The new Blackberry Enterprise Solution has launched and it will support multiple platforms. Those multiple platforms include Android and iOS devices.

According to Schiller over at Apple, the white iPhone is no thicker. He says it has a different sensor and camera, but is no thicker. The pics I have seen clearly show the white iPhone to be thicker.

According to the latest survey from Nielsen that looked at the smartphone market, the iPhone and Android devices are tied for most desirable. The iPhone and Blackberry devices are in a statistical tie for OS share as well.

According to a new report from StatCounter Blackberry users are consuming more data than iPhone and Android users. That blows a hole in some of the reasoning for AT&T’s network woes.

As a person, I like to think that I am open minded although very loyal when I find something that works (this contradicts to history with boys, more that I seem to have more luck finding a reliable phone than a person). I’m extremely active and one that tends to look after technological equipment, although if it cannot handle a random bump on the head, then it is just not tough enough for me. Without this sounding like an online dating profile, I would like to hear from users of iPhones whether I should jump the mobile phone ship. Realise this will be a tough battle to win.

Comments along the lines of “cause they are cool”, “just because” or “you’ll look cool” won’t count. What will be appreciated is an analytical response to the needs of me, a consumer and the functionality of the device. If there was a reason why I didn’t get an iPhone last year, convince me that the problem is no longer an issue. My needs are listed below as well as current considerations for why I haven’t gotten an iPhone already. The best comment will receive imaginary warm fuzzy feelings. Main hurdle is still having the idea in my head that in buying something, the more features it has on it, the more things that could break.

I use the phone for the following, all (but the last) are default options on the BlackBerry:

• Old school operations – making phone calls, sending SMS (Daily)
• Sending and receiving email (Daily)
• Instant chat (although this only recently, all I needed was another distraction)
• Taking occasional photos (Note: Professional photographer by trade, refuse to buy a phone ‘for’ the camera, it’s a nice to have)
• Calendar (Weekly)
• Note / Reminders (Daily)
• Maps / Directions (4 – 5 times a week)
• Calculator (Rare)
• Internet (Rare)
• Needed to download: MySpace and Facebook

I did not buy an iPhone last time because:

• No MMS
• Was easier to continue with a phone with buttons rather than touchscreen (previous phone to the BlackBerry was the flip Nokia model that takes over the World in Die Hard 4)
• A touchscreen and being a girl (i.e. having nails) didn’t work
• I have too many keys in my handbag
• I was worried about scratching it
• I was having trouble taking people seriously with some of the Apps they were downloading
• It didn’t fit in my back pocket
• Was more cost effective to get the BlackBerry (I’m a business customer, not a personal shopper, thus great deals and 12 month contracts)
• I was able to crack the screen of my BlackBerry with a nail polish bottle (how girlie is that) – can an iPhone withstand an enemy attack from beauty products?

Other factors and areas that no amount of convincing will effect:

• I have the Internet at home, so do not use the phone to ‘surf’, having the option is nice, although used rarely
• I do not use the phone for music, mainly as collections see tracks about 85MB each and an hour long
• Photography is done via my SLR Digital Camera and is not a factor for phone purchases

So, with all the modifications to the iPhone over the past 2 years, can it now rid me of the reasons why I didn’t buy one 12 months ago? Will I just need to buy a phone sock and bigger pants? Tell me, for reasons other than the ‘idea’ of an iPhone, when you break it down into the real facts of a phone – is the iPhone the model for me?

Please note: If you would like to comment, please be nice and constructive.

The goal of all these developments as stated by Bill McDermott president of Global Field Operations for SAP, is to help companies make their workforce more productive while away from the office. McDermott said that “the big breakthrough here is that we are offering this solution out-of-the-box.” Apple has also made it easy to purchase and download applications through its App Store.

SAP and Sybase will be working together to bring one of the biggest business services worldwide to the iPhone. Thus extending their brand coverage past BlackBerry and devices running Windows Mobile. Providing such services on mobile devices to access corporate applications will mean the office will always be with you.

[via CNET]

In a study done by SquareTrade, out of 15,000 iPhone handsets, only 5.6 percent failed in the first year of use. Blackberry handsets failed 11.9 percent within the first year.  Palm came in third with 16.2 percent failing in a 12-month period. Battery failure was also a lot better in the iPhone than in Blackberry and Palm handsets.

A third of the cause for failure came back to the touch screen.  Another issue reported was the shape of the actual device, even though it is pretty thin, the phone seems a little wide causing people to drop it. “One year in, the data suggests that Apple’s first foray into the cell phone handset market has not been plagued by hardware problems, as some early reports suggested,” concluded the study. “Aside from exhibiting a relatively high rate of touchscreen failures, iPhones have not had significantly high malfunction rates in any of the areas we identified.”

[Via SquareTrade]

“A decision on a piece of hardware like that would potentially be deployed, conservatively, to 200,000 people.  You know, it’s a big decision, especially when you have an existing fleet out there.  But it’s definitely something we are considering from a HSBC Group perspective.  We always explore the potential application of new technologies and this is no different” Brenton Hush, CIO, HSBC Australia and New Zealand

Nonetheless, it is relatively unusual for a company to so publicly confirm that it is looking at a specific product.  RIM, manufacturer of the BlackBerry that is the current handset of choice for HSBC, will no doubt be looking to make their case for its continued custom; in fact, it’s not too much of a stretch that making an announcement like this could be a strong bargaining tool for the bank.

Analysts suggested that the iPhone 3G – or, more importantly, the most recent major firmware upgrade, that adds Enterprise functionality such as Microsoft Exchange support – would be more tempting to corporate clients than the original handset.  HSBC is the first such company to suggest it could shift its mobile focus to Apple.

A new feature was unlocked for the iPhone this week, the ability to record videos. DreamCatcher has brought their recording application to the iPhone. The feature is much sought after in iPhone circles. DreamCatcher is not bringing this service to the iPhone for nothing though, and is going to be charging $20 for the application.

iPhone developers were treated to a pleasant surprise, when the iPhone SDK beta 4 was released earlier in the week. The new SDK brings OpenGL ES functionality to the included iPhone emulator, which was a much requested improvement asked of Apple by the developers. Apple also took the opportunity to release a new build of the 2.0 firmware beta, called build 5A258f.

This week we also found out that not only can can images be saved from Safari with the new firmware, but so can images sent through email. The feature was discovered right here on iPhone Buzz by Vincent. It works in much the same way as saving images from safari, you hold your finger over an image in the email for a moment, and then you are presented with an option to save the image.

Finally, after much speculation it turned out that the supposed black 3G iPhone photo well-circulated during the past few weeks is, in fact, simply a case for the current handset.  Still, apparent confirmation (as if anything is ever confirmed until Steve Jobs announces it to be the case!) of the upcoming device having 3G, GPS and more should make up for any photograph disappointment.

The logic behind this is very clear. If they launch at different times, neither can shadow the launch of the other or cannibalize the sales of the other device. All signs point to a June release of the iPhone. It is possible, that AT&T threw it’s weight around and said the BlackBerry can wait. AT&T would not discuss the matter, saying they do not comment on rumors and speculation. It is more likely though, that RIM or AT&T have a totally normal delay from a common problem, after all, delays in the mobile industry are quite common.

The news is unfortunate for RIM, as demand is increasing more and more for 3G enabled devices. The iPhone was practically hung upside down and lit on fire by critics for not having this, and RIM seems to not be catching on to it all too quick either. The news is good for Apple no doubt, as less competition on AT&T can only lead to more sales.

Editor’s note: At the end of the day, AT&T is  the winner.

[Via Fortune]

Just as in Safari, it is very simple to save and store images from an email attachment to your iPhone. You hold your finger over the image for a few seconds, and a menu will come up and offer you some options for saving the image. The image is saved in your camera roll. More and more, the iPhone 2.0 firmware is appearing to make the iPhone a very formidable opponent to Windows Mobile and BlackBerry devices.

Once again, iPhone Buzz has gotten you the story on the new iPhone firmware 2.0 to you first. If you want to be the first to know when a new feature drops, keep checking back. You will know when we do.

As you can see they have plated the iPhone, and slapped some good old Courvoisier branding on the back. They spared nothing, as the front has some plating on it as well. Other devices to get hit with the branding include an iPod, and an 8800 series BlackBerry.

I know the burning question. “How can I get one?” You are in luck, as they are hitting eBay on May 19th. They did not mention a price, maybe a if you ask you can’t afford it deal? Either way, it is safe to expect a very generous price tag for this bad boy.

[Via Gizmodo]

RIM – which has recently revealed healthy 2007 performance figures – has been successful primarily due to the “simply inept” offerings of rivals, primarily using the Windows Mobile OS.  Wolf suggests Microsoft’s smartphone software is unnecessarily difficult and off-putting to home users.  Palm, meanwhile, is hampered by the absence of a strong OS or of a well-performing device, with Wolf describing the Centro – one million of which have been sold – as a “cushion” to soften the blow until Palm’s new range emerges, a range the company has already admitted will be delayed until the Summer.

And the argument for the iPhone will only get stronger once Firmware 2.0 is released in June; then, Wolf highlights, the enterprise functionality and security RIM has so-far led with will be available on the far more appealing Apple handset, at which point not only the whims of home users will affect the BlackBerry bottom line.

[via Electronista]

Hit the cut for details on how the iPhone trumps the Blackberry.

Consumer Reports gave the iPhone an overall 64, with the Blackberry Curve stooping behind at a respectable 61. Notable features that are better on the iPhone are 8.25 hours of talk time versus the Blackberry Curve’s 6.25 hour talk time, ease of syncing, and best choice for media. The Blackberry Curve did beat the iPhone solely in having real time push email, but Consumer Reports also marked the iPhone a win over the Blackberry Curve because of the iPhone’s easier and stronger email client. The iPhone wins again this round, what else can the iPhone stoop up to?

[Via Electronista]

Apparently the decision was made by top execs at AT&T who basically told RIM, the people behind the BlackBerry, that if they didn’t lock down the handset’s GPS the carrier would no longer buy devices from them.  Understandably, RIM are meant to be livid.

The 8820 – complete with full QWERTY keyboard, RIM’s admired push-email, GPS, WiFi and more – is set to launch on AT&T’s network in mid-September, at which point the navigation capabilities will only work with the TeleNav service.  This will mark a significant difference to the handsets on other networks, for instance T-Mobile, where the 8820 will have far more choice when it comes to sat-nav software.

It’s uncertain who pressed for the decision, AT&T or Apple, but I’m tempted to believe it was more the former.  Apple seem determined to let the iPhone stand as it is against competing devices, winning its market share on its own value; anyway, if they really wanted to make the iPhone truly competitive in the Enterprise setting they’d be better to release Exchange compatibility rather than attempt to cripple another firm’s handset.  Proper push email and Exchange calendar/contacts synchronisation are undoubtedly the major factor holding back iPhone adoption in business settings.

If anything, this just seems likely to push potential BlackBerry customers away from AT&T and into the welcoming arms of T-Mobile.