Smartphone Experts (SPE), an e-commerce platform and smartphone accessory development company, today announced the first annual Smartphone Round Robin is starting this week and will continue for the next month. During that time, community editors from the SPE community sites -- TreoCentral (Treo & Centro), CrackBerry.com (BlackBerry), WMExperts (Windows Mobile) and Phone different (iPhone) -- will be learning what it's like to live "on the other side of the fence" as they have their everyday smartphone swapped out for one of its competitors. The participants will be documenting their triumphs and struggles at a special Website set up for the event. Community members, as well as those interested in learning more about the various types of smartphone options that are available, will be able to participate and become eligible for prizes.
"When it comes to smartphones, there's a lot of conflicting information out there and oftentimes decisions are driven by a vendor's advertising campaign rather than the realities of hands-on use of a particular device," said Dieter Bohn, vice president of communities for Smartphone Experts. "We decided that since we had so much smartphone expertise under one roof, so to speak, it made sense to see how our community editors would do when faced with spending a significant amount of time working with a completely unfamiliar device."
The four participants in the Smartphone Round Robin challenge are Jennifer Chappell from TreoCentral, Kevin Michaluk from CrackBerry.com, Mike Overbo from Phone different, and Dieter Bohn from WMExperts. In the first week, Jennifer will be using an iPhone, Kevin will try the AT&T Tilt, Mike will give the Blackberry 8310 a go and Dieter will see what the Treo 680 can do for him. To follow along, go to the following website: http://smartphoneexperts.com/roundrobin/.
It's not just the SPE community editors who will be participating. Smartphone Experts will also be giving away prizes to the members of their community sites. Any user who participates in Round Robin forums at a Smartphone Experts site will be eligible to win the grand prize: a free smartphone of their choice as well as free accessories from their affiliated stores. Full details on the contest can be found at the Smartphone Round Robin site.
"A big plus for these community editors is that they will be able to tap into the various communities associated with the particular device they will be using," said Bohn. "This is huge because they will have access to a wealth of knowledge which should shorten their learning curve. Plus, members of the various communities will get a chance to see their preferred device through the eyes of a new user."