Clie vs. Blackberry: Your thoughts?

[rudymc]

My wife made me aware of a pretty good deal:

http://www.robinsonsmay.com/gifts/CA_blackberry_popup.html

However, I know very little about the differences between the Blackberry and the Clie. Can somebody give me some of the positives and negatives of going from a Palm to a Blackberry? Thanks in advance.

Rudy

[Bionic Antboy]

The two main issues, as I see it are...

Do you want to commit to a $75/m voice/data plan (if not already using a similar plan with your PDA/cell).

And

Can you replace all the apps you use on the Clie, or at least live without them?

Personally, I find that my cell/UX50 combo is perfect, as I only need to use my cellular service rarely to check emails (about $3/month). Most of the places I find myself have WiFi, so the 2 year commitment would steer me away, personally.

[shriek]

I don't know Blackberries (never used one) but from what I know about its features I can say: If you don't need a HiRes+ (480x320) screen, VGA camcorder, voice-corder, ability to install tens of thousands apps, play HiRes+ movies, listen to mp3, etc (other multimedia features) you can go just fine with this Berry.

Cutting it short: if you only need PIM features and always-on connectivity (which, by the way, UX50 does not support without a cell-phone) you might consider getting the Berry.

[exNewt]

A BB does not do 1/5th of what a Palm, especially a Clie UX50 - will do.

Except for the 'push' e-mail' feature (which I just have my phone cc'd so I can read the subject line and then decide whether or not to read the whole message on my Clie via a BlueTooth phone) a BB is a 'one-trick-pony'.

[Cyker]

Yeah, the Blackberry is a very limited device.

However, it is *very* good at what it does, so if that's all you need it's a good choice ;)

[gfunkmagic]

Feh... Just get a Treo 650. There are various push soluton like chatter, good, Nexwave etc that are available for it. Plus you get a nice pda, phone, camera etc too! ;)

[SonyStyle]

the blackberrry is phone while the clie is a pda and no phone features

[m0nkeyb0y]

Feh... Just get a Treo 650. There are various push soluton like chatter, good, Nexwave etc that are available for it. Plus you get a nice pda, phone, camera etc too! ;)


I want a Treo 650 but they do not have a 3G-enabled version, and here in the UK, none of the mobile networks support EDGE technology :(

[rcxAsh]

My dad just retired his old Palm Vx for a Blackberry. I can't remember what model, but it's has a 240x240 colour screen - but one with a similar form factor to the one linked to above.

One thing.. if you like having a touch screen then remember that not all Blackberries have one. The one my dad doesn't, and I'm assuming that the one you linked to does not either.

Also, there is no WiFi.. so you will be stuck with the slower GPRS regardless of whether or not you are at a hotspot or not.

If you use your UX50 solely as a PDA and don't mind forgoing using a stylus, then perhaps its a nice buy. However, if you use your UX50 for any of the multimedia and entertainment features often, then perhaps a Treo 650 would be better. Or at least some other PalmOS or Windows Mobile based smartphone.

Oh, one thing though. The Blackberry's screen is really, really great for outdoor viewing. Though, when you turn on the backlight, it looks quite terrible IMO... (at least, compared to what I've seen on my devices: UX40, Samsung D410). Not to say that it's bad viewing, it just looks somewhat grainy compared to how it looks with the backlight off. But don't forget.. I just want to stress that the screen functions really well in sunlight, which can be a big thing really. We're usually awake when there is sun. I find it annoying when I can't use my UX40 very well because it's too bright outside.

Oh.. and I still prefer the thumbboard on the UX series. You may find the key layout a little bit cramped, and some of the keys out of place... I especially find the 'A' key difficult to get right.. so it may take you some practice coming from a UX series.

The Blackberry you show will have a much lower resolution screen than your UX. Again, my dad's screen is larger than that one, and it is still only 240x240. A step up from his 160x160 Palm Vx.. but it will be a step down from your 480x320 Clie. That may bug you for web browsing.

Personally, I would prefer a UX + Bluetooth cellphone combo, or a Treo 650 or that Samsung smartphone. But you should really evaluate your needs and wants. What do you currently find yourself using your UX40/50 for mostly?

[JAmerican]

I would prefer a Sidekick over a Blackberry and I hate the Sidekick. I find the loss of a phone from my handheld to be not that important when you gain videos, expansion memory, music player, Javascript internet, framed web page viewing, third-party apps, etc. When Kirvin said that PalmOne might not be supporting developers because of their slow merger into the smartphone market, I think he was right on because my Sidekick only allowed you to download apps from T-Mobile servers making the apps like 3 to 10 USD. If you want a phone and handheld in one, get either a Windows Mobile or Treo. Otherwise, you'll be dealing with a propriety OS that sucks, due to its limited functions compared to developed OSes such as Palm OS and Windows Mobile. Not to sure about Linux, haven't seen any Linux devices in person.

JAmerican

[crazy_smeggie]

My biggest complaint with the Blackberry is the formatting of message text or rather, the lack thereof.

My business associates used to use the Blackberry but because Blackberry-sent messages were so unformatted (loss of capitalization, words and characters scrunched together) it is unusable for the traveling professional. It's fine if you are just messaging your internal associates or friends, who don't really care about the nature of the message, but for sending to prospects or customers, it is unusable.


SMEGGIE :D

[AzlBigKid]

I have setup a number of Blackberry's and XDA's for some of my customers.

In my opinion the Blackberry is a superb email terminal. So if you want to manage lots of email and received it realtime, then this is the device to do it with. They do come with other software such as a browser etc.. but the applications are pretty poor so don't expect to do anything else with it. They can be integrated with internal groupware systems such as MS Exchange for realtime centralised calendaring etc.. This requires a fair amount of investment in extra software and servers. I also find the keyboard on a Blackberry difficult to use in comparison to my UX50, and the keyboard on an XDA IIs is a complete waste of time.

If you are thinking of something like this and want better applications I think the XDAs are far more rewarding than Blackberry's but you still won't get me to ditch my UX50. In my opinion it still beats them both for flexibility and I use the Bluetooth and WiFi features daily.

I prefer a separate phone from a PDA. When I go out with a few friends, I sometimes know that things are gonna get a bit messy, so I leave my UX50 at home. I would mind alot less if my mobile ended up in a pint of beer.

:)

[DreadInNY]

I have a Blackberry 7100T and I have a UX40. To tell the truth, I use them both. It is just a matter of preference. For business users the Blackberry is the clear choice. I sync it with my Outlook and all my appointments with alarms are right on my phone. The phone surfs the net and you can add bookmarks. My corperate mail goes right to my device when sent. No need to "log on" to get it. In addition, the abiliy to SMS is great. Unlike other phones, it saves the sessions like one chat session rather that having to go from page to page. The othr great thing is when a client sends a mail with an email, webpage or telephone number I can click on it and dial, go to the page or send an email. A bonus is that the Blackberry can be used as modem for a laptop is need be, but being it has a built in browser there isn't a need. You can customize the screens and even get the MP3 style rings. The BB is pretty feature packed. One drawer back is the number of apps. I have what I need.

My UX40 does have tons of apps. I use the datebook, but due to bulkiness compared to the phone a lot of times I leave the Sony home. I do like the games I play when I am stuck somewhere. Avantgo used to be a main reason to open my palm, but I have it on the Blackberry with a constant connection to the internet. In many ways it has replaced my Sony. I never use the camera or voice recorder on the Sony.

I must admit. Both devices have and "awe" factor. I take out either to get a number and I get questions. Again, the features are so similar that I tend to not need both at the same time.

I just saw the ad. The 7290 isn't as nice. I wish I saw this earlier. I would have gotten the clothes and sold the BB!