Up until recently, and for years, I was a lawyer addicted to his BlackBerry. My BlackBerry always was on my hip, ready for immediate use. I became so proficient that I literally could type as fast with two thumbs on the device as I could with all of my fingers on my desktop keyboard at work. But other attorneys kept whispering in my ear, “Try the iPhone — once you do, you will never go back to the BlackBerry.”
So, over the New Year holiday, I tried my daughter’s iPhone. I must say, I was most intrigued by Siri and the voice-recognition feature, not to mention the much larger screen.
I nevertheless did procrastinate — change is hard. Ultimately, a couple months later, I ordered the most current version of the iPhone, and with 64 gigs of memory to boot. But, at least for a couple weeks, the iPhone stayed in its box and I kept on using my BlackBerry. I had a mortal fear that I would not handle the iPhone well (especially the touchscreen typing) and that my work would grind to a halt. Thus, I kept reading and learning about the iPhone without actually taking the plunge.
Finally, on a trip to the Big Apple a month ago, I freed the iPhone from its box. I dove into the device like a madman, trying to master its functions while downloading and using many apps. I overlapped with the BlackBerry for a couple weeks — just in case.
Ultimately, I was confident enough to part ways with my BlackBerry, though I did suffer some withdrawal. I still miss the tactile keys for typing on the BlackBerry, as well as the little red light that indicates that messages are waiting for retrieval. The BlackBerry’s battery life also is remarkably good.
However, for me at least, the iPhone wins when it comes to everything else. The larger screen size really does afford better viewing of all sorts of content. I really do use Siri and voice-recognition with ease and speed (the latter helps because I still am not too fast at typing on the touchscreen). The camera and video functions certainly are more than adequate. And the wide array of apps for the iPhone is fantastic.
My favorites include Flipboard; CNN and NPR for news; Downcast for podcasts; Pandora for music; Audible for audiobooks; Flashlight; AroundMe for restaurants, gas stations, hotels, movie theaters and other nearby attractions; Google Maps; Google Translate for foreign languages; Fastcase for legal research; and ESPN’s ScoreCenter. I have downloaded, and use, dozens of other apps too.
Also, my iPhone really syncs with my car via Bluetooth; while that was supposed to be true for my Blackberry, it was not the case. I appreciate very much being able to speak hands-free on the phone in the car. And I can get Pandora going in my car via my iPhone, whereas that did not work with my BlackBerry.
All in all, I now am an iPhone junkie. However, once in a while I still do jones for the BlackBerry keyboard.
Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris LLP, where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology and intellectual property disputes. You can read his professional biography here. To receive a weekly email link to Mr. Sinrod’s columns, please email him at ejsinrod@duanemorris.com with Subscribe in the Subject line. This column is prepared and published for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s law firm or its individual partners.