Well, I'll jump in. I've had various versions of the BBs for many years now (AT and T). I can't go back! I've got the Curve 8900 (best of the Bold and the Curve in one phone the size of the Curve). I don't need 3g (like the Bold). I don't use it for music either. Can't speak to how it handles music. Phone quality and ease of email, web browsing, all the features are great.

My 14 y.o. has a 1st generation iPhone (hand me down from grandfather) and he loves it. I don't allow him to use the email features...so I can't tell you how that works compared to the BB. Phone quality seems good. The screen is great, bright, he plays lots of music without any problem.

His phone is much heavier than mine. Don't know if the newer phones are as heavy. I personally don't care for a touch screen. My thumb is so "BlackBerry trained" that I find the iPhone awkward. I can email/text from the BB with one hand (not while I'm driving!)...the iPhone, I need two hands.

I think they're both great, but I'm certainly BB-biased!

I'm not a user of any, but DD and DSIL are in love with the iPhone. I've heard from more than them, that the downside to the iPhone is ATT's service. Make sure that they are decent in your area.
I've seen a lot of good info about the PRE from Palm. Unfortunately for the next 6 months it's only available on Sprint...

Thank you~ !

I have total iPhone envy. I have a Sprint Instinct, which is sort of supposed to be like the iPhone. No way is it. The iPhone is the coolest thing. Nobody makes apps for my phone but the iPhone apps are amazing. You can hold up your phone to the radio and it will identify the song, find the video on You Tube and tell you where to buy it. It has the best conveniences, the most fun. It you don't want the little carnival in your hand, I think most phones would be okay, they're very advanced these days. For instance, I love the pictures I can put in mine, the text messaging, going on the Internet (I was at Sur la Table trying to buy that 3-inch cake pan for that Rick Bayless recipe and forgot what size it was supposed to be. I just looked it up online on my phone, took hardly any time at all) and on mine, best of all, GPS.

For me, I just didn't want to pay that much for an iPhone and I don't like the monthly charges. Mine are $70 vs $100-$130.

As for other amazing gadgets, well, I just got me a Kindle 2. My life will cease to exist without electricity.

Like dlundin I have a phone that's "sort of supposed to be like the iPhone," mine is Verizon's LG Dare. There are aspects of it which I really like such as the internet, GPS, etc. but for standard phone and text usage I cannot stand having a touch screen. My next move will likely be a Blackberry, but whatever I do I can assure you I'll have real buttons.

As compumom noted, I'd be a little wary of ATT service. I have two friends who turned in their iPhones and went back to Verizon solely because of the poor coverage. I'm sure that's regional though, so ask around.

I did forget to mention the data plans! :( Our iPhone data plan is $40/mo. The BB data plan is $30/mo. Both are AT and T, which, in the general area where we live, has the best coverage...except, of course, at our house...and no cell service gets decent coverage out here. :(

I know my 14 y.o. loves all the apps (a lot are free) that he can get on his iPhone. I haven't downloaded the new BB app world yet. I'm a dinosaur...so I don't really know what I'm missing!

Good luck and let us know!

I had a BB, now an iPhone. Love them both. I had an older BB, w/o music, heavier and clunkier than the iPhone. My DH has the BB Pearl now. Loves it also, he is jealous of my phone; however says he doesn't like the touch screen. You get used to it very quickly. If you have never NOT had a touch screen, then no learning curve. The potential on the i is enormous! The apps are endless, fun and helpful for everything. The web browser is great. I think a new model is coming out later this month. Personally, after having both, I would go iPhone for sure.

Yes, definitely wait for the new iphone model, my boss is kicking herself that she bought a new one about six months ago. This one has many improvements.

The new iPhone is out now.
I have the "older" one and I am absolutely hooked. It has so many applications available - free and pay. I have the coolest games, load my music and buy new music directly off iTunes, read Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Barrons for free. Look at my stocks (with one eye, cringing), look up the weather. Find where I am when I am traveling (yes, it has GPS), get directions. Email of course. Cruise the web. We had BB a while back and I didn't care for it.

The ATT reception has been great here in L.A., and also when I've traveled here and there. No outages whatsoever.

heheee - will knows what he's talking about!

Shaun... let us know what you get! I have a T-mobile Wing which has a touch screen and also a slide out QWERTY keyboard. I really enjoy the tactile keys... if the entire thing was a touch screen I'd be very upset. I like the feedback when I'm texting rapidly. My boyfriend has and loves the Iphone, but I always seem to mis-type when I play with it... especially after a few drinks. Must be very hard to text and drive with your knees with one of those suckers (not that I ever do that, no not me!). The Iphone apps are really awesome though... you can play a flute and smoke a virtual cigar (OK, maybe not cool but unique) and feed fish at a fish pond!

The only two reasons I would steer away from the Iphone would be the reception (my boyfriend doesn't get reception in my apartment or at a lot of places... My T-mobile and my friends with Verizon get it almost anywhere) and the lack of real buttons. Tactile buttons are very important to some people, including me!

They are both amazing devices, and you will love having the interent in your pocket at all times. You can check the cooking forum from the bath tub if you want. Just don't drop it in!!!

I just found out that my phone has been discontinued and they will be coming out with a new version of it soon. Man, I hope I "accidentally" drop mine because I can't justify replacing a perfectly working phone!

DH has an iphone and he is reasonably happy with it. It is so nice to be able to pull it out and settle a bet as to who wrote 'Steal This Book' at dinner with friends (I won). He downloads lots of apps, got a giggle from the kids with 'Gotta have more cowbell' and a slap from me with the app that jiggles certain female body parts. I wouldn't get it because it would drive me crazy for typing. I might check the forum bdays, but not post until I get to a computer, because its just too hard to type anything long. Plus you can't cut/paste, and it doesn't like Flash websites. But it sure does surf the web!

Well I ended up picking the Samsung Impression. Everyone I talked to in the phone store said it does everything the iPhone or the Blackberry does. The difference being, the data package plan is $15 mth instead of $30 for the iP & BB.

So far I'm loving it! Touch screen, QWERTY keyboard. I'm still playing around with it to get to know it better, learning more little things as the days go by. There is a 30 day period that I can return it if I decide I want something else. But so far, it's great.

Thanks for all your input!

Wonderful, Shaun. Even though you didn't get either of the ones you had originally planned to, it sounds like you got a good comprimise, the best of both worlds. I remember how excited I was when I got my first PDA with a touch screen and keyboard (it was the T-mobile MDA/HTC Wizard). You'll have fun learning how to use it, I'm sure!

Does it use Windows mobile or no? Enjoy

Hi Bobby Baby!
No it doesnt use Windows. I'm not sure what it uses??? When I sign onto the internet it says MEdia Net. When I looked at the properties of the browser it says: NetFront Browser v3.5.

What does that mean?

Hey Stacy, tell Will not to be too mad at me for not getting an iPhone! hahahahah!! I really appreciate all the information he gave me.

I got an IPhone for Mother's Day and love it love it LOVE it....... my boys like all the free game aps as well, but that's another story...

I've used a treo, a blackberry, and an iPhone, and for me the iPhone is nirvana. It's not that the iPhone is all that different in terms of technology, but the interface is so intuitive, and the fact that so many people have them combined with the fact that Apple provides 3rd party appliations means that new and cool things are constantly being added. I can access more websites with the iPhone than I could with the treo, and the big screen makes a huuuuuge difference in how quickly I can navigate the web. It seems like almost every time I come up with a problem (I want to find a good restaurant near me-- I can never remember where I parked my car-- I want to read free open source books) someone has already thought of it and designed an application for it. It has its problems (I don't love the touchscreen keyboard, there's no flash player, so some websites don't work, and you can't watch free abc.com shows on it, it has turned me into an obsessive email checker. . . . ) but I really, really love it. And fyi, you CAN get the cooking forum on it :-D

First, I'm curious: not much love has been professed for touch screens in this thread, but no one has really said why. So, why? LOL To me, it's just so much easier, and after the Blackberry I wanted nothing to do with anything dirt catching or mechanical. I mean, this is so easy for me I'll be sitting by the computer but will still sit here and surf and answer mail on the phone.

I have been a very happy IPhone user for about 6 months now. I went from the standard flip phone to a Blackberry Curve prior to that. That was 10 steps above a flip phone, and overall ok. It was my first foray to a full keyboard which I loved, but went through 3 in 6 months because that stupid mechanical trackball would become inextricably jammed and fly apart. Anyone else have that issue?

The last time the 963 microsopic moving parts of that trackball went flying all over, I went to the store to see what else was available. The salesman personally demonstrated his IPhone (which up to that point I'd heard good things about but hadn't actually seen in the "flesh") and I knew immediately there was no other choice. If the Blackberry was 10 steps above a flip phone, the IPhone is another 50 steps above that. It does take a bit to get used to the larger size of these phones when you're used to a little flip phone, but that's a minor issue. The big appeal of this for me is it's basically a portable computer. The telephone quality is just great, but I rarely talk on the phone, I prefer to text and email and am surfing 24/7, so I actually feel like I'm getting something for my money now.

I LOVE that almost everything is done by touch screen and I love that, unlike the Blackberry, your email and websites look like emails and websites, not a jumble of links. I also love that I have access to several email accounts at once, where Yahoo only allows you to be logged in to one at a time on the computer. I have one touch access to my favorite sites, and while I'm not a big app fiend, I love that I have the capability and if/when I find I want or need something, I can probably find it. I like the fact that I have the option of no sound at all, not even vibrating, if I wish. Ringtones are cheaper and you have more control over the process through ITunes. I also like that it uses the same charger as my IPod!

What I hope to see in the future is being able to use Flash (this is an issue with pretty much all phones at this point isn't it? I'm sure they'll get to it) and I thought it odd that you can't send picture text messages (it's coming). I'd probably add one of those tiny red pilot lights to let you know you have messages or whatever when the screen is dark, and I would do a conventional spellchecker instead of on the fly, or make it a selection. Overall minor stuff that would in no way affect my choice if I were doing it again.

I'm sure all IPhone users also know there is a software upgrade which allows cutting and pasting and let you use the keyboard in both directions.

You do have to be cautious about service in your area. ATT is great here in LA, but that's not always the case. I hope we eventually get away from phones being connected to phone companies, and you can buy the phone you want then pick your company. It's also important to note that you are not allowed to insure the IPhone as you can with other phones.

With regard to Ipod usage, for me I have stuck with my traditional Ipod for that, and even with the IPhone will buy another if it goes. It's small and light and fits in my shorts pocket at the gym, and I can play it through my car stereo (the connection fits the Iphone but won't accept it). Sometimes when working out I get the headset cord tangled in the machines and send it flying, and if something bad would happen the IPod is a lot cheaper to replace.

ok Shaun, I think he's fine with it - if anything he just feels sorry for you - LOL. He's crazy about that darn thing! Yesterday he was using this app that let him record his voice and then replay it in reverse or sounding like he inhaled helium...we got so silly with it!

Scott I got the upgrade - it took hours. I had to upgrade iTunes, then the process included backing up the iPhone then Upgrading it. Hours. I hate upgrading for that reason - it's a time suck. But funny thing is that the apps on the iPhone upgrade in seconds. What's up with that? I want computers to do that too!

I have an iTouch too, and now it's permanently docked in a player in the house. I put all my CD music on it, so I don't think I'll need to ever buy a CD again.

Same with me, Gina-I even had a Facebook status saying that when you upgrade your IPhone, do it when you're in a patient mood with time on your hands! LOL Yes, those apps update lickety split!

Stacy hahahahah!!! You're so funny!

Thanks again to everyone for their opinions!!