RIM has been the dominant player in the corporate-oriented smartphone space for some time and was definitely focused more on business capabilities and less on entertainment and fun.
The announced BlackBerry Bold uses iPhone design elements to create a sexy device that appears focused on the traditional BlackBerry strength of e-mail.
With a tri-band HSDPA radio and including integrated GPS and Wi-Fi, this phone’s purpose is to aggressively defend against the iPhone.
One advantage RIM has that shouldn’t be forgotten is that and RIM sells its devices through a variety of carriers. Apple, to get the deals it needed, typically has one carrier exclusively (though this seems to be changing here and there).
The only problem is, and it’s a big one, is that it won’t actually be available for sale until late summer or possibly over two months after the iPhone arrives.
iPhone has its roots in the iPod. This makes the iPhone more of an entertainment device.The iPhone 2.0 gains several critical enhancements for business. It should integrate much better than the 1.0 product with enterprise e-mail systems, but it won’t work with a BlackBerry server. It is much more secure, but it can’t yet be centrally managed using tools already in place to manage BlackBerries.
It has full 3G radios and it may support GPS, video conferencing, and VoIP (Voice over IP) capability.
Because iPhones are now sold out in most geographies, speculation is increasing that the new iPhone may launch before the expected June 9th date. Rumors suggest a second device is coming that is 1.5 times larger than the iPhone and vastly more capable. But given that Apple regularly leaks false rumors to cover up what it is actually releasing, such rumors have to be discounted. It is still expected to eventually bring out a smaller iPhone to complete the line.
As of now, before the iPhone 2.0 comes out to the market we can only compare the actual products:
 |
 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Blackberry Bold | Apple iPhone | |
| Dimensions | 114 x 66 x 14 mm | 115 x 61 x 11.6 mm |
| Weight | 133 g | 135 g |
| Input interface | Full QWERTY keyboard & Trackball navigation | Multi-touch input method & Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate |
| Memory | microSDHC, up to 8 GB + 128 MB flash memory 1 GB storage memory 624 MHz processor |
4/8/16 GB shared memory |
| Data | GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA (3.6 Mbps), Wi-Fi | GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi |
| Messaging | SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Push Email | SMS, Email |
| Photo | 2 MP, 1600×1200 | 2 MP, 1600×1200 |
| Others | – Built-in GPS – BlackBerry maps – Document viewer/editor – Java – DivX/WMV/XviD/3gp player – Organizer – Calculator – Voice dial – Built-in handsfree – Voice memo |
– Google Maps – Widgets support – iPod audio/video player – PIM, calendar, to-do list – TV output – Photo browser/editor – Voice memo – Integrated handsfree |