iPhone vs BlackBerry: What the users love...

The BlackBerry and the iPhone must be two of the most talked about devices in the history of mobile. But what do the people who know them best really think about them?

A survey of more than 800 US smart phone users has shed light on the most loved and least liked functions of the two phones - and shown up key fronts on which the competition between the two might play out.

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While the BlackBerry has traditionally focused on the enterprise market and the iPhone was initially marketed as a consumer device - analyst Gartner recently dubbed the latter 'ready for business', following moves by Apple to license Microsoft's ActiveSync protocol which will enable iPhone users to get corporate push email.

Unsurprisingly - considering popular anecdotes of so-called 'CrackBerry' users checking email at inappropriate moments - the runaway winner for the title of 'most loved BlackBerry feature' is its access to email. This was cited by more than half (56 per cent) of owners surveyed - and probably reflects the gadget's enterprise-dominated user-base.

ChangeWave Research, which conducted the poll, quotes a BlackBerry user saying: "I like the seamless way my BlackBerry works with corporate email and the way you can call a number from within an email by highlighting it."

The next most-loved facet - but no way near as popular; chosen by just seven per cent of users - is its size. Meanwhile, five per cent said they are in love with the BlackBerry keypad. And the same percentage has apparently been wooed by its internet access. Four per cent simply cited 'ease of use' is its best feature.

By contrast, Apple iPhone users' lust for their gadget is more wide-ranging - with the largest proportion enthusing about its ability to combine several different functions. More than a third (36 per cent) said its best feature is its integration of phone, iPod and web browser. While a substantial chunk (27 per cent) confess to being dead impressed by the touchscreen. And 16 per cent have been wooed by its 'ease of use' - aka the Apple 'it just works' philosophy.

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