Treo or Blackberry: Which one's right for you?

Lately I've been getting this question a lot, "What's better? Treo or Blackberry? The answer isn't so simple. It's really a matter of personal preference and technical prowess. Even as someone who has owned both, it's a tough choice.

I come from a Palm® background. I've used Palm® devices for about 10 years now, and in many different flavors. I will tell you up front that I am a little biased, only because of the 3^rd party applications I've purchased over the years - that I can't seem to live without - which I've transferred from one device to another. The reason I decided to combine the functionality of the Palm® and phone was purely self preservation. I was driving one day, talking on my cell, and I had to look up a number on my Palm®. I almost drove off the road.

In 2003, I had a Blackberry that I was given by one of my jobs. I used it for a year, and really loved it, but I also kept a Palm® Zire 71 for my personal stuff, pictures and playing music.

My first Palm® phone was the Kyocera QCP 6035 which I had up until December of 2005; it was a GREAT phone! I then went to a Kyocera QCP7135 and only kept it for about a month. It was a nightmare. Next I decided to go to a Treo 600; good choice. In December of 2006, I moved into a Treo 650. Even better.

So which phone is right for you? Well in short, if you are technically challenged but must carry a smartphone, I suggest the Blackberry with the full QWERTY keyboard (shown on the right below). If you are able to work through minor technical challenges and aren't impatient, I would say go with the Treo. Here's why:

The Blackberry has worked out many of the little Outlook synchronization snags that still sometimes plague the Treo. I used to support 16 Blackberry users on a Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES), and the only problems I ever saw were due to dumb things that the users did themselves, like accidentally deleting all their contacts (which subsequently deleted them from the handheld - nice). Sync was effortless, just plug it in and off it goes - no buttons to push, or anything. Easy stuff; an idiot could handle it - even lawyers. The only thing you couldn't do on a Blackberry was take photos, or listen to MP3s - until the Blackberry Pearl came along.

The only issue with the Pearl is the small screen and the abbreviated keyboard which has several letters painted on each key (instead of the 30+ key QWERTY keypad) and uses predictive typing to figure out which word you're trying to type. I find predictive text a little annoying, and usually wrong. If you're not careful, people will think you're on crack when you're sending emails. The next change from old Blackberry is that the Pearl has dumped the side mounted thumbwheel and button, in favor of a little front mounted trackball. I find that interesting but slightly awkward for one-handed ops. Remember also that Blackberrys are NOT touch screen, so you don't get that instant go-to-tap thing like on a Palm®.

The Treo, on the other hand, offers a full 35 key QWERTY keypad and touch screen - a BIG touch screen. Treos, in fact, offer one of the largest screens of any smartphone; they are big, sharp, and pretty rugged compared to other smartphones. The Treo has always offered integrated phone and Palm® functions as well as great photo and movie media, and stereo MP3 output (although it does require special headphones or an adapter). This all comes at the price of being able to understand and use these features. If you are generally a techno-tard, you might find the Treo to be a bit of a challenge. But if you have the gumption to explore occasional errors and try to solve them, you will find the Treo to be a rewarding device that you cannot live without. It also offers more granular sync choices with Outlook, especially if you use Chapura Pocket Mirror Pro - just watch your internal memory space! There are also more 3^rd party email applications to choose from as well as literally thousands of other type of Palm® apps like games, network utils, etc. You can even download the entire King James Bible with a reader program for free at olivetree.com.

So, as I mentioned at the beginning of the article, it's a matter of personal preference and technical prowess. Most phone dealers will let you try a new phone out for 30 days to see if you like it. You can decide for yourself which one's right for you. If you have any specific questions about either phone, type it below, and I will try to answer them.

-=Jeff Gross=-