Blackberry Conundrum- Tour vs. Bold (wifi vs. no-wifi)

[Sig]

It is time for me to get a new phone. I will replace my current 1st generation data only blackberry and my 4 year standard cell phone with a single Blackberry device. I am currently a Verizon customer. As such, the newly announced Tour grabbed my attention... 3G and many other bells and whistles. Sadly though, it will not have wifi! It would be a no brainer for me if it came with wifi. Verizon appears to loathe wifi since the prevent it from going in their phones.

Enter the Bold... looks like it has most everything I want in a new BB device including wifi. Unfortunately, I would have to switch carriers. I am generally happy with Verizon's network and signal coverage.

For all you smartphone afficionados, how important is the inclusion of wifi in your BB, iPhone, etc? (purely from a functionality perspective). How often do you need to use it? Is the cell signal connectivity robust enough to handle most internet needs or does the wifi connectivity give you a significantly better experience when near a hotspot? Any other important considerations?

 

[eddiensx]

I have the blackberry storm and I love it. It is similar to the iphone, but imo it is better than the iphone. I can change the microsd chip and load music and pics from my computer on it. I have my hotmail and my work email automatically updated on the phone, and the screen is huge. The numbers on the phone are large as well so I don't really have to look where my sausage fingers are on the screen.

I can look at almost any internet page as well, and it loads fast.

I also have verizon, and they are doing buy 1 get 1 free on any blackberry combination.

 

[fkong777]

If you have wifi at home or if you have public wifi network at work then you dont have to worry about cel signals. Data and Web page loads fast.

however you have to setup the new wifi network where ever you get to a new hot point.

 

[Hugh]

If you have wifi at home or if you have public wifi network at work then you dont have to worry about cel signals. Data and Web page loads fast.

If you have WiFi at home or work then you'd most likely be using a real computer to surf the Net instead of a tiny PDA device. I have a Bold and seldom use the WiFi. If you're in a good coverage area, the difference between 3G and WiFi isn't that great especially since most public hotspots limit bandwidth for public users.

 

[NetViper]

I can't for the life of me understand why Verizon won't allow Wifi on their phones. It makes no sense. Why would you put yourself at a disadvantage to other carriers like that.

I use my berry all the time at home and wish I had wifi to load pages faster.

That being said, RIM is very good about data vs the iphone so pages might load nearly as fast on 3g vs wifi especially if the Tour has a faster processor than the Bold.

My brother works for RIM and the bold is still his favorite, but he hasn't used the tour yet.

Storm 2 is coming out soon and supposed to be a lot better, but time will tell.

I guess my post wasn't really much help

Try the tour and see what you think. At least it has a full HTML browser which puts it far beyond any berry you have now.

 

[KSXNSX]

I'm in a similar situation.

I am choosing between the Blackberry Tour (Verizon) vs. iPhone 3GS (ATT).

If I could choose any carrier, it would be Verizon. And ironically, if I could choose any phone, it would be the iPhone.

Too bad they are mutually exclusive thus far.

Anyways, to help you out with your choice, if you didn't hear, Blackberry devices on Verizon after the Tour (Storm2, etc.) will have wifi.

It's stupid they didn't just give the tour wifi if they are going to put it on the Storm 2.

If you have time, maybe you should wait until the holidays. You will have the Storm2, Tour, Palm Pre, and whatever else is coming out on Verizon.

 

[Sig]

If you're in a good coverage area, the difference between 3G and WiFi isn't that great especially since most public hotspots limit bandwidth for public users.

This was exactly what I was curious about... thanks. Never having a 3g device, nor a smartphone that could connect via wifi left me with no ability to make a value judgement.

So basically, provided you have a decent signal... internet performance via a 3G device will be comparable to wifi.

 

[NetViper]

I'm in a similar situation.

I am choosing between the Blackberry Tour (Verizon) vs. iPhone 3GS (ATT).

If I could choose any carrier, it would be Verizon. And ironically, if I could choose any phone, it would be the iPhone.

Too bad they are mutually exclusive thus far.

Anyways, to help you out with your choice, if you didn't hear, Blackberry devices on Verizon after the Tour (Storm2, etc.) will have wifi.

It's stupid they didn't just give the tour wifi if they are going to put it on the Storm 2.

If you have time, maybe you should wait until the holidays. You will have the Storm2, Tour, Palm Pre, and whatever else is coming out on Verizon.

Keep in mind there is a very good chance the iPhone will be on Verizon in 2010.

I am curious why you have ruled the Palm Pre out KSKNSX?

 

[Sig]

At least it has a full HTML browser which puts it far beyond any berry you have now.

Did not know that... I assumed that all the newish blackberries shared browser software.

 

[NetViper]

Did not know that... I assumed that all the newish blackberries shared browser software.

Newer berry's run OS 4.6 and the updated browser. It is pretty nice. 4.5 is only available for older curves like mine.:frown:

 

[NetViper]

By the way, I played with the new iPhone 3GS and was impressed with its speed. If only it could do more than one thing at once. All that power wasted on monotasking.

 

[KSXNSX]

Keep in mind there is a very good chance the iPhone will be on Verizon in 2010.

I am curious why you have ruled the Palm Pre out KSKNSX?

I need a new phone by August, and the Palm Pre isn't coming to Verizon until December or so. I am not willing to switch to Sprint. People have told me that the coverage in the areas I will be using it is terrible. Besides that, I was really unimpressed with the Pre in-person. The software was great, but the hardware really needs some work. It was almost like a beta release; the keyboard was really not up to par.

Palm could have hit a homerun on the Pre if they just gave it a keyboard on par with blackberries, and smoothed out those edges. The material they used was a poor choice (gummy type), the keys were way too small and closely spaced (I could still type fast, but I was only using my thumb nails), and the spacebar gave no feedback. Although it always worked, I always had to check on the screen to make sure it input the space.

I hope they work out these issues for the Verizon release, but I have a feeling they won't.
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I have heard the rumors too about Verizon + iPhone, but I am really unsure about it. I think the iPhone is really one of ATT's best assets right now. I really don't see how they could give up exclusivity, and I think they know it is their gem. I don't know how many people have switched from Verizon to ATT just for the iPhone, and got locked into 2 year contracts.

Although the original contract is set to expire sometime in 2010, I can def. see them renewing it or making a new one. Without it, everyone would just get the iPhone on Verizon.

Also, there is the issue of switching from GSM to CDMA. I am pretty sure it would take quite some time to get not only the technology down, but the licenses worked out. I think there would have to be at least some documents out there indicating that Apple is working on CDMA tech for the iPhone.

I have heard that they may release it when 4g/LTE comes out, but I don't think that will be in 2010 will it? I haven't heard anything yet.

Do you have any inside info? If the iphone is def set to come to Verizon in 2010, then I will pick up the Blackberry Tour this summer and stick with Verizon.

 

[spider2k]

verizon is known to cripple the bluetooth and leave out the wifi because they want you to pay and use the "get it now" or whatever it is. for guys like us its still not an issue to move ringtones and pics or whatnot but for the general populace its less hassle to just pay for the stuff. theere was a lawsuit some years back over it. motorola v710 maybe? cant remember.

 

[flaminio]

The Bold's awesome. If you connect to a BES, it works amazingly, as long as the 3G network doesn't get overloaded.

Also, you can get the Opera browser for Blackberry, which should solve most of your web browsing needs.

I hate Blackberrys almost as much as I hate iPhones, but if I had to suffer one, I'd get the Bold.

 

[robr]

verizon is known to cripple the bluetooth and leave out the wifi because they want you to pay and use the "get it now" or whatever it is. for guys like us its still not an issue to move ringtones and pics or whatnot but for the general populace its less hassle to just pay for the stuff. theere was a lawsuit some years back over it. motorola v710 maybe? cant remember.

yep. v710 it was. i was on the waiting list for that phone and was ready to switch from att to verizon, until i heard they crippled the thing. verizon as pointed out cripples the bluetooth stack on all phones, and apparently wireless as well so you have to pay them to get things that you would otherwise be able to do for free.

 

[mickeylex]

If you're in a good coverage area, the difference between 3G and WiFi isn't that great especially since most public hotspots limit bandwidth for public users.

True, however, if you find yourself NOT in a 3G area (say, EDGE only) and Wi-Fi is available, you'll want the option to jump onto a Wi-Fi network. True, you won't use the Wi-Fi that much, but you never know when you'll need the extra connectivity option, so why not have it.

 

[KSXNSX]

I hate Blackberrys almost as much as I hate iPhones...

lol. What do you suggest then? I'd only consider those two.

 

[NetViper]

Do you have any inside info? If the iphone is def set to come to Verizon in 2010, then I will pick up the Blackberry Tour this summer and stick with Verizon.

No inside info, just what I read every day on phone blogs. Who knows how much is true. It does sound like there is a pretty good chance it will be on verizon though if you would rather wait it out.

 

[flaminio]

lol. What do you suggest then? I'd only consider those two.

Actually, I kind of hate them all. What I'd really like is a phone that has the interface and app store of the iPhone, the multitasking of the Pre, the real keyboard of the G1, and the centralized Exchange connectivity of the Blackberry/BES platform. Not being tied to a specific provider would be a big plus as well.

 

[mickeylex]

Actually, I kind of hate them all. What I'd really like is a phone that has the interface and app store of the iPhone, the multitasking of the Pre, the real keyboard of the G1, and the centralized Exchange connectivity of the Blackberry/BES platform. Not being tied to a specific provider would be a big plus as well.

I'd like to win the lotto. :tongue::wink:

 

[flaminio]

I'd like to win the lotto. :tongue::wink:

LOL -- yeah, we're dreamers. I'd also like my phone to have a 10 megapixel camera (that also shoots HD video) and the gaming abilities of a PSP. Plus built-in Netflix and Hulu clients. A Windows RDC client + telnet so I can check my servers from anywhere. Enough memory to hold enough music to keep me from being bored, a few movies, a bunch of pictures, and a couple gigabytes of email. A turn-by-turn GPS with real-time traffic that auto-updates routes. The ability to work in most any country without swapping SIMs. Mini-Microsoft Office compatible apps. An external video adapter so I could plug in a projector and run a presentation from my phone. And a battery that lasts at least full day of normal use.

I don't think it's so unreasonable to want all that on a single pocketable device :tongue: :biggrin: