Like most of you, every morning I read through the flood of inbound and internet-based news, and listen to twitter all day…  We’ve all seen that at least once a week, there is a new article or blog written about BlackBerry vs. iPhone.

BlackBerry vs. iPhone Debate Passion Part 1

Yesterday in a hard-hitting piece in CIO.com “Apple Betrays the IPhone’s Business Hopes,” Galen Gruman hit on iPhone’s latest challenges with enterprise, especially around ActiveSync and security policies. This caught my attention got me thinking about the passion that came through in the post.

So I asked myself,  “What is it about BlackBerry vs. iPhone that stirs up so much passion in the debate?”

I think the reason for passion is that smartphones are much more than a tool to do our job or make a call; they are personal life companions that fit so many roles. They can evoke almost as much passion as cheering for your favorite football team or choosing a mate. For some they are fashion accessories, for others they are critical job enablers, and for me I could not possibly live without my BlackBerry. period.

Which leads me to the conclusion that there is no right answer in the debate… the answer to which to pick for you and your business is the often used phrase “Well, it depends…”

So, let’s think about some way to organize ourself to answer the “it depends…”  questions. Wired.com had an interesting take in their “Great Geek Debates: iPhone vs. BlackBerry.”

The article broke the comparison down into five categories:
1.    Applications
2.    Physical Attributes
3.    Gaming
4.    Personal vs. Business Functionality
5.    The Chuck Norris Factor (yep their idea not mine)

To me, the most important categories in the above list from the enterprise perspective are applications and personal vs. business functionality.  Today, I’m going to discuss the first of the two categories, applications.  In a future post, I’ll cover personal vs. business functionality.

Applications: I don’t think anyone would argue that the smartphone is the new mobile desktop and it’s now all about the smartphone as an universal application and communication platform.

From CNNMoney.com entitled “Smartphone wars – BlackBerry’s plan to win”, “Apple now boasts some 65,000 choices in its App Store that range from the über-practical to the ultra-absurd. The new BlackBerry app store, by contrast, which launched only in April, offers just 2,000.” But that said, the BlackBerry still has the best implementation by far of the business-oriented mobile killer apps of email, PIM, IM and unified communication… and other such as Reuters, Bloomberg, SalesForce and more.

To me, apps are a matter of form and function.  While many enjoy the ability to download an app for virtually everything imaginable, others don’t see the need or practically of having an app for…oh say, steaming up your phone screen by blowing on it app called iSteam.

What matters to the enterprise are the mobile business applications, with two recent standout stories. First was Al Sacco’s life saving story at CIO.com “BlackBerry at D.C. VA Medical Center: Saving Heart-Attack Victims with Handhelds” on life saving strategies. [Note VA uses BoxTone to manage and monitor their devices including those running this lifesaving application at the VA].

Then more on healthcare from Wireless and Mobile News with startling data that 63% of Smartphone Doctors Use iPhone / BlackBerry / Smartphone Medical Apps.  The post references the MDsearch.com Smartphone Survey indicating that of the 53% of physicians who are using smartphones, 63% of those are using mobile medical apps.

So here we have it, killer apps (no pun intended) in certain vertical industries and job roles; that’s where the guidelines for answering “Well, it depends…” comes through.

There is no doubt in anyones mind that mobile apps are here to stay.  And as BlackBerry and iPhone devices  continue to evolve (and more mobile devices/platforms enter the market), the apps will continue to grow in functionality and practicality. What we need more of are great enterprise applications, not more Tetris or screen steaming.

Ultimately, apps alone do not resolve the battle of BlackBerry vs. iPhone, although they will continue to be an ever-growing piece of the argument. And as you might expect, we’re focused on helping make sure the enterprise mobile user gets the best productivity from their mobile platform and apps (by helping IT automate the management at a lower cost).

In a future post, part 2, I’ll discuss the other hot topic from an enterprise perspective in the great debate - personal vs. business functionality.

So what do you think about all this passion in the debate?

Brian C Reed

BoxTone