Blackberry Vs. Android

[Jason Tandro]

Ah, the time has come for me to impart my wisdom and settle an age-old dispute. Now I have no personal experience with iPhone, so I can't give reliable info on that, but I have worked hands on with Blackberry and Android phones are part of my job. The debate will rage on as to which platform is better; with Android users thinking that the Android OS is superior and the Blackberry users being wrong.

Well that's my opinion summed up in a sentence isn't it?

But in all seriousness I am biased towards Android and will never use a Blackberry if I can help it. However each platform has its strengths and weaknesses and I'd like to go ahead and present both for you.


Round 1: Blackberry Bold 9930 vs. Motorola Droid X2






Our first round pits the best that Blackberry has to offer with one of the best that Android has to offer (in 3G service, I am not including 4G devices in this demonstration).

The Blackberry Bold 9930, I have to admit, is the one Blackberry that has forced me to reconsider my stance on Blackberry's and if I was going to switch to a Blackberry this would be it. It's got numerous features of highly refined control that makes Blackberry users ecstatic.

The Droid X2, on the other hand, features the power of Android 2.3 OS and a dual-core processor, complete with an HDMI "mirror mode" allowing you to connect your phone to an HDTV.

Let's pit the two together and see who wins:

User Interface:
Blackberry: QWERTY + touch screen.
Android: Touch screen only.

Advantage: Blackberry

Processor:
Blackberry: 1.2 Ghz with dedicated graphics gpu.
Android: Dual-core 1 Ghz processor.

Advantage: Android

Camera:
Blackberry: 5 MP with continuous auto-focus and 0 shutter lag, 720p HD video.
Android: 8 MP with continuous auto-focus, 1080p HD video.

Advantage: Android

Memory and Storage:
Blackberry: 4 GB internal storage space (expandable up to 32 GB with SD card) and 768 MB RAM.
Android: 8 GB internal storage space (expandable up to 32 GB with SD card) and 1 GB RAM.

Advantage: Android

Security:
Blackberry: Blackberry Protect- a preloaded phone locator, data backup and remote wipe software.
Android: You can download such software, but most of it costs money; nothing preloaded.

Advantage: Blackberry

Victor: Android

[note: I did not include such categories as "ease of use" because these are subjective and not measurable]



Round 2: Blackberry Pearl vs. Samsung Gem





For Round 2, I've gone to the other end of the spectrum, taking one of the worst Blackberry phones and comparing it to one of the worst Android phones.

The Blackberry Pearl had the potential to be a good phone, because they tried to get away from the bulky oval design, and the Blackberry Pearl Flip is actually a decent phone, but the original Pearl is just an oddity amongst phones.

The Samsung Gem is about the worst Android phone I've seen, because Samsung has their grubby hands all over it. Instead of keeping it vanilla Android OS they decided to do a Samsung overlay which has tainted it and resulted in several known glitches with the phone.


User Interface:
Blackberry: QWERTY only.
Android: Touch screen only.

Advantage: Tie (depends upon your preference)

Processor:
Blackberry: 312 Mhz processor.
Android: 800 Mhz processor.

Advantage: Android

Camera:
Blackberry: 1.2 MP, and the 8100 doesn't have video.
Android: 3.2 MP and video.

Advantage: Android

Memory and Storage:
Blackberry: 64 MB internal storage space (expandable up to 4 GB with SD card) and 256 MB RAM.
Android: 512 MB internal storage space (expandable up to 16 GB with SD card) and 160 MB RAM.

Advantage: Android, albeit just barely.

Security:
Blackberry: Blackberry Protect can be downloaded, but is not preloaded.
Android: You can download such software, but most of it costs money; nothing preloaded.

Advantage: Blackberry, still, since BB usually offers this service free.

Victor: Android


Well I guess I just came to the same initial conclusion, huh? .

Android simply has a wider variety of phones and better options overall. Still, Blackberry does have some clear strengths.

==BUY A BLACKBERRY IF==

You need a secure phone.
You need a business phone that can easily handle and sort through emails and contacts.
You prefer to have options preset for you rather than doing stuff yourself.
You travel and need GSM services (Blackberry's are the ONLY phones where dedicated CDMA carriers can rent out GSM services through third party companies. That's one thing Android can't do!)


==BUY AN ANDROID IF==

You want a fun, easy to use phone.
You want a personal phone that expertly handles social networking.
You're addicted to apps and don't mind doing it yourself.
You want a great, all-round experience.

[EverPhoenix]

I've never had first-hand experience with any of the above, or an iPhone. However, I have made a few observations.

Firstly, Blackberry phones are notorious for having really, REALLY, shitty hardware. People who have Blackberry phones (in my experience) tend to have the phone in the repair workshop more often than in use. I don't know about the OS, it probably works well enough, so no comments here.


iPhones. Oh yes. The premium fashion accessory of the age. I'll let it be known right now that I am not fond of Apple products. For a stand-alone phone, the iPhone probably will do everything you need. If you try to connect it to your computer, and god forbid it isnt a Mac, be prepared to download additional software if you plan to do anything other than use your iPhone as an expensive hard drive. If you own a suite of Apple products, however, they all work together so well it seems like wizard magic. In terms of hardware... the screen seems to not be that tough. I've heard of quite a few people destroying their screens by dropping the phone. I mean sure, you shouldnt drop it in the first place, but still.


Androids. I'll skip the hardware section here, since a lot of different phones can come with this OS. I'll be honest, I've got squat here. It does pretty much everything youd want a smart-phone OS to do, and it is almost infinitely customisable. Of course, the customisation isnt for the technologically inept. As user-friendly as I'm sure it would be, having to push the 'factory reset' button always sucks. if you can find it.



...wow, that review makes Android seem pretty average. Despite that, I'd still always pick an Android.

[psychokind]

the samsung phones did best in all the tests, didn't they?

[Ocie Denver]

I don't have issues with Samsung. My current phone is Samsung Epic G4 (physical keyboard, LED touchscreen, and Android OS are my main reasons), upgraded with extended battery. Only pain in ass is Sprint bloatwares that I can't remove them from the phone.

However you have an option to have Android phone uprooted and loaded with custom Android rom to meet your preferences.

I'm thinking about have mine uprooted to gain my full controls, not Sprint. I have done that to my old Windows Mobile phone and it went well.