I am a die-hard MacGirl. I’ve repeatedly professed my love for nearly all things Apple. So, when the nice folks Weber Shandwick asked me to be a part of their promotion project for Kathy Buckworth’s new book, The Blackberry Diaries, I fully disclosed my blood type – I bleed Bondi Blue.

They were okay with it. They still wanted to send me two of their latest model, the Blackberry Tour – one to review and keep and one to give away to one of my readers.

This was not my first experience with the BlackBerry. I recently retired my second Curve earlier this year when I finally bridged over to the iPhone (my former employer’s email server would only support BB).

So, here’s a quick side-by-side on the two devices.

1. Both are pretty darn pretty. Do you like them long and lean or more square with a wider grip? They both are very nice looking phones. If fingerprints gross you out, don’t get an iPhone. If the thought of what’s stuck in those BB keys gives you the willies, then opt for a solid surface.

2. Keyboard is key. If you like the feel of true keys and a full keyboard under your fingertips, the Tour is great. Some folks (present company included) are still struggling with the eye/hand coordination required with the iPhone’s touchpad – even with the horizontal option. The cramp on my pinky finger from typing makes me feel like a 90-year-old British woman who has drank her 10 millionth cup of tea (littlest digit daintily and fully extended, of course). Switching back and forth between devices is a challenge. Like swapping between my office PC and personal MacBook Air, it takes my brain and hands a few minutes to adjust to the difference.

3. Track vs. Touch. (I may be dating myself here.) Remember the old commercial for Ocean Spray or Bartyles and James where an elderly Maine farmer is asked for directions proclaims “You can’t get there from here!”? Well, that’s kind of how I feel about the BB’s trackball technology. I see where I want to go, but getting there means I have to scroll over multiple icons and get myself to stop at the right place. It takes some adjusting and finesse, but after a little frustration, you get there. That’s not to say that the iPhone touch screen is not without its issues. Yes, bouncing back and forth between apps is much easier, but just try and move that cursor around text to edit or insert your comment before a retweet in Tweetdeck. Talk about total PITA. (I’m sure I’m doing something wrong, so if you have suggestions, please enlighten me in the comments. This is driving me nutso.)

4. General user friendliness. When I picked up the Tour, the general layout was fairly intuitive. Mail – okay. Phone functions…easy. Finding Brickbreaker and other essentials for surviving a crowded waiting room at Boo’s dance school…okay. The app store functions were a little confusing. I downloaded Twitterberry (I was off Twitter for three daylight hours. EEGADS! Someone might notice I’m gone!!! Ha!) and it took me a little while to figure out where the app had landed and how to get it where I wanted it on my desktop. The iPhone was not challenge-free either. Setting things up there was a bit more challenging given the hard drive size and USB port limitations on the MacBook Air and my lack of a wireless network at home. Loading a few thousand songs from an external hard drive through the Air and into the iPhone was painfully long. I’m talking a full day for the initial upload. The issue was really with my choice for the very sexy and portable air – not so much with the iPhone, though.

5. Apps, apps and more apps. The Apple cult following is developing apps at lightning speed. The App store is well organized and easily searchable for free and paid options. It does get a bit frustrating to have to upload some sizable games sophisticated shopping list software through my MacBook Air and then transfer it. The BB App store is fine, but seems a little more limited. As the BB following grows, more apps will be built, although I suspect you’ll find fewer free apps there than the Apple option.

6. Say cheese. Both the BB Tour and the iPhone are equipped with still and video camera options. Both still cameras are good for close up portraits of people and things standing still. Catching a shot of my two-year-old whirlwind at the park was a challenge for both models. He either ran out of frame before the aperture opened or my attempt to press the shutter button moved the PDA, creating a nasty blur. Video is easy to use on both as well and image and audio quality are nice as well. I believe you need an extra data card for the BB Tour, lest you bog it down with shots of your dog singing the Star Spangled Banner (who doesn’t have that?).

The Bottom Line: Please don’t mistake my review for a “hate” on the BB. I think the BB Tour is a great smartphone for some people. It’s really a matter of personal taste and preference. If you want a good, solid phone with a nice user interface a full push-button keyboard and a trackpad, the BB Tour is a great option and Verizon (the network I tested it on) worked great in Vegas. If you’re a Mac Geek, have tiny stick fingers that can dance around a touch screen like a dancer in the Bolshoi ballet and love the apps, go with the iPhone. Some people are city kids, some are country folk. Some people love exotic foods and others crave the familiar comfort of home. It’s really a personal preference thing. So, I’m keeping my iPhone and giving the Tour to a good home – a BB user who’s old Pearl went to BB heaven from a little too much lovin’.

Thanks again to the folks at RIM and Verizon for the chance to play with their phones and make some other folks REALLY happy. Come back tomorrow for a recap of The Blackberry Diaries event and a review of the book.

The entries are in. The folks who REALLY wanted this BlackBerry Tour (and earned ten entries each for it) were:

Miss from Just One Miss

Stinky from I can’t complain

Michael on his lawyer blog

Beth from My Life in the Low Country

The rest of you tweeted, plurked, and commented your little hearts out.

So, without any further ado, I have assembled a list of all the entries, alphabetized them by the commenter/twitter/poster name (to be fair) and drew numbers using random.org.

The winners of a signed copy of Kathy Buckworth’s latest book, The Blackberry Diaries goes to:

Stinky
Beth
Mamabub
Lori (who’s a mom without a blog)

and the big winner of the BlackBerry Tour with a month of free service from Verizon Wireless goes to…

MISS!

Thanks to everyone who entered. Special thanks to the folks at Weber Shandwick, Blackberry, and Verizon for making my inaugural contest here at GoodBadUgly Reviews so much fun!

You can come and see Kathy Buckworth (Sat., Aug. 29) at the Galleria in Henderson. I’ll be there, too. So be sure to say “hi!” I’ll be the redheaded dork with the Diet Coke.

Blackberry Tour that is.

Kathy Buckworth, author of The Blackberry Diaries: Adventures in Modern Motherhood is coming to Vegas this weekend. Her nice PR folks have partnered with Blackberry and Verizon to back her book tour.

And I get to share the love with you.

I get to give away four copies of Kathy’s book AND a brand-new Blackberry Tour (a $500 retail value) with 30 days of service from Verizon Wireless.

How do you win?

It’s pretty simple. There are three ways to enter:

1. Comment on a post here at GoodBadUgly Reviews before noon (pacific time) on Friday, Aug, 28. Each comment gets you one entry.

2. Tweet the following:

@GBUReviews is going on tour, a Blackberry Tour, that is, with @BBDiaries. I want to win. http://tinyurl.com/n66vgy #GBUBBTour.

Each tweet sent before noon (pacific time) on Friday, Aug, 28 gets you one entry. Don’t be too annoying, though. Tweet once or twice. Otherwise folks will unfollow you and hate me.

3. Write a post on your blog about your experiences with your PDA (it doesn’t need to be a Blackberry, I’m an iPhone geek myself). Tell the world about how you dropped it in the toilet, got busted checking your email at a holiday meal with family, or whatever you want. Just be sure to mention that you’re entering into the contest and link back to this post here at GoodBadUgly Reviews. If you don’t have a blog of your own, send me your post and I’ll put it here or on my main blog, Fear and Parenting in Las Vegas. Send an email to fandpinlv (at) gmail (dot) com. I’ll do a list post so others can see your story. Each post earns you 10 entries in the drawing.

Winners will be contacted on Friday. I’m happy to get Kathy to sign your copy of the book if you win. Speaking of the book, I’ve been reading it this weekend and a full review of the book and the Tour will be coming soon. In the meantime, here’s a quick synopsis on the book from her site:

The BlackBerry Diaries: Adventures in Modern Motherhood” is a no-holds-barred trip through the wacky world of toddlers and technology. Kathy takes the reader through a year-long blog account of life with her new BlackBerry and how, as a Mississauga, Ont.-based mother of four, her two worlds — technology and children — collide.

If you’re in Vegas this weekend, be sure to check out Kathy at her appearance at the Galleria Mall from 1-3 p.m. on Fri., Aug. 28 and Sat. Aug. 29. I’ll be there on Sat. to say “hi” and read my own BB Diary entry.

So, be sure to enter. Share the love.