Blackberry 8703e vs Treo 700p?

December 19, 2006 8:23 PM

Blackberry 8703e vs Treo 700p?

I'm purchasing a smartphone as gift and I'm leaning towards the Treo for its better battery life, support for Documents To Go, and because I don't have any experience with Blackberry devices while the Palm OS is a known entity. The salespeople I've been talking to have also been steering me towards the Treo but their evidence is largely anecdotal.

I'm wondering if I'm missing any intanglible pros for the Blackberry. The gift is for a neophile who is currently using Windows but will be switching to OSX at the end of January. Her needs are relatively simple: phone, address book, email, to do lists, appointments. Support for MS Office docs would be a considerable bonus (but not absolutely necessary).

posted by sockpup to Technology (9 answers total)

Generally speaking, I prefer the Blackberry. However, it's horribly supported on the mac. So, ...
posted by rbs at 8:27 PM on December 19, 2006

Hold out for the Apple phone . . . if time allows. Both the Treo and (even more) the Blackberry are a pain in the ass to synch with a Mac. (Oh yeah, they'll say Palm OS devices synch fine; in my experience there are frequent problems and all kinds of software workarounds required.)
posted by spitbull at 8:52 PM on December 19, 2006

Just make sure, if you do nothing else, that you get in writing the respective costs for data plans for those phones before deciding.

The newer Treos may have closed the gap, but typically, the data plan for the Blackberry is considerably higher. This was a big factor in keeping me Treo-based.
posted by 4ster at 9:41 PM on December 19, 2006

There is absolutely NO comparison in the amount of third party (often free or very inexpensive) software for the Palm OS Treo. In my Treo 650 I've got an MP3 player (with SAG (under $20) that allows me to use bluetooth stereo headphones), tons of games, Japanese - English and French - English dictionaries, assorted calculators, atlas, maps, etc. etc. etc.

Personally, I view the Blackberry as a business tool for those who need to be in constant reachability - the Treo as a true smartphone.
posted by birdsquared at 11:09 PM on December 19, 2006

I've had no trouble syncing my Blackberry Pearl to my Macs using PocketMac.
posted by armoured-ant at 11:47 PM on December 19, 2006

I second the usage of PocketMac... it's a well designed program. I've experience with both, and the Blackberry is vastly better at email, marginally better at address book, and inferior at the calendar.
posted by daviss at 12:05 AM on December 20, 2006

There was an earlier thread on this but I will leave it to others to search for it. My wife used to sell both and her personal phone and preference was for the Treo. In her case it was the ergonomics that made the difference, as she much preferred the touch screen on the Treo to the Blackberry's scroll wheel and liked the Treo's keyboard better, among other things.
posted by TedW at 4:27 AM on December 20, 2006

I have both, and while I appreciate the utility of the Blackberry, I cannot live without my Treo. It's on my person at all times. You can even buy software (Chatter Mail) that re-creates the infamous BlackBerry "push" technology. Go with the 700p.
posted by bostonkevin at 7:03 AM on December 20, 2006

Some hearsay: A co-worker of mine was assigned a blackberry for work, which supplanted his privately-owned treo as the device holding his work number. On a trip to the airport, I got an earful of how the blackberry is far inferior on several counts. He would not have switched if he had the option. FWIW, YMMV, OMG, LOL.
posted by Pliskie at 9:41 AM on December 20, 2006