Blackberry vs. Palm

I have read a lot of Fred Wilson's blog, and he has gone on and on as to why he loves his Blackberry so much, and that he is so happy to be back to it after years away (I think he was with Palm, and even a brief affair with a SideKick).

I spent years on a Blackberry with Ramsey Beirne and at Time Warner. Since starting my own firm and with everything on a Microsoft Small business Server, I tried to use a Blackberry and it was a disaster. It's not Microsoft friendly and it just seemed to never be able to synch properly. I next tried the Motorola Q and got caught up in that hype. The Q is the worst PDA device I have ever had, period. I don't have enough time to even list everything that makes it so bad. A friend of mine convinced me to try the Palm. I love it! It is very Microsoft friendly, a great interface, and is exactly what I want in a PDA - it makes me feel like I am sitting at my desktop and incorporates all the functionality, when I actually am not at my desktop! I can understand why Roger McNamee and Elevation Partners have taken a stake in Palm. I have been waiting for the right time to buy the stock myself.

The only problem I have found with the Palm is that it will freeze up on me. It happens maybe once a week. I just take the battery out and recharge it. It's a pain, but I don't mind because everything else about it is great.

I recommend Palm over Blackberry, hands down. However, I'd make sure you have a MSFT Small Business Server. My gut says that Blackberry may be a better corporate PDA, and Palm a better PDA for the small business owner.