Seconds Out - Round Two for the Battle of Phone Heavyweights

DESPITE the challenger tripping while leaving its corner last week, Round Two of the Apple vs Blackberry bout is underway at last. The launch of the new iPhone 3G has taken the tussle between these two heavy-weight fruits to a new level and the industry is now eagerly watching to see which creeps ahead on points.

Apple staggered a bit when the bell went, much to the disappointment of the crowd, many of whom had queued outside for hours to be ringside at the start.

Systems failures made it near impossible to register an iPhone and the choice was to leave empty handed or hang around through the morning in the hope of getting started with one.

The judges’ verdict on the early action is that honours are even. Both are good phones, the lightweight Safari Browser on the iPhone makes it a very smoky sufer, but Blackberry is much more versatile with e-mail. Whilst the Blackberry looks and feels corporate, the iPhone is more cool and funky.

Now if you just want a handset to make phone calls, these heavy hitters are not for you.

Then again, if you like the idea of using a phone for a decent standard of Internet on the move, be aware that costs are, as yet high. The bill for getting downloading YouTube clips can pack a nasty surprise.

You might, though, want to wait for Google to enter the ring. Google Android is coming and the prospect of quick knock-out blows with fast, handset, based versions of Google Search, Gmail and Google Maps is tempting.

The author David is an IT and Safety Consultant and registered CDM Coordinator.