When it comes to smartphones, traditional thinking is that Blackberries are for business, while iPhoned are targeted at creatives and the consumer market. In the past, I could accept that, and to a large extent even now, this still holds true. 

But I’m not a traditional thinker. With the upcoming release of Blackberry OS 6, now—more than ever—is a great time to buy a Blackberry. 

I’ve been looking to get a new phone for sometime now and I’ve had some persuasion from both sides of the aisle. I currently use an iPhone 3G and I’ve had it for almost two years now. Unfortunately, Apple has confirmed that they will be not supporting the 3G model with iPhone OS 4’s app multitasking.

I think everyone can agree that the iPhone is the superior music player and gaming device, however, RIM’s new media browser is visually similar and I don’t use my phone for games.

Here is my comparison of features that I use on a regular basis:

iPhone 3G argument:

1) Integration with other Apple products. I can plug my iPhone into my Macbook USB and everything just works! iCal syncs perfect, iTunes loads playlists and my Address Book is also synchronized.

2) Wide variety of third party apps such as ESPN ScoreCenter, FlickIt Pro, Ego, and Shovel.

3) Way better browser. Mobile Safari kills the Blackberry browser in every aspect.

3) Better at multimedia, video and games.

Blackberry argument:

1) No BBM on iPhone. Everyone I know uses it. Of the 40 business school presidents, only 38 have Blackberries and 2 (including myself) have iPhones!

2) Solid selection on apps and expanding everyday as RIM creates a more “iPhone-like” UI and experience.

3) Better communication tool. Blackberry owns email. They’re also better at phone calls, text messaging and, of course, BBM. This is ultimately why I have a smartphone device!

4) With Blackberry OS 6, a new, totally redesigned browser built on WebKit is expected.

5) Models such as Bold 9700 include a better camera than iPhone 3G, include Wifi, Bluetooth and 3G.

6) No iPhone OS 4 support for iPhone 3G.

So it looks like I’ll be buying a new Blackberry shortly. The question is— should I wait until Blackberry OS 6 (or later) for the possibility of a new hardware release?

Comments and opinions welcome!