[Geektechlive]

ok, need some thoughts here.... I have been a blackberry user for a long time now ( 10 years) and I have been carrying my Ipod around with me for a few years. A few people at work have the new 3g IPhone and one of them passed it to me and told me to try it out... I was reluctant but after playing around with it I kinda like it.
soooo, I did some research and it seems the IPhone is also compatible with my 08 e92. bluetooth and all and it also looks liek bmw is making steps to make them even more integrated in future models.
sigh,

so I am asking all you crackberry and IPhone users to chime in and tell me if there are any pros or cons with the IPhone and BMW? It woudl cut down what I have to carry with me ( 1 device ) seems to have better coverage than my Tmobile crackberry, etc... I am kinda on the fence on the idea but if bimmer is gonna make the Iphone a better pick to use in my car and I am in my car alot then I may need to switch.

thoughts?

[PaulBailey@ltbmw]

i'm not a fan of either but i would say iPhone is more fun.
Blackberry is more tech.

[mrad01]

Originally Posted by xanaduguy

ok, need some thoughts here.... I have been a blackberry user for a long time now ( 10 years) and I have been carrying my Ipod around with me for a few years. A few people at work have the new 3g IPhone and one of them passed it to me and told me to try it out... I was reluctant but after playing around with it I kinda like it.
soooo, I did some research and it seems the IPhone is also compatible with my 08 e92. bluetooth and all and it also looks liek bmw is making steps to make them even more integrated in future models.
sigh,

so I am asking all you crackberry and IPhone users to chime in and tell me if there are any pros or cons with the IPhone and BMW? It woudl cut down what I have to carry with me ( 1 device ) seems to have better coverage than my Tmobile crackberry, etc... I am kinda on the fence on the idea but if bimmer is gonna make the Iphone a better pick to use in my car and I am in my car alot then I may need to switch.

thoughts?

I own a company which have Window Mobiles, Blackberrys and now iPhones. After talking to users and going through how each does email, browsing, calls, txt etc - we are all switching to iPhones. Hands down the best product for us. We have a web based management console for our tech team - and the iPhone displays this perfectly and makes it easy for our team to use. Great device.

The iPhone 3G connects fine with the BMW Bluetooth - although some users have complained about echo issues. This was fixed by setting the device up properly (like, having the volume up on the phone or something similar). I have full funtionality - including the BMW voice-assisted dialing which lets you store names and phone numbers in the car. You press the voice button on the steering wheel and say "Call Tony" and it does. This works with all bluetooth phones, but I just wanted to confirm with you that the iPhone works too.

I love having my iPod and phone in one device - I used to carry a Palm, phone and iPod....life is better now!

[Geektechlive]

this is all good stuff and this is what I am trying to find out to make my decision better... the reason I went with bb originally was it just hands down did email waaaay better than anything else.. now with windows mobile and iphone etc... the playing field seems a bit more level.

I may have to do some more research and find out what pros and cons are between the iphone and the blackberry..

btw.. the curve does allow voice dialing but I need to set up all the numbers manually in the onboard adressbook to make that work.. does your iphone just read the voice dialing right off the phone?

[mid-corner fun]

btw.. the curve does allow voice dialing but I need to set up all the numbers manually in the onboard adressbook to make that work.. does your iphone just read the voice dialing right off the phone?

You don't need to do that, I have 200+ contacts on my Curve and all I have to do to voice dial is say "Call X home" or Call X mobile". I didn't setup anything on the BMW addressbook.

[Digital.James]

I love my iPhone 3G. While it has its kinks and isnt as email friendly as a blackberry, it appeals to me a lot more. It's just fun to own. The apps really do it for me, and more just keep coming out.

[Geektechlive]

Originally Posted by PeterM1

You don't need to do that, I have 200+ contacts on my Curve and all I have to do to voice dial is say "Call X home" or Call X mobile". I didn't setup anything on the BMW addressbook.

Ok so spill.... How do you do this? If I press the voice call button on the steering wheel and say a name it doesn't read the address book. I can only say dial number.
Fyi... Does it matter that I don't have Idrive?

[mrad01]

Originally Posted by Digital.James

I love my iPhone 3G. While it has its kinks and isnt as email friendly as a blackberry, it appeals to me a lot more. It's just fun to own. The apps really do it for me, and more just keep coming out.

With the iPhone connected to an Exchange or Kerio server with push - the blackberry email advantage is gone...

iPhone on a POP3 account - sux

[kaigoss69]

Originally Posted by xanaduguy

Ok so spill.... How do you do this? If I press the voice call button on the steering wheel and say a name it doesn't read the address book. I can only say dial number.
Fyi... Does it matter that I don't have Idrive?

Same here, interested to hear how this works.

[mid-corner fun]

Originally Posted by xanaduguy

Ok so spill.... How do you do this? If I press the voice call button on the steering wheel and say a name it doesn't read the address book. I can only say dial number.
Fyi... Does it matter that I don't have Idrive?

One time setup - only if you don't want to sync all contacts between BB & BMW:
1. Mark the contacts on your BB that should be accessible on your BMW by setting them to a specific category. This is easily done in Outlook Contacts in view mode, just set all of them to a specific category, I call mine bmw.

2. Go to the car's bluetooth menu and there's a line item for category name sync, enter the same category name there (bmw).

3. When the BB is connected to the car via bluetooth it'll do an initial transfer for a few mins, later on it'll do incremental syncs only. There's also a force transfer option to speed up the initial sync but I don't remember where it is (probably bluetooth menu on phone or in car).

That's it. At this point you should be able to browse all the BB contacts via iDrive. You'll notice that iDrive breaks down each record to separate numbers, so if you have a John Doe contact on your BB, iDrive shows:
John Doe -home
John Doe -mobile
John Doe -work

Press the voice button on the steering wheel, wait for the beep and say
"Call John Doe mobile"

Don't say "Dial name", use "Call" instead. That's it. I use it every day, very useful feature!

[Geektechlive]

Originally Posted by PeterM1

One time setup - only if you don't want to sync all contacts between BB & BMW:
1. Mark the contacts on your BB that should be accessible on your BMW by setting them to a specific category. This is easily done in Outlook Contacts in view mode, just set all of them to a specific category, I call mine bmw.

2. Go to the car's bluetooth menu and there's a line item for category name sync, enter the same category name there (bmw).

3. When the BB is connected to the car via bluetooth it'll do an initial transfer for a few mins, later on it'll do incremental syncs only. There's also a force transfer option to speed up the initial sync but I don't remember where it is (probably bluetooth menu on phone or in car).

That's it. At this point you should be able to browse all the BB contacts via iDrive. You'll notice that iDrive breaks down each record to separate numbers, so if you have a John Doe contact on your BB, iDrive shows:
John Doe -home
John Doe -mobile
John Doe -work

Press the voice button on the steering wheel, wait for the beep and say
"Call John Doe mobile"

Don't say "Dial name", use "Call" instead. That's it. I use it every day, very useful feature!

does this work with non-idrive? cuz i dont have I drive.

[AJ M2 comp]

I have both and I hate my blackberry

[Gig103]

The web browser is far superior on the IPhone, but if you send a lot of e-mail from your phone I'd stick with something that has a physical keyboard. I do alright with the IPhone, but it still doesn't compare to the BB in that regard.

[onth]

BB and Ipod are the perfect match for me.

[BeeEmDubU]

iPhone for fun, BB for work

[SteveMondragon]

Originally Posted by AJ 335TT

I have both and I hate my blackberry

I also have both and I hate my iPhone. I use my Blackberry for work (and more usage total with calls and texting) and my iPhone is just a 'spare' with my prepaid T-mobile line that I use every now & then. The iPhone, no matter how often I use it, it really sucks when typing anything and takes a lot longer to type any sentences.

IMO, the only thing the iPhone has going for it is the web browser (and only when connected to a WiFi). Otherwise, typing, ease of use, durability, and some basic functions that I use on a daily basis, the Blackberry is a much better phone.

With that said, I'm probably going to give my unlocked iPhone away to a friend now and pick up another Blackberry

[choopy]

only thing that sucks is that while you are in your car, listening to the Ipod on your Iphone, its annoying because in order to read your text you have to unplug it and go through al that bs..ex. reach into glove compartment, unplug, avoid traffic, check text, replug and load the auxillary..its annoying, im glad i have an ipod nano that i use in my car as a "permanent resident"

[jeveryday]

Blackberry Bold FTW

[mid-corner fun]

Originally Posted by BeeEmDubU

iPhone for fun, BB for work

+1

[tintivilus]

Originally Posted by PeterM1

You don't need to do that, I have 200+ contacts on my Curve and all I have to do to voice dial is say "Call X home" or Call X mobile". I didn't setup anything on the BMW addressbook.

Originally Posted by xanaduguy

Ok so spill.... How do you do this? If I press the voice call button on the steering wheel and say a name it doesn't read the address book. I can only say dial number.
Fyi... Does it matter that I don't have Idrive?

Sigh. In US-Spec cars, iDrive and non-iDrive have completely different voice dial setups, neither of which depends on your phone.

Executive summary is that with iDrive you don't need to set up your car's phonebook with voice names. Without it, you do.

[freshwhite335]

i have a curve and love it. i bought an iphone and got rid of it the same day. you cant type by feel when ur driving and the 2g iphone i had didnt even connect to the bleutooth in my car let alone transfer all of my contacts [all 1500 of them!] i also love blackberry messenger. my sister got rid of a pearl for an iphone and had she not dropped her pearl in water she says she'd want her blackberry back. just my $.02

[mid-corner fun]

Originally Posted by tintivilus

Sigh. In US-Spec cars, iDrive and non-iDrive have completely different voice dial setups, neither of which depends on your phone.

Executive summary is that with iDrive you don't need to set up your car's phonebook with voice names. Without it, you do.

bummer....it's a shame as the iDrive addressbook functionality is awesome, voice dial of any addressbook contacts without any setup.