Head to head: Blackberry Bold vs iPhone

[UPDATE: See our First Look review of the Blackberry Bold here] Apple sold a lot of iPhones in its last financial quarter. 1,703,000, according to the company's last filed report, but the real test will be how it stacks up to other cutting edge smartphones like Blackberry's new Bold. The Bold sees Blackberry finally make the leap into 3.5G territory, and it's got other tricks up its sleeve like a big screen, WiFi, an improved Web browser (with zooming functions), though no touchscreen.

At the same time, a 3G iPhone is lurking around the corner. Apple has stated that it wants to attack the enterprise market that is RIM's bread and butter. It's widely tipped that the iPhone will be announced (and possibly made available) in Australia in June, right about when the Blackberry Bold is expected to make its Australian debut.

So which is the better phone?

Feature	iPhone 2G	Blackberry Bold	Our Winner
Physical Dimensions	115x61x11.6mm, 135gm	114x66x14mm, 133gm	Tied; both will slip into a pocket in basically the same way.
Display Screen	3.5" 480x320	480x320, Exact screen size not available at time of going to press. Some online reports indicate roughly 2.36" (W) x 1.52" (H), in line with other BlackBerry models.	iPhone; they share the same resolution, but the iPhone's larger display screen gives it more data presentation capability.
Email	Yes, via integrated client	Yes, via BlackBerry Mail client	BlackBerry. If there's one thing that RIM does better than anybody else, it's email.
Web	Yes, via Safari	Yes, via integrated Web/Mobile browser	iPhone. Safari is a richer and more capable client, and it's much easier to use via the iPhone's touch screen, although the Bold does offer an improved Web browser to previous models.
Multimedia	Music, Video, 2.0 Megapixel camera	Music, Video, 2.0 Megapixel camera, GPS	iPhone by a nose; GPS is useful on the BlackBerry (as is proper A2DP Bluetooth stereo), but iTunes makes sychronising stupidly easy.
Keyboard	Virtual	Physical	BlackBerry. It's possible to get used to the iPhone's touchpad, but BlackBerry users can really fly with RIM's usually excellent keyboards
Connectivity	Quad-band GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)	Quad-band GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) and UMTS (850/1900/2100 MHz)	BlackBerry.
Modem-capable?	Yes, with hacking on jailbroken models	Yes, as a tethered, Windows-only modem	BlackBerry
Storage	8GB or 16GB	1GB onboard, micro SD capable	iPhone

The result? A surprising tie at four a piece. Taking it to the judges, however, we'd have to tip the Blackberry Bold as the better buy right now, especially for enterprises. The full integration of 3G -- something that RIM has struggled with in the past -- opens up a lot of possibilities for data that the 2G iPhone will struggle with. That could all change once we know what the 3G iPhone is capable of.

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