下文来自:http://www.straight.com/article-337702/vancouver/blackberry-iphone-or-android-pros-and-cons-mobile-devices-business
--------------------------------------------------------------
With Research In Motion unveiling
last week its latest flagship smartphone, the BlackBerry Torch 9800, as
well as its new operating system, BlackBerry 6, competition in the
mobile-device market has heated up for consumers and business users
alike.
From a business perspective, BlackBerrys have dominated the corporate
world for the past decade. However, the tides are slowing changing due
to the release of Apple’s iPhone and of course Google’s Android
operating system, which being used by many mobile-device manufacturers.
As a consumer and a business user, one must be thankful that we have the
power of choice. It was not too long ago when Nokia and Motorola
devices ruled the marketplace and smartphones weren’t really that
“smart”.
The question I keep hearing these days is “Which device is best for me?”
In the end it boils down to your business needs. Whether you’re a road
warrior or someone who is at their desk all day, each person has
specific needs when it comes to a mobile device. My own personal
evolution of mobile-device ownership started with a regular cellphone,
went on to a Windows device, then to a BlackBerry, followed by an
Android smartphone, back to a BlackBerry, and most recently ended up
with an iPhone. I am going to summarize the top-three types of
smartphones—BlackBerry, Android, iPhone—in an attempt to assist you with
your purchasing decision.
Android: The new kid on the block
Google’s Android operating system hasn’t been around for that long. It
made its debut on the market on Google-branded hardware, which Google
later retired, deciding to focus on the operating system. You can now
find Google’s Android OS on devices from most of the top hardware
manufacturers. By now you’ve likely seen the Droid commercials, which
I’m sure have contributed to the rise in market share. Android prides
itself on being open source and also boasts an extensive application
store containing thousands of free and paid apps for your phone. 2010
has been the year of the Android thus far, as its smartphones are now
outselling the iPhone and it recently surpassed BlackBerry as the
number-one selling mobile OS.
Pros
Google Apps:
You have seamless integration with your Android smartphone.
Android Market:
Extensive application library rivaling Apple’s application store. Lots of bad applications, but lots of good.
Choice of hardware:
You can find the Android OS on a
variety of phones. No other provider, outside of Research In Motion,
offers such a vast choice of hardware.
Open source:
This creates flexibility and allows
vendors to develop platforms for their specific hardware. This approach
will fast track the evolution of the Android OS and its acceptance
within the market.
ActiveSync:
The Android OS leverages Microsoft
ActiveSync for integration with corporate messaging systems. This is
unlike the BlackBerry, which requires a server and software for full
integration. Android has this out of the box.
Cons
Battery life:
The poor battery life of my Android
device caused me to return it within a month. This comes down to the
hardware but most devices aren’t sufficient for business purposes.
Applications:
Although extensive, there are hundreds of horrible apps that you must sift through to find something decent.
Fragmentation:
Because of its open-source nature, the
platform as a whole feels disconnected. It’s hard to describe unless you
use one for a couple weeks, but the term “fragmented” came to mind on
multiple occasions. Because the Android OS can be found on various
pieces of hardware, your Android experience will differ as you move from
one Android-powered device to another.
iPhone: Sexy, trendy, versatile
Apple’s iPhone
made its debut in 2007 and has since gained a large share of the
smartphone market once dominated by Research In Motion. Apple, from a
brand loyalty standpoint, is one of the strongest in the world and has a
dedicated fan base. Apple has introduced many innovative features in
its smartphones and has redefined the mobile-device landscape, forcing
the competition to evolve and play catch-up in many cases. Apple’s
latest smartphone, the iPhone 4, recently hit
the market, running the latest operating system, iOS 4. Unfortunately,
the device has suffered a lot of bad press, mainly due to the hardware,
but also due to the new OS causing older devices (3G and 3GS) to
experience performance issues.
Pros
Operating system:
Apple’s mobile operating system is
one of the best on the market. It is a little consumer-centric but Apple
has introduced many key features that cannot be found on other devices.
App Store:
The iPhone leverages a vast application
store, which allows you to obtain apps for almost anything you can think
of. The iPhone has a strong developer following, which leads to some
amazing applications.
Web browsing:
Apple takes the cake when it comes to Web
browsing on a mobile device. Safari does a great job of rendering most
Web sites and the large screen definitely helps the experience.
ActiveSync:
Like the Android OS, the iPhone OS also leverages ActiveSync for integration with corporate messaging systems out of the box.
Hardware:
Just take a look at the latest iPhone 4 and
you will be wowed by its slick look and feel. Cosmetically, it looks
great and under the hood it is a powerhouse.
Flexibility:
The iPhone has successfully bridged the gap between your average consumer and your corporate user.
Cons
Battery life:
This is the biggest personal gripe when
it comes to the iPhone. Unfortunately, you cannot remove the battery and
over time it slowly loses its charge. From a business perspective,
battery life is critical, and the iPhone falls way short.
iTunes:
I don’t know many people that enjoy iTunes. I,
for one, find it cumbersome and non-intuitive, and having to rely on
this application to manage my iPhone is a con.
Durability:
Unlike some other mobile devices, the
iPhone is rather fragile. Reading and watching some of the latest iPhone
4 reviews would make me want to purchase a wrist-strap with my phone.
For example, the latest iPhone has chemically treated glass on the front
and back of the device. Drop it from 12 inches up and say hello to
cracks.
Consumer-centric:
The iPhone hit the market as a
consumer device and over time made its way into the corporate
environment. That being said, from the ground up it is designed for the
consumer, whereas the BlackBerry, for example, is designed for the
business user.
BlackBerry: Tried, tested, and true
Research In Motion’s first smartphone hit the market in 2002. Since
then, RIM has focused heavily on e-mail and corporate messaging,
becoming the dominant player in this arena. Only recently have Apple and
other smartphones made strides within the corporate environment,
forcing RIM to evolve and upgrade their offering. Like Apple, RIM
develops its own operating system on top of its own hardware.
Pros
Battery life:
Overall, the BlackBerry provides the most
optimal power consumption for the business user. Weeks of standby time,
hours of talk time, and a removable battery all contribute to the
BlackBerry taking the crown from a battery-performance perspective.
Operating system:
The BlackBerry OS is one of the
strongest platforms on the market. In my opinion, it has the best
contact management, calendaring, and e-mail client of all the devices.
It is built for the business user and has extras for the consumer.
Durability:
BlackBerrys are known for being rugged
devices which can sustain the daily abuse of the workforce. Whether
you’re a road warrior or jumping boardroom to boardroom, BlackBerrys are
reliable devices.
Productivity:
With its renowned mechanical keyboards,
the BlackBerry is perfect for the road warrior. You can pound out
e-mails, SMS messages, and take advantage of multiple keyboard shortcuts
to get the most out of your phone in an efficient manner.
Hardware:
Research In Motion, like Apple, produces
great quality hardware that is also aesthetically pleasing. RIM also
offers freedom of choice, unlike Apple; you can purchase many different
BlackBerrys in different form factors.
Cons
Applications:
RIM followed Apple by releasing its own application store, called BlackBerry App World
.
The lack of applications and cumbersome interface lead to slow
adoption. The latest OS, version 6.0, comes with App World 2.0
integrated within the operating system; it will be interesting to see if
this makes a difference. On average, BlackBerry applications are also
far more expensive compared to the iPhone and Android.
Web browsing:
BlackBerrys, in comparison to the Android
and iPhone platforms, provide the weakest Web browsing experience. This
has been recently addressed with RIM’s latest operating system.
However, they are still playing catch-up in this area.
Business-centric:
The iPhone succeeds in bridging the
gap with the average consumer, whereas the BlackBerry is still deeply
rooted with the corporate community. To me this is an advantage, but
many will see this as a weakness. The BlackBerry started as a corporate
device, while the iPhone started as a consumer device. The iPhone seems
to have had an easier time making its way into the corporate
environment, compared to RIM’s battle of trying to make its way into the
consumer market.
Server software:
To achieve full integration with
corporate messaging systems, one must install BlackBerry Enterprise
Server or BlackBerry Express. This adds another layer of complexity,
management, and cost for a business. Recently, RIM released BESX, a
trimmed down version of BES which eliminates the need to pay for the
server licensing. It also can work with a BlackBerry Internet Service
plan from carriers, eliminating the need for users to pay for expensive
BES plans.
There you have it, an overview of the top-three business-class mobile
devices and platforms. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a
perfect device, which means you will need to weigh the pros and cons
when making your purchasing decision. Who knows? Microsoft may come out
with the perfect device later this year, when it releases Windows Phone
7. On paper and in person, it appears to have serious potential.
Martin DesRosiers is the director of technical services for Fully Managed
, a Vancouver-based technology management services company. You can follow him on Twitter
.
分享到:
相关推荐
* Learn the pros and cons of building native applications sold through operators or app stores versus mobile websites or web apps * Work with flows, prototypes, usability practices, and screen-size-...
Pros and cons of online education
Pros and Cons是一个社交媒体网站,旨在将来自世界各地的人们聚集在一起,以回答有关可想象的任何主题的基于用户的问题。 用户将让其他用户以他们即将做出的决定的利弊来回答他们的问题。 该网站将模仿类似的社交...
Featuring specific evaluation criteria for NoSQL databases, along with a look into the pros and cons of the most popular options, NoSQL For Dummies provides the fastest and easiest way to dive into ...
This book helps you get up to speed on the pros and cons of generic pipeline methodology, and learn to combine shell scripts and Docker to build generic pipelines. In today’s world of micro-...
This book helps you get up to speed on the pros and cons of generic pipeline methodology, and learn to combine shell scripts and Docker to build generic pipelines. In today’s world of micro-...
, In this practical and comprehensive guide, author Martin Kleppmann helps you navigate this diverse landscape by examining the pros and cons of various technologies for processing and storing data....
Discusses the pros and cons of each cloud service model Highlights major design considerations in areas such as security, data privacy, logging, data storage, SLA monitoring, and more Clearly ...
Also provided is an evaluation of the pros and cons of each framework to assist in making a decision or evaluating a framework on your own. Finally, best practices are covered, including ...
This book helps you get up to speed on the pros and cons of generic pipeline methodology, and learn to combine shell scripts and Docker to build generic pipelines. In today’s world of micro-...
Chapter 5discusses commands and events, weighing up the pros and cons of each. Chapter 6examines various options for implementing validation into an application. Chapter 7explores the best side ...
Chapter 5 discusses commands and events, weighing up the pros and cons of each. Chapter 6 examines various options for implementing validation into an application. Chapter 7 explores the best side ...
The book also highlights the pros and cons of each of these machine learning concepts to help you decide which one best suits your needs. By taking a step-by-step approach to coding you will be able ...
It is important to emphasize that the pros and cons of maintaining compatibility with certain older browsers is always changing. If you want to make a good, well informed decision, we recommend you ...
Discusses the pros and cons of relational versus multidimensional design and how to measure return on investment in planning data warehouse projects Covers advanced topics, including data monitoring ...
Pros and cons of sharding 13 Choosing between sharding and redundancy 14 Increasing and decreasing the size of a cluster 15 Combining sharding and replication 17 Various sharding solutions 18 ...
1.Suppose that a data warehouse consists of four dimensions, date, spectator, location, and game, and two ... Please present the pros and cons of using bitmap indexing in this given data warehouse.
Learn when and how to use mock objects, and the pros and cons of isolated vs. integrated tests Test and automate your deployments with a staging server Apply tests to the third-party plugins you ...