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As I've posted elsewhere, I think the Blackberry if vastly underestimated by people around these parts, which I don't really understand. The OS is rock solid,

As I've posted elsewhere, I think the Blackberry if vastly underestimated by people around these parts, which I don't really understand. The OS is rock solid, they have very durable hardware construction, a huge number of features compared to the iPhone and a $20 API key will get you access to APIs which iPhone users only dream about (regular APIs require no key). I don't know what you mean by hackability. The iPhone is good because with the amount of attention it has received, you can get a huge number of cracked applications, something you won't find on the BB. If you were planning on actually buying apps, this won't be a problem. I used about 12 different BBs for a year and half, and about 2 weeks ago brought an iPhone. I am trying to give it a fair shot, but to be honest I will probably have to sell it soon - the amount of sacrifices you have to make up to use that pretty GUI are just too many.

alnayyir 18y ago
What's this $20 API Key? what does it do for me? Also, can I find an essentially unauthorized tethering app for a BB? Also, if I get a BB, I'll have to "hide" that fact from T-mo, they use a different set of plans for them. (I don't need exchange server syncing, so I want the cheap data plan). Do any blackberries have a good web browser? Is it an open platform? Do any BBs have native GPS?
- martythemaniak 18y ago
  $20 for an encryption key which allows you to digitally sign your app and get to the more interesting parts of the API - system event listeners, background processes, auto-startups, system modules etc. For the iPhone you need a $99 key to do anything, and I don't know what the situation is with WinMO. BB's have been tetherable for years, though I don't know about unauthorized ways to do this. The browser is decent, and every model has a GPS variant. As for the platform, its fairly open. Its much more capable than the iPhone and regular cell phones, but not as open as Android (which is obviously about as open as you can get).
  - alnayyir 18y ago
    Android effectively doesn't exist yet and is as good as vaporware to me until I see some phones on sale. Hm. So far I'm leaning towards a jailbroken iphone, but! What particular blackberry model would you recommend?
    - paulgb 18y ago
      The blackberry bold is coming out soon, maybe you should hold off until then. Symbian is being open-sourced, and Nokia is known for being developer friendly as far as I know. iPhones are cool, but don't seem to be particularly developer friendly. Also, FYI, I think you need a mac to develop for them.
      - alnayyir 18y ago
        Yes you do need a mac. The only mac in my room out of the many, many computers I own is a PowerMac G4 I got with 768mb of ram (500 mhz proccy! :( ) for $30 a month or so ago. Got a fresh install of Tiger on it, then stopped using it. I like OS X, but the lag kills me compared to my primary server/desktop machine with quad xeons and 4 gb of ram :\ Sigh. I'm not paying what apple or second-hand sellers want for a mac. Period. Unless I get a steal or Apple invents the second-coming of performance.
        akd 18y ago
        I run Tiger inside VMWare on my Dell.
    - orib 18y ago
      I second waiting for the bold. It's quite capable, and has a screen with double the pixel density (screen has the same resolution, but is smaller to make room for the keyboard) of the IPhone. It's beautifully sharp, and I'd have to say that the tactile keyboard leaves any touchscreen in the dust when it comes to actually doing input to the device. Disclaimer: I'm a co-op student at RIM for the summer. This means that I've gotten to play with the Bold, but it also means I'm a bit biased =P
nailer 18y ago
> The OS is rock solid > I used about 12 different BBs for a year and half I've used a Blackberry, an iPhone, Nokia N95, and Windows Mobile 2005/6 in the last 4 years. Blackberry was by far the most stable. Mine never ever crashed, after about a year and a half of daily use. Is there a BB with a gecko / webkit / opera browser?
- smhinsey 18y ago
  You can download Opera for the BB (at leas the Curve, whatever model that is) but I honestly found that I preferred the built-in Browser app over it, and I am a long-time Opera user. Trying to use the mobile Opera is when you really start to feel constrained by the BB's UI.
davidw 18y ago
> I don't know what you mean by hackability. The iPhone is good because with the amount of attention it has received, you can get a huge number of cracked applications, something you won't find on the BB. If you were planning on actually buying apps, this won't be a problem. That is not what we mean by hacking around here, or it shouldn't be.
christefano 18y ago
The Bold does sound pretty interesting: http://apcmag.com/blackberry_bold_handson_review.htm http://apcmag.com/blackberry_bold_handson_review.htm I'm confused, though. Can you explain why you used a dozen different BlackBerries during a year and a half? If you're so happy with them, why replace them so frequently and why get an iPhone?

alnayyir 18y ago

What's this $20 API Key? what does it do for me? Also, can I find an essentially unauthorized tethering app for a BB? Also, if I get a BB, I'll have to "hide" that fact from T-mo, they use a different set of plans for them. (I don't need exchange server syncing, so I want the cheap data plan). Do any blackberries have a good web browser? Is it an open platform? Do any BBs have native GPS?

martythemaniak 18y ago
$20 for an encryption key which allows you to digitally sign your app and get to the more interesting parts of the API - system event listeners, background processes, auto-startups, system modules etc. For the iPhone you need a $99 key to do anything, and I don't know what the situation is with WinMO. BB's have been tetherable for years, though I don't know about unauthorized ways to do this. The browser is decent, and every model has a GPS variant. As for the platform, its fairly open. Its much more capable than the iPhone and regular cell phones, but not as open as Android (which is obviously about as open as you can get).
- alnayyir 18y ago
  Android effectively doesn't exist yet and is as good as vaporware to me until I see some phones on sale. Hm. So far I'm leaning towards a jailbroken iphone, but! What particular blackberry model would you recommend?
  - paulgb 18y ago
    The blackberry bold is coming out soon, maybe you should hold off until then. Symbian is being open-sourced, and Nokia is known for being developer friendly as far as I know. iPhones are cool, but don't seem to be particularly developer friendly. Also, FYI, I think you need a mac to develop for them.
    - alnayyir 18y ago
      Yes you do need a mac. The only mac in my room out of the many, many computers I own is a PowerMac G4 I got with 768mb of ram (500 mhz proccy! :( ) for $30 a month or so ago. Got a fresh install of Tiger on it, then stopped using it. I like OS X, but the lag kills me compared to my primary server/desktop machine with quad xeons and 4 gb of ram :\ Sigh. I'm not paying what apple or second-hand sellers want for a mac. Period. Unless I get a steal or Apple invents the second-coming of performance.
      - akd 18y ago
        I run Tiger inside VMWare on my Dell.
  - orib 18y ago
    I second waiting for the bold. It's quite capable, and has a screen with double the pixel density (screen has the same resolution, but is smaller to make room for the keyboard) of the IPhone. It's beautifully sharp, and I'd have to say that the tactile keyboard leaves any touchscreen in the dust when it comes to actually doing input to the device. Disclaimer: I'm a co-op student at RIM for the summer. This means that I've gotten to play with the Bold, but it also means I'm a bit biased =P

nailer 18y ago

> The OS is rock solid > I used about 12 different BBs for a year and half I've used a Blackberry, an iPhone, Nokia N95, and Windows Mobile 2005/6 in the last 4 years. Blackberry was by far the most stable. Mine never ever crashed, after about a year and a half of daily use. Is there a BB with a gecko / webkit / opera browser?

smhinsey 18y ago
You can download Opera for the BB (at leas the Curve, whatever model that is) but I honestly found that I preferred the built-in Browser app over it, and I am a long-time Opera user. Trying to use the mobile Opera is when you really start to feel constrained by the BB's UI.

davidw 18y ago

> I don't know what you mean by hackability. The iPhone is good because with the amount of attention it has received, you can get a huge number of cracked applications, something you won't find on the BB. If you were planning on actually buying apps, this won't be a problem. That is not what we mean by hacking around here, or it shouldn't be.

christefano 18y ago

The Bold does sound pretty interesting: http://apcmag.com/blackberry_bold_handson_review.htm http://apcmag.com/blackberry_bold_handson_review.htm I'm confused, though. Can you explain why you used a dozen different BlackBerries during a year and a half? If you're so happy with them, why replace them so frequently and why get an iPhone?