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Back in June, following up the announcement of iOS 5 and Apple's version of BlackBerry Messenger, iMessage, we put the two head to head in a BlackBerry Messenger vs. iMessage comparison (original video reposted above). Our follow up poll clearly showed the community thinks BlackBerry Messenger is the better service, though most agreed that iMessage will take a bit of the wind from BBM's sails. 

Fast forward a few months and today iOS 5 will officially become available for download to regular users, bringing with it iMessage and a host of other changes. Over at our sibling site TiPb, Rene has put together a CrackBerry Kevin-esque iOS 5 Walkthrough that details all the changes, including iMessage and a lot more. We'll have to redo the Head to Head video again next week once iMessage is put to real world use (and when BBM is working again!).

With iOS 5 rolling out today, tt's definitely not the best day for BlackBerry users to be experiencing service issues. But the BlackBerry fanbase is strong (just see our recent BlackBerry Super Fanboy Contest winning videos) and with BlackBerry DevCon coming up next week the RIMPIRE will have it's chance to strike back. I'm really looking forward to that event and what it'll bring to the BlackBerry platform. While we wait for those announcements, I'm going to jump over to TiPb to learn about the competition. Like G.I. Joe I always say knowing is half the battle, so even diehard BlackBerry fans should spend a few minutes learning up on the competition.

Read TiP's iPhone and iPad iOS 5 Walk Through

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