Sorry Apple iPhone, You're No BlackBerry

pushing 1 million units on the Apple iPhone-hungry masses 3G smartphone

And regardless of what the folks at Crowd Science found through their survey -- which indicated BlackBerry users will ditch their CrackBerrys for iPhones in droves -- the iPhone won't replace Research In Motion's BlackBerry, which has become synonymous with business mobility. They're affectionately called CrackBerrys for a reason, right?

Let's be clear: Apple's iPhone and the new iPhone 3G S are killer smartphones. They are slick, they are cool and they pack a lot of punch. Plus, pulling out your iPhone in a crowded coffee shop or bar is pretty much a wink and a nod acknowledging that you are part of an elite group of insiders who "get it."

But, to me, the iPhone is more about fashion than function. It's a toy, not a tool. Yes, you can get e-mail and send messages, you can make and receive calls, you can snap photos and now record video all from your device. But you can do all of that with a BlackBerry, too. And the BlackBerry has more than a decade of smartphone innovation under its belt compared to the iPhone's measly three generations.

Again, don't get me wrong, I like the iPhone. I just don't see it sinking the BlackBerry at the rate Crowd Science anticipates. Crowd Science said four out of 10, or 40 percent, of BlackBerry users will leave BlackBerry behind for an Apple iPhone.

As of the first quarter of 2009, research firm Gartner said BlackBerry had just less than 20 percent of worldwide smartphone market share, while the iPhone was just shy of 11 percent. That's a decent showing for a device that at that point had been on the market for less than two years, but is the release of the iPhone 3G S enough for the Apple iPhone to gain nearly 10 percentage points on BlackBerry? In North America, Gartner said RIM held 55.5 percent market share of smartphone sales in the first quarter.

RIM has cornered the market for business users, letting enterprises manage their devices through BlackBerry Enterprise Server and other solutions. The BlackBerry also boasts built-in security that can protect devices from anything the world may throw their way.

Granted, Crowd Science's survey found that only 3 percent of smartphone users are using their devices just for business, while 71 percent use smartphones for work and play.

Business aside, RIM has also made great strides to shake the BlackBerry's suit-and-tie stigma, adding in features like cameras, video recording, music players and a host of other multimedia functions that blur the line between professional and consumer smartphones.

And while Apple and its iPhone always get the nod for innovation, its device refreshes haven't been anything to write home about. The second-generation iPhone, the iPhone 3G, didn't deviate much from its first-generation predecessor, except for the addition of 3G connectivity. And the iPhone 3G S doesn't make too many changes to what current iPhone 3G users already get, except for video, a compass and a few additional bells and whistles. The majority of new features are available to current iPhone users through iPhone OS 3.0.

RIM, on the other hand, drops several new devices per year and already has a bunch in the pipeline for the rest of 2009, including the BlackBerry Tour, the BlackBerry Gemini, the BlackBerry Niagara and the follow-up to the BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry's first-ever touch-screen smartphone, with the BlackBerry Storm 2.

It's easy to get excited about a new iPhone when the hardware refresh comes but once a year. It's equally as easy to lose sight of the continued innovation that comes out of RIM's Waterloo, Ontario, headquarters when it rolls out devices at a pace that rivals Tyler Perry and his movie releases.

It's also easy to see how Crowd Science's survey results could be skewed in the iPhone's favor, taking advantage of the hype surrounding iPhone and its newest release.

Crowd Science polled a random sample of Web users 14 and older from Web sites that span various topics and serve more than 20 million unique visitors. Essentially, it was a pop-up survey when a user visited a certain site. The survey was conducted from May 19 to June 8, when speculation of the new iPhone was at its peak. Coincidentally, the survey ended the day Apple unveiled the iPhone 3G S at its World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). Of course people are going to have iPhone on the brain and feel a little iPhone envy -- even RIM BlackBerry users -- when blindsided with an iPhone-focused survey at the height of iPhone media hype.

So, yes, the iPhone is cool. And there is no doubt that a certain number of smartphone buyers will opt for an iPhone 3G S over a BlackBerry. But I don't think there will be a mass BlackBerry exodus that will cause the BlackBerry to fade. The BlackBerry has staying power and so far the iPhone hasn't really proven itself as much more than a fad.