Contests

Week 2 of the 2009 Smartphone Round Robin sees me take on TiPb's Public Frenemy #1, the almost-diametrically opposed BlackBerry -- or is it? This year in addition to the new flagship BlackBerry Bold 9700, we officially have an actual touch-screen 'Berry in the 'Robin -- the Storm2. What's an iPhone blogger to do? Well, first go on the Cell Phone Junkie podcast with Mickey and all the SPE editors to discuss RIM's platform, that's a given.

Next, of course, I hit up the world's foremost BlackBerry lover , CrackBerry Kevin Michaluk himself, and as if that weren't enough, I enlisted the million-strong CrackBerry Nation to help me out as well!

Remember, every day you post on my CrackBerry Forums thread, you're entered for a chance to win the BlackBerry of your choice. (And there's a total of 6 smartphones up for grabs -- one per SPE site -- so check them all out!)

Now grab your hotdogs, popcorn, and spicy drink, because after the break CrackBerry Kevin gives me a guided tour of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and Storm 2, and everything new in hardware and BlackBerry OS 5.0.

How does the iPhone compare to sibling site NokiaExperts.com's two platforms, trusty Symbian S60 OS as seen in the N97 mini and the next generation Maemo OS of the N900? That's the question I'm looking to answer in TiPb's first week of the 3rd annual Smartphone Round Robin

I’ll confess from the start that I wasn't terribly familiar with Nokia’s platforms coming into this review. They dominate the rest of the world, of course, but for a variety of reasons they haven’t made much of a dent here in North America yet. Lucky for me, the SPE network has reached across the pond to Seattle (hey, there must be ponds between Montreal and Seattle!) to bring Matthew Miller to the table this year. His tremendous knowledge and enthusiasm -- along with the incredible help I received from the NokiaExperts community -- are the only reason this review was able to happen. So to him and to them; thanks.

(Speaking of the NokiaExperts community, remember you can still jump on that thread and each day you reply, you're entered to win your choice of Nokia smartphones, including the two reviewed below!)

Now let's get it on... after the break!

TiPb-verse, the 2009 Smartphone Round Robin starts NOW! And for me, it starts with what's likely the biggest challenge -- Nokia and its dual platforms of Symbian S60 and Maemo as represented by the N97-mini and the netbook-that-thinks-its-a-smartphone, N900. Hugely popular everywhere that's not North America, it wasn't in last year's Round Robin, and truth-be-told, I've barely ever seen it before.

To get some extra help, I've got a post up at NokiaExperts.com, where I'm really hoping to get my understanding expanded a notch (or ten).

Dieter Bohn, on duty for Palm webOS has likewise triumphantly returned to TiPb's iPhone forums, and you folks really need to get in there an get him up to date on all things iPhone 3GS and 3.x.

(As extra incentive, remember that every day you post a reply on those threads (or the other Round Robin threads) you get another chance to win on of six (6!) smartphones -- one per site!)

To get things kicked off right, we've got a video after the break where likely the best man on earth for the job, Matt Miller gives me a guided tour of the N97-mini and N900, helps me with the interface, and reveals the awesome power of the platforms.

Next up, I spend the week figuring out what Symbian S60 and Maemo mean in relation to the iPhone, the smartphone space in general, and to new users considering their first platform, or veterans considering making the switch. That'll all be summed up right here on Friday. Can't. Wait.