I'm just about ready to choose one of these two great handheld phones. I've got a Blackberry 7100t that I've been testing for about 5 days and my Zire 72 doing its best to proxy for the Treo 650. I've read virtually everything on the Net on this subject. I'm still wavering. And there's a reason for this. Here's the problem:
I love the lightness (4.3 oz) and size (large candybar) of the Blackberry. It works as a phone, no questions asked. I'm doing pretty well using the Suretype QWERTY and think it's a boon to solving a key problem with big pdas trying to be cell phones.
Maybe because I'm a geek, I like that the software picks the right keys. It impresses me but I suppose that soon I'll take it for granted. I enjoy the scroll wheel and miss it when I use my Zire. But when I'm using the BB, I miss the dedicated keys and 5-way keypad.
At my local Cingular store (conveniently beside the Apple store), the 7100g is $200 and the Treo is $400 with activation. There's an advantage to paying less when you know there will be something out there tempting you within the year.
But the Treo 650, considering what it brings to the party, is equally tempting even though it's got a heft that I would rather avoid.
You get more screen size and space. Every pixel helps when you are reading ebooks, email or browsing the web as best you can. Photos look better bigger.
Then there's the SD slot -- a major feature to me. I know I'm going to be thinking that they should have given me a slot. Why didn't they give me a slot so I can easily input and output stuff? I view it as a security feature that makes sense to a corporation but doesn't make sense to an individual -- at all.
The camera, even though I usually carry one that's much better, is still a feature that I'm reluctant to go without because it lets me send photos instantly. I could eventually get my photos off my camera's SD card to my notebook and then to Flickr or an email, but that takes time that I have in very short supply.
If you use the Blackberry Server at your office, unless you must have the extras that the Treo offers, get a Blackberry. It's fabulous. I would. But I don't have a Blackberry server so that advantage isn't there for me.
Then there's another consideration that plays in for me. If an ultralight and small notebook with excellent Mac compatibility comes along, I'll be compelled to get one. The Lifedrive is even tempting, except it's big and slow for a PDA. One part of me is wanting to get the 7100 to leave room for a bigger device like the rumored Apple mini notebook between this and my Powerbook 15".
And what about all the Palm software I've already purchased? And the flexibility that software base provides? Blackberry is starting to get some things going there but it is just a start.
Mossberg preferred the Treo 600 to the 7100 when the 7100 just came out and 650 was just a rumor. His analysis is excellent and might tip me over to the Treo. I think...
What would (or did) you do? See my previous big picture post comparing Treo vs BB vs Sidekick.
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