Believe it or not, right after the good ol’ “are you chinese?” – the second most popular question I get asked is: why do I have both a BlackBerry AND an iPhone? I mean, what idiot carries around two phones?! Right?

You’re right. But unfortunately – that’s not the way I see it. And in fact, I don’t use them both as phones simultaneously anyway – but that’s not really the point. I’m here to talk about this “world” that us gadget-enthusiasts live in. For everyone else on the planet – we must look pretty ridiculous, eh? Well, there’s a pretty simple reason… so let’s discuss!

I’m not sure I can speak for all gadget-enthusists, but my iPhone/BlackBerry dilemma is the obvious solution to a problem that well, isn’t really a problem. In fact – it’s more.. a way of life. The life of an technology addict, that is. Our lifestyle is simple: we must stay a) connected, b) entertained and most importantly, c) efficient at _all_ times.

With that being said, hopefully the problem is becoming a little more apparent:

my BlackBerry is my oh, so glorious, swiss-army knife of productivity. I am continuously connected – receving emails, IM’s, twitter/facebook updates, news feeds and more thoughtout the entire day. It clearly fulfills lifestyle code (a), and on most occasions, pillar (c) as well. It has the best keyboard on a mobile device, it’s got blazing fast speeds, and it seemlessly aggregates all my important information and feeds it to me throughout the day.

Brilliant? YES…. well… kinda. I mean – it totally takes care of _two_ core pillars of my lifestyle triangle. That’s probably more than enough for a regular person… but not me. Oh no. I need to be entertained! Connected and efficient is good. Great, in fact… but not perfect. And that’s where the iPhone comes in:

my iPhone is the epitome of a time waster. There is not one other gadget, that so effectively calls for my attention than the iPhone. I think the 150k ++ apps on the App Store speak for themselves. People most definitely want to waste time – since there’s been over 4 billion downloads from the App Store! My iPhone offers me app, after app of unquestionable entertainment – videos, games, music and so much more! Lifestyle pillar (b) – check. And in fact, the iPhone even knocks over the BlackBerry for (c) once in a while as well! If I plan to surf the web for more than a few minutes – I most certainly prefer the iPhone. If I wish to listen to music – the iPhone is king… and the list goes on.

It’s a tradeoff almost every day. If I need to stay connected and efficient with my time – I bring my BlackBerry. If I’m going to need to blow a few hours – most definitely the iPhone. It’s a no brainer.

Bottom line:
My BlackBerry gives me back time. I can go home and answer 5-10 less emails, check 10 less websites, etc.
My iPhone, on the other hand, steals my time. With those 40 minutes I saved using my BlackBerry – my iPhone will replace them with in entertainment.

Silly? Maybe. But hey – whatever gets me through the day. Now, how about that iPad…