The debate rages on in the smartphone world as to which is better: iPhone or BlackBerry.
When iPhone was first launched in the market, it seemed as though Apple was going to take over the cellphone market, in a similar way as its product iPod dominated the MP3 player market. But Blackberry, after initial hiccups, continues to stay in the lead and have perfectly held their own against the iPhone.
And as far as the UAE is concerned, it seems the Blackberry has taken over the Apple product, according to leading retailers, selling both the products.
Comparing the two products, Kaushik Dange, Category Head - Mobiles & Telecom, Emax Stores says, initially the iPhone beat the Blackberry last year, but there seems to be a reversal in consumer preference in 2011.
“The iPhone was the most popular and desired phone among the masses for 2010 because of the hype around the release of the iPhone 4, which offered better graphics and an improved operating system. Another factor for iPhone’s popularity was the looming decision of the Government banning all blackberry services in the UAE for security reasons. At that time, iPhone sales shot up.
“But now, according to market trends and [our] sales results, the Blackberry has caught up and has taken over in popularity figures.
The Blackberry is a steal if you compare prices.
It is also very affordable when it comes to Internet packages, and that little device can securely store your entire life – emails, personal information, passwords, dates, meetings, Facebook, twitter and a whole lot more. Some even say that the Blackberry is the last phone you’re ever going to buy – there’s no more switching after that. If you’re looking for a phone that supports applications and graphics then iPhone is your best bet, but if you’re looking for the most popular, affordable and stable phone, then the Blackberry trumps iPhone hands down,” he told Emirates 24|7.
Commenting on the market share of the smartphones, Ashish Panjabi, COO, Jacky's Electronics, says Blackberry takes a bigger chunk of the pie. “Based on our figures from October last year-to-date, it shows that iPhone has 30 per cent share and Blackberry has 44 per cent share in the smartphone category. Prior to October, we had the Blackberry ban issue and official iPhone launch was only in September. October onwards has been a more apple-to-apple comparison," he said.
At the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference: if you want a fun device that lets you play games and offers quirky applications then the iPhone is for you. If, however, you want a phone that works as a phone then the Blackberry is second to none, especially for messaging and email.
“If the user likes applications and surfing the Internet, iPhone will be better, [but if he] wants to [use] messenger and deals [with] a lot with emails, he will go for Blackberry, so at the end it depends on the user,” commented the customer service of du.
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