I am fond of saying there is no perfect Smartphone; there is only the Smartphone that is perfect for you. Whether your beloved device runs Android; BlackBerry; iOS; webOS; or Windows Phone, we're all just part of the larger Mobile Nations family (do you like how I worked that in there?).

Still, when a story like this comes along, I can't help but feel a little sympathy for our iPhone brethren. Last Tuesday, Mahler's Symphony No. 9 came to a halt at the New York Philharmonic after a new iPhone user had trouble silencing his phone's alarm. Sitting in the front row, the patron's iPhone Marimba ring was easily heard by the conductor, Alan Gilbert, who actually stopped the performance until the ring was silenced.

The iPhone's owner, a long-time subscriber to the orchestra, made sure to silence his phone before the concert - as we all should do before movies, concerts, shows, and other such events - but an alarm set on his Smartphone sounded anyway. The day before the concert, the man's company had switched from BlackBerry to iPhone, and the poor gentleman had not yet become familiar with his new device. He didn't know his phone's alarm was set; when it sounded, he had trouble figuring out how to make it stop.

On Thursday, he had a chance to apologize by phone to the conductor who graciously accepted the apology. Like the iPhone, selecting the "All Alerts Off" or "Silent" sound profile on a BlackBerry effectively silences any and all alert sounds on the Smartphone - except for the daily alarm. Silencing that alarm seems to be a bit easier on a BlackBerry than on an iPhone, though, as pressing just about any button on the RIM device will cancel that sound. Methinks the unfortunate iPhone user at the symphony found things a bit more complicated when his iDevice stopped the show.

Source: New York Times via iMore Image: WSJ

There's a quote in the book The Alchemist that I like which says "What happens once will never happen again. But what happens twice will surely happen a third time." In the case of CrackBerry's iOS-related sister site, we're now onto round number 4. 

The site originally launched as PhoneDifferent.com in April 2007, just a few months after CrackBerry.com went live. That name was based on Apple's Think Different commercials. The connection proved too obscure for all but the Apple hardcore though, so PhoneDifferent merged with the TheiPhoneBlog.com in May 2008, keeping TheiPhoneBlog name. With the site being a lot more than just a blog and Apple releasing the iPad, another name was needed and in February 2010 TheiPhoneBlog got abbreviated down to TiPb.com. For those who knew the history behind the TiPb name it made sense, but beyond that it didn't and the name proved a little too difficult to intuitively pronounce (Tip-Bee... i think?!).  Suffice to say, we've been on the lookout for a better iOS domain for a long time now, which is no easy task - everything is it taken, not for sale or can be had for stupidly unreasonably-high (on crack) prices. 

But today our iOS frenemies have finally re-launched TiPb.com as iMore.com. Definitely a big improvement and it suits the site's mission... Delivering More of everything for your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and everything iOS. More news, More reviews, More contests, More help, More everything for your I. Matching the new name is a newly updated site, so jump on over and check it out. I don't want anybody turning their back on BlackBerry, but I know a lot of us BlackBerry owners also own iPads and iPod touches, so if you do want to keep on touch with Apple stuff, do it over at CrackBerry's sister site, iMore!

Bye Bye TiPb, check out iMore.com

In case last week's service outage has you losing faith and you're thinking it might be time to trade in your BlackBerry for an Apple iPhone, you may want to do yourself a favor first and watch this BlackBerry vs. iPhone video.

It yet again proves what all us crazy CrackBerry users know.... when it comes to fruity phones, BlackBerry is always gooder than Apple. Funny stuff right here. :)

Source: JusReign via CB Forums

Ahh, the iPhone 4S. Faster. Thinner. Newly designed.. No, wait -- that's not right. This year they just put an S on the box right -- or did they? The device which has been called a disappointment by some still managed to sell 4 Million units its first weekend on the market topping previous iPhone 4 sales numbers. Plus, this year -- the device has landed on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon so what exactly did they change to cause the record breaking sales? Rene over at TiPB has done his due dilligence and gave us all the run down. Whether you're considering hopping into a new iPhone 4S or just looking to see what all the fuss is about make sure you check out Rene's full review.

Read the TiPB Review of the iPhone 4S

Today is the day Apple holds their live event to talk about the next generation iPhone, which means it's going to be pretty much impossible to avoid iPhone news for the next few days even if you tried. Apple is in that spot where they set the expectations of the mobile market for consumers, so even if you're diehard BlackBerry fan / Apple hater the odds are you're going to want to know how things pan out today.

Our sibling site TiPb.com is going to be going NUTS on the coverage today. They'll have a live video stream going with their meta blogging, and of course will be following up with all the posts. So if you are goinng to step outside of BlackBerry nation today, might as well keep it in the family. Their live coverage will kick off at 9:45am PDT/12:45pm EDT/5:45pm BST - be sure to tune in.

Once the dust settles we'll follow up on CrackBerry with a couple of posts to see how things are stacking up at the end of day compared to BlackBerry. It seems the rumors of late are more in favor of an iPhone 4S than an iPhone 5 getting announced, but either way I'm sure we'll the internal specs get a big bump on the device. How will it stack up to BlackBerry 7 Smartphones? And how much will what gets announced today raise our demands for what we want to see on BlackBerry BBX Smartphones? We'll find out soon!

Tune into the Let's Talk iPhone Live Coverage
Get ALL the coverage from today's iPhone Annnouncements

Ok, now that you got all the laughs out of the way, thinking that RIM is dead, and that it doesn't really matter what amount of money the users make, let's check this out. A study was conducted recently that showed 11.3% of BlackBerry users make over $150,000 annually, compared to Android users at only 7.2% and iOS at 10.9%, and pinpointed the BlackBerry crowd to be on average older than that of other platforms. As we all know BlackBerry devices have been geared towards business use, which could directly tie into the fact that they are generally wealthier, leading to another positive for RIM in that they are able to afford the premium on buying new devices upon launch. 

Another notable piece of the research was that only 59.5% of BlackBerry users download applications in comparison to 85% of iPhone users, which is interesting considering we just saw that BlackBerry developers tend to make more money than those on other platforms. 

Discuss more in the forums

Source: 247WallSt

 

Ofcom, an independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, showed some suprising information in their 2011 Communications Report in regards to user smartphone brand preferences. According to their information, U.K. teens, especially females, seem to prefer BlackBerry devices over other smartphone brands. Their anecdotal information suggests this could be due to the free BlackBerry Messenger service. Overall, it seems females, in particular, prefer BlackBerry over the other options out there. The report also shows app use is higher amongst teens than the adults who are iPhone’s biggest fans. This could be a huge opportunity for BlackBerry App World and BlackBerry application developers.

This is good news for RIM, and with a little effort, hopefully they will keep this generation of cell phone users hooked on BlackBerry for many years to come. I know my teenage daughter can't wait for me to upgrade again so she can move from her BlackBerry Curve 8330 to my Style 9670. Let us know in the comments if your kids are bugging you for a new BlackBerry too.

Source: Ofcom

Well the announcement has finally come and Verizon will indeed be getting the iPhone 4. It's been a long time coming, but for some the long wait is finally over. Starting next month, Verizon users will be able to get their hands on an iPhone 4. With the latest addition, Verizon now has plenty of smartphones to choose from. BlackBerry, Android and iPhone are all available on Big Red so there is no lack of variety. Now that the iPhone has been announced - will you be holding onto your BlackBerry or ditching it in favor of an iPhone? Cast your vote in the poll above and let us know! If you are thinking about jumping ship for the Verizon iPhone, or you just want to keep up with the latest Verizon iPhone news, head over to our sister site TiPb for all the latest happenings.

This one has been popping up around the net the past couple of days but I figured we'd save it for the weekend...

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this comic strip from C-Section Comics is more like a 20,000 word thesis on the smartphone consumer market. It's funny, cuz well... it's mainly true :) 

Over the years we have seen many different OS replica themes come across our forums, some replace just the icons while others go for a whole device overhaul, and this is exactly what BlingBerry Themes has done with their latest. The iPhone Simulator is a very fitting name for this theme as it will leave users wondering if they are really playing with a simulator, or still using their BlackBerry device. The attention to detail in this theme is unmatched by any other theme, from the way the custom folder icons were created, to the custom SVG work which allows the look of multitasking how it is done on the iOS devices. Also, included in this theme is a calendar application which allows the icon to change dates, which gives an even truer experience to the iOS devices, because every detail counts. Words really don't do true justice for this theme, so check out the video above, and be sure to grab your very own copy today from the CrackBerry Store for $3.99 while it's on sale.

• More information and download of The iPhone Simulator >>

These days, the talk surrounding mobile devices is really heating up. With the explosion of Android devices and the ongoing substantial growth of the iPhone showing no signs of slowing down, many folks are constantly looking at their options. Be it, switching from Android to iPhone, iPhone from BlackBerry to webOS or however else you really want to look at it, people are making choices and changes on what they want from their mobile devices.

This area is certainly going to expand as well. Windows Phone 7 devices are soon to arrive and many are waiting to see what is in store for them as consumers there. One thing that has really been a focus of some media outlets is the supposed influx of people deciding to leave BlackBerry in an effort to seek out more. While it is true that many users appear to be heading away from BlackBerry devices, one often forgets to look at the information about how many of those users once gone, actually come back to BlackBerry devices after spending time on other platforms.

Each day, the CrackBerry forums fills up with users proclaiming they are either leaving BlackBerry for another platform or, they have just arrived back from another platform and are proclaiming what they missed about their BlackBerry devices. Now, being a multi platform user myself, I can easily say the grass is not exactly always greener on the side of the fence. For some though it is and that's quite alright as people SHOULD be buying devices based on their needs rather then what they think is cool. But often times this isn't the case. Often times, people will buy what they think they need or want rather then face then reality being that they really do not need all the bells and whistles that some other devices offer.

So how about you all, anyone tried another platform yet returned back to BlackBerry for whatever reason? If so, tell us why in the comments it's always cool to see the variation of users. In the meantime, check out the forum thread posted below and see some reasons others have chosen to return back to their BlackBerry devices having spent time on other platforms

• You Don't Realize How Good BlackBerry Is Until, You Leave >>

Ahhh yeah. College Humor. Gotta love when they make a funny with smartphones as their subject. Check out the video above if you have a couple minutes to kill and need a chuckle. Enjoy the clip!

Via: College Humor

*UPDATE* - Did anyone else happen to notice the "death grip" coming into play on this video? I hadn't fully watched it the first time around so I went back and it looks like the 9800 does show some signs. Granted it is pre-release but, these things are now going to be looked at more carefully*

Salomondrin has some new videos up. If you want to get a quick look at the BlackBerry WebKit browser going head to head against the browsers of Android and iPhone then you'll want to check out the video after the break. Salomondrin also posted some details regarding the Acid3 tests and how the devices compare there. One thing to note about the Acid3 test however, is that they often seem to vary so take from it what you will. Hit the video after the break, leave some comments on the post and let us know your thoughts. 

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Today, June 21st Apple releases iOS4, the latest OS for the iPhone & iPod Touch line of products (visit our sibling site TiPb.com for everything iOS4). Many have called it revolutionary rather than evolutionary. I've been using this in beta since it launched in April and for me, I'd say Apple has reached into the 1990's playbook and are trying to lay claim to features that have existed in the smartphone world for over a decade.

In case you've been climbing Mount Everest or living under a rock since the beginning of April I'll review the "7 Tent Poles of iOS 4" and contrast them against what is available in the BlackBerry world.

Continue reading article

Among CrackBerry readers, I think it's safe to say we all have something we could say that we love about BlackBerry. Often times we read in the CrackBerry forums of users checking out other platforms available to them be it iPhone, Android or even webOS. Some of those users decide the other platforms are better. Some decide that BlackBerry is better and finally, others decide they want their cake and to be able to eat it too by opting to make use of both BlackBerry and whatever other platform they have chosen. The question here is simple, do you use other platforms or is BlackBerry your only device of choosing?  Whether you use only BlackBerry or have decided to use another platform, let us know in the comments why you have chosen whatever path you have.