Why Switch?…
I have a long relationship with Blackberry devices, starting back with the original RIM 950. Most recently I was using the Blackberry 8700 as my primary mobile communications device, and have spent some quality time with RIM’s most recent models as well. (my wife Andrea uses the Pearl, and I have several friends with either the 8800 or the Curve).
I have also been a long time Apple user (back to pre-Mac days) and a diehard believer in Apple’s approach to both software design and form factor. The iPhone is the culmination of that philosophy and esthetic applied to cutting edge technology.
It isn’t for any failing of the Blackberry that I have decided to make the switch. I am jumping over to the iPhone because it holds out the promise of fresh thinking in this space, and a user experience unrivaled on devices of this size.
Monday July 2nd…
Configuration…
I got to configure things over the weekend and practice using it a bit, but this was my first work day in quite a while without a Blackberry. We use Exchange/Outlook here at Instant Information, and there is no native link for that (yet!) with the iPhone – I’ve kicked off getting an IMAP or POP connection opened to our Exchange server to cover that. That is going to take a bit of time, so I’ll probably forward my office email to my GMail account for a while until it’s up and running.
The Virtual keyboard…
Though I started the day kind of shaky with typing on the virtual keyboard, I was actually able to type with two thumbs by the end of the day – not quite as fast as I can with the Blackberry, but almost. There is a certain zen to doing it. You have to think more about covering the key you want to hit with you thumb rather than pressing the key as if it were a physical button. If you do that, and trust the auto correct features, you’ll find it much easier to type. The auto correct does work really well – but only on common words. I found that I went to single finger mode to type passwords, product names, etc that need an exact spelling. I’m coming out of the day past my single biggest concern – can I actually type productively on the iPhone. I need more practice, but I feel that it’s only a matter of time before I typing without thinking. This was a big one for me.
Entering Calendar Events…
This will take some getting used to. My natural reaction on a touch screen is to touch the time on the daily calendar where I want to add an event. That doesn’t work here. To add an new event, you need to touch the ‘+’ key in the upper right of the screen, and dial in the time and event details from there. Not what I’m used to, but not really any more difficult than my Blackberry.
EMail Access…
EMail on the iPhone is fantastic – everything you see in the ads. Edge make loading slow for the big HTML messages with lots of web images, but it’s fine over wifi. Creating emails is also pretty easy – just add addresses from contacts by tapping a ‘+’ key, then picking individuals. Creating a message isn’t hard, but only because I’ve gotten the hang of typing. Practicing typing using the notepad application – it will help alot. I do miss having buttons for cursor control – I clearly have become used to the scroll wheel/track ball on the Blackberry for this type of action. The ‘magnifier glass’ finger touch is fine, but will require some un-learning for me. No real show stoppers design wise. Now I just need to drive it through my Outlook/Exchange – getting that to happen will be the next biggie.
Web Access…
Don’t miss my Blackberry at all on this one.
Day 1 Conclusions…
I’ve tried to cover my first day experience with the switch. I feel good about making it, but clearly have to adjust to some new ways of navigating around – old habits do die hard.
If you have any specific items you would like me to compare specifically to the Blackberry, just leave a comment or shoot me an email.
I’ll post updates to this as things progress…
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
How did the iPhone handle your corporate email account? I read an article on http://www.iphailure.com that said IT departments are shying away from the iPhone cuz of security concerns.
My position is no doubt different from many. I have my own company, which clearly gives me a lot more latitude over what can happen. I am looking to access our Exchange server via IMAP, and our IT folks are looking into making that happen. I know it isn’t a slam dunk – we do take security seriously and will need to do it correctly. It is possible that we will open it up on an internal address, then use the iPhone’s VPN capability to connect.
In the meantime, I am forwarding my emails to my GMail account to have direct access to them – it’s ugly but gets half the job done. At least I can read them…
Another option is to connect to Exchange via “Outlook Web Access” over safari. It does work, but you’ll need to do a lot of zooming in and out to read anything.
Steve Jobs did hint that they will have a solution in this area, but he wasn’t very specific. he claimed it’s being used by some really big corporate names that ‘we’d recognize’ – it will be interesting to see what come of it.
Outside of research labs and the like, I don’t see the iPhone posing a bigger security risk than other mobile solutions currently deployed by most organizations. ‘Security Hole’ just tends to be the favorite answer you get from IT because it is one of those amorphous ‘bad things’ that are hard for the average person to argue against.
It is unfortunate that many corporate IT departments view their role more as gatekeepers than solution providers, and will only reluctantly adopt anything new. The fact is, most change is driven by the end user community, and C-Level executives that discover some type of new gadget they want to use. It gets dragged along reluctantly. I’m sure if the office took up a collection and bought the CEO an iPhone, the odds of getting it supported would go up pretty significantly. (only partly kidding…)
I do understand what a big deal this is.
I will post again as soon as I have the details on how we set it up and what my experience with it is like.
Thanks for commenting JC…
I made the switch from a blackberry curve to the iPhone and so far I am really starting to miss the push email. I find that my hands get really cramped when typing a lot on the iPhone. My biggest compliant so far has to be the screen. I find myself always having to clean it because of the finger prints. Has this been a problem for you? Do you miss the cut and paste feature at all?
I wrote this post using my iphone.
Thinking of switching back!
Anthony – I will be posting my next update tomorrow. I find the ‘pull’ email on the iPhone to work fine for me. I can refresh wheneveer I want but get updates every 15 minutes automatically. If something is more urgent than 15 minutes, people can just call me. I absolutely do miss the cut & paste capability. It makes doing anything long form – like blog posts – much more difficult. The keyboard hasn’t been an issue for me with email and note taking, but requires a slowdown when typing stuff like passwords or non-standard terms like product names. Overall I’m happy with the switch, but agree that there are some things I miss, and some that I had hoped to get but don’t have. I’ll cover more in my post tomorrow.
Thanks for commenting!
http://www.blackberrytoiphone.com is another great source of Blackberry-to-iPhone switch information.
u can have gmail forward your email to u as a text, this will simulate the push experience. It’s a clumsy setup, but it works.
dude…get a fuckin grip..who cares about your foolishness?
dude…get a fuckin grip..who cares about your foolishness?
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