The BlackBerry-to-iPhone Switch: Converts Speak
CIO.com's smartphone-watcher Al Sacco found six gadget-geeks who recently made the switch from BlackBerry to iPhone--and two more who went from BlackBerry to iPhone and back again. Their stories shed light on reasons why you might want to switch from a BlackBerry to the iPhone...and why you might not.
CIO
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Chances are, you've read a number of iPhone/BlackBerry comparisons over the past couple of years--I even penned a few of them myself.
Since then, I've come to the conclusion that such comparisons aren't really good for much except online bickering and "flame" wars--whether or not you prefer an iPhone to a BlackBerry or vice-versa is simply a matter of preference or how you want to use your smartphone.
However, in light of a recent study that found that two out of five BlackBerry users are eager to switch from their Research In Motion (RIM) (RIM) devices to shiny new Apple (AAPL) smartphones, I decided to revisit the iPhone v. BlackBerry war, albeit from a slightly different angle.
I wanted to know specific reasons why formerly loyal BlackBerry users would make the switch to the iPhone. So I reached out to my more than 900 followers on Twitter, found folks that fit my bill, and asked them.
The people I hand-selected to appear in this story aren't smartphone "newbies," by any means. In fact, most of them have used not only one or two smartphones or BlackBerrys before making the iPhone switch; the majority of these gadgets geeks have employed handfuls of smartphones in the past, making them ideal subjects for this account. A number of these sources even own and operate smartphone-related websites and businesses or work in the wireless industry.
In other words, this is not your "average" BlackBerry v. iPhone comparison; it's the real-life account of people who spend lots of time, effort and money on smartphones, experimenting with various devices to ensure that they have the handhelds that best suit their individual needs. [very nice]
And their experiences can serve to inform others curious about what a switch from BlackBerry to iPhone would mean to them--or vice versa. In addition to the six BlackBerry-to-iPhone converts profiled in this piece, I've included the accounts of two gadget-lovers who first swapped their BlackBerrys for iPhones, only to switch back to BlackBerry shortly thereafter.
Hit the jump for specifics on why these smartphone-lovers made the initial switch from BlackBerry to iPhone, what they love about Apple's uber-device, what they miss most about BlackBerry, and whether or not they plan to stick with their current devices.
