I have a BB Torch, and to be honest, I miss the instantly available physical keyboard. Mine is password protected and I always open it to unlock. I’ve had the Bold 9000 which was fantastic. The Bold 9780 is a little small unless you have tiny hands. There is an update coming – the Bold 9900, finally with the original form factor and touch screen. I also have a Playbook which talks to my BB, so I guess that makes me doubly sad.
If you are going to be doing a lot of typing, I’d go for a BB. If it’s mainly phone plus some apps (games) then an iPhone.
One last point, depending on age, a lot of teenagers are using BBM because it is very cheap instant messaging (and secure if that errr is of interest 😳 )
EDIT : apparently Bold 9900 is now available – I’d buy that. The new BB internet browser is a lot better than past efforts and the form factor is excellent.