When the iPhones ship in few weeks they will probably be beautifully designed and highly coveted. Apple is famous for cutting clutter and creating simple, elegant devices.

Without intending it, I’ve now owned 4 SmartPhones (all Blackberries) and can’t seem to stay organized without them. Of course, most of the time I’ve saved with the Blackberry has been spent fiddling/procrastinating with the Blackberry. Zero sum.

Here are the questions I’d ask before buying any of these devices.

• Is the design easy and intuitive?
• Does it have feature bloat?
• Is it stable and reliable?
• Does it have good battery life?
• Is the network structure and technology going to be supported for at least 2 more years?
• Why do you need it again? Really?

A few analysts have had their doubts about the iPhone touch screen interface and worry how it will perform if scuffed or scratched. Another potential concern is the 2 year exclusive deal with Cingular, now the New AT&T, which is based on an already outdated GSM/EDGE platform. Everyone is talking about WiMax as the heir apparent standard, but the reality is that you live in America, which has the least innovative wireless networks in the industrialized world. By the time anyone agrees on how to implement 4G networks, you’ll want a new phone anyway.

My concern with Cingular has been the horrendous customer service I received from them, though I’d been an AT&T customer for years and found them to be excellent. Hopefully that has all changed.

My opinions of the Treos, Blackjacks, and all other Windows Mobile devices are based on my friends’ experiences. I don’t know anyone who has been exceedingly happy with them. Windows is my desktop OS of choice, but it’s hardly intuitive and who wants their phone to crash 3 times a day? Those phones are loaded down with so much proprietary crap that they routinely freeze.

I was vehemently against getting my first company issued Blackberry 3 years ago, and ridiculed for the speed at which I became addicted. So much so that when I replaced my personal cell phone, I got a Pearl and absolutely love it. By contrast, my company recently switched from T-Mobile Blackberries to Sprint, and this third work device has been nothing but problems.

The Sprint Blackberry unit is big and clumsy, lacking in ergonomics, and has all of the elegance of a pet rock with about half the utility. It constantly turns itself off or unlocks and dials itself while it’s in my pocket.  Sprint PCS is a “3G” network based on CDMA technology, vs. T-Mobile’s “2.5G” EDGE network, which is an upgrade from GSM/GPRS technology. Theoretically, Sprint’s network should at least half a G better. I don’t understand all the intricacies of EDGE/GSM networks vs. CDMA, but I do know this: every T-Mobile Blackberry has been on a GSM-based network, and I’ve only had to charge it every 4 days, even with frequent calling. The Sprint phone has to be charged daily, or the battery discharges completely. CDMA has a much more powerful broadcast frequency and hence drains the battery much more quickly. So basically, the device is sitting dormant in your pocket, radiating your genitalia until it rings, at which point your ‘nads catch a break while you place the unit against your temple.

All of those weaknesses I mentioned above actually make Sprint the ideal SmartPhone provider for the apathetic corporate employee. It is so bulky and chronically unreliable that if is unlikely to be fully functional for more than 10 hours a week. When we’ve had emergencies at work, I’ve actually shared my personal number, knowing that I’m more reachable there.

But the Pearl is great. I didn’t think I’d like the non-Qwerty keyboard, and I am a lot slower on it. Love the camera, it’s great for snapping candid shots of people doing stupid things and eating weirder things.  I actually shoot most of the photos that appear on this blog with my Pearl.

The Pearl also passes the basic test.  It’s simple, stable, and easy to use. It supports open media standards like MP3 audio, which means a lot of companies aren’t going to be able to charge $2 for a low quality proprietary format ring tone. It also gets great battery life and isn’t loaded with excess features.

L to R: Brick, 6230, Pearl. 7203 RIP, not pictured.