Blackberry vs Pocket PC

[mastro26]

I've searched everywhere for a detailed answer and have come up short. I know the basics, but what makes one stand out from the other? Can anyone answer this for me, please. Thank you.

[applejosh]

If the majority of what you want to do is email, then go with the blackberry. If PIM (calendar, tasks, addresses) functions are important, then a PPC might better fit you. Blackberry's do email very well and PIM functions are very basic at best. PocketPC's are not really designed for the push email that blackberry devices make use of but instead are more geared towards PIM functions as well as wifi (most models), multimedia (most models), etc. You also might want to check out the feature set of the blackberry devices as I really don't know if they've made those devices any more robust in the PIM and multimedia areas.

[mastro26]

So, Blackberry is basically just an email device with limited memory. And a pocket PC is just that, a small PC that also has Bluetooth/Wi-Fi tehcnology to use for email if need be. In other words, substantially different devices...like comparing MS Outlook to MS Office. Is that a correct analogy?

[applejosh]

I don't know if I'd simplify it that much, but generally, that's about right. Personally, I have nothing against blackberry devices. I have clients that use and love them (and are addicted to the constant connection to email). But for those people who use email in a less intensive way, I generally don't recommend them. I'd love to have a blackberry device (if work was willing to pay for it), but with the current state of devices, I couldn't use it instead of my iPAQ (or Tungsten T5). It just doesn't offer all the bells and whistles I'm used to. (eg. I can edit Word docs using Textmaker, I can play music with WMP or Pocket Music (or a host of other programs), I can get weather reports (WeatherPanel, Pocket Weather, Stocks & Weather Today, etc.), I can securely store client information (SplashWallet, FlexWallet), I can play cool games (Bejewelled), I can easily keep track of my appointments, contacts, and tasks (as well as edit them, which I don't know if you can do on a blackberry), I can connect to wifi hotspots and surf the web / manually check my email, etc.) A more appropriate analogy might be a full fledged PC versus one of those email only systems that flopped a few years ago. The blackberry does push email very well (i.e. once you set everything up, email magically appears on your blackberry wherever you have a phone signal), but since I usually don't travel far from the office/home and don't want to be bothered by emails all the time, the blackberry really isn't a fit for my lifestyle.

[tekhound]

Are you using this in a work environment? If so you may want to check out GoodLink from Good Technologies (www.good.com). Their software uses the same concept of "push technology" as the blackberry. It is available for Pocket PC Phones, Pocket PCs with WiFi and Palm Treos. I have almost 50 blackberries deployed to my regular staff. But for myself and the rest of the corporate management staff, we use imate PDA2Ks with the good link service. It syncs email, calender, contacts, notes and tasks with your Microsoft Exchange Server (5.5, 2000 or 2003) completely wirelessly. You get the best of both worlds...blackberry style email with all of the functionality of a Pocket PC.

NOTE: Unlike Blackberry, Good gives the server software away for free when you buy the goodlink client.

[Mark Kenepp]

So, Blackberry is basically just an email device with limited memory. And a pocket PC is just that, a small PC that also has Bluetooth/Wi-Fi tehcnology to use for email if need be. In other words, substantially different devices...like comparing MS Outlook to MS Office. Is that a correct analogy?

One thing that was not mentioned is that the blackberry (at least the later models) is also a phone. It may require an additional service contract for voice use, however.

A Pocket PC is not a phone, though there are Pocket PC Phones (and Smart Phones).

Also a Blackberry is nothing without the service, in fact, I would say that Blackberry is a service that uses proprietary hardware. A Pocket PC is just hardware that can be used without any service (i.e. unconnected) or can be used with any number of services (i.e. WiFi, Ethernet, Standard Telephone Lines, Mobile Phone Services, etc.) as long as the required hardware is in place, either built in or added with a compatible peripheral.

You did say that you knew the basics, so maybe you already knew that.