to this either as some phones can have issues with shutting off and never coming back on and speakers that fail prematurely.  With any mobile device however these problems can and will happen so don’t be paranoid as you get a standard 1 year warranty with both Apple and Blackberry.

So who is the winner?  Well in my own opinion the iphone offers the best overall experience and excels very well in certain categories.  The Blackberries have there own qualities as well and for some users having a physical key board is an absolute must, etc.  It can come down to a matter of personal preference, but if you want to compare overall features, quality, support, and price the iphone is the clear winner.