The one thing students and business professionals alike will never leave their
homes without is a cell phone. Whether they are checking the latest change in the stock
market or checking a friend’s latest status update, constant connection is vital in today’s
society. Which phone is best for today’s real-time, fast paced society?
Released in June, 2010, the iPhone 4 is Apple’s latest cell phone innovation. A fifth
generation of the phone is rumored to be slated for release later this year.
Blackberry’s Torch was unveiled in August, 2010. A new model of the Storm is also
rumored to be waiting for release.
Technologically, the iPhone and the Torch are similar, both sporting a five
megapixel camera, Internet access and music playback capabilities. On the inside, things
start to change.
The iPhone 4 has a longer battery life, allowing for up to seven hours of talk time, 40
hours of audio playback, and 10 hours of video streaming. The standard version can hold
up to sixteen gigabytes of memory. The Torch offers up to 5.8 hours of talk time, 30 hours
of audio, and six hours of video. Its memory can hold up to eight gigabytes.
Each phone has its own distinctive feature. The iPhone 4 has made video chatting
on a mobile phone possible. FaceTime allows users to see whom they are talking to. For
business purposes, this allows executives to attend board meetings or presentations while
they are traveling.
BlackBerry has brought the world of instant messaging to its phone. BlackBerry
Messenger is a feature that delivers messages from mobile to mobile much faster than text
messaging.
Optimal efficiency is desired by businesses; fast phones can maximize this efficiency.
The iPhone was able to receive and download a twenty-second video faster than the
BlackBerry. However, the BlackBerry uploaded a picture message faster.
Since the iPhone is an Apple product, it functions much like a Mac computer. Senior
communications and psychology double major Darcy McCarthy said, “it’s like my mini
computer, some days I don’t even need my laptop.”
The iPhone’s App Store offers the largest collection of mobile apps.
“I know there are a lot of apps that can make it more convenient to keep up with
news, the stock market, and read PDF files or other documents that would be important for
business,” said freshman economics major Alejandro Perez-Segura.
Ben Loweree, a freshman business major, stands by his BlackBerry saying the
iPhone’s touch keyboard is not as easy to use as the physical buttons of his BlackBerry.
“I actually wrote one of my college essays on it while in the car,” he said.
Technology is ever changing and new developments occur every day. Whether you
consider the BlackBerry Torch the better phone, or the iPhone 4, an even more enhanced
phone could be on the market tomorrow.