I have both the Blackberry 9000 (aka the Bold) and the new Apple iPhone and there is little to choose between them, each has its speciality. The 9000 is by far the best for email and messaging because of Blackberry’s excellent and peerless hard keyboard that is tactile, quick, accurate and allows you to type with both your thumbs whilst cradling the device in both hands. Apple’s soft keyboard is as good as they get, I was surprised at generally how accurate it is, not quite as good as the Blackberry hard keyboard but good for short messages. The Apple keyboard is not really a two thumb keyboard. I found it a bit cramped when typing since one hand is supporting the device and the other is typing. On the Blackberry you can feel what you type, both hands support the device and both hands type. I would have dreaded writing this post out on the iPhone and yet it is quite agreeable on the Blackberry (I originally wrote this review on my Blackberry).

The iPhone as a user experience is just the best, both devices have excellent screens but the size and touch functionally of the iPhone is a sheer pleasure when navigating around the menus and it is quick too; the blackberry isn’t too bad either. Using the iPhone as an e-book reader is wonderful, the first time I have felt that I don’t need a physical book (although I still prefer a physical book). I completed H G Wells’ Time Machine on it and it was a pleasurable experience (I used Stanza). This brings me to the apps, both devices have all the usual apps – Facebook, Twitter, instant messengers, Flickr uploaders, Google Earth, ebook readers, Qurans etc but the iPhone totally dominates the Blackberry here. The iPhone has so much more, you can find a plethora of weird and wonderful apps on iTunes.

The iPhone supports “push” services now which was the main selling point of Blackberry so you can get emails without having to remember to download them. This is still the best on the Blackberry, email on the move does not get any better than Blackberry.

In conclusion then, for emails and business use the Blackberry Bold/9000 is without doubt the best but as a consumer device, the iPhone is as perfect as a multi-function telephony device can get.