Blackberry Enterprise Equivalents

[leeym]

Can anyone tell me if there are any equivalent applications similar to Blackberry enterprise server, but made by other vendors?

Thanks

 

[Zelandakh]

Goodlink springs to mind. Or ignore it and use ActiveSync and Windows Mobile 5.0.

 

[leeym]

Does the Microsoft Mobile tie easily into all the carriers like T-Mobile, Sprint, Cingular, and AT&T?

 

[Zelandakh]

Yup. You just use 3G/GPRS to link the mobile through the Cingular or other network to the Internet which then Active Syncs to Exchange do update the email.

Talk to your friendly neighbourhood mobile phone provider about this. They are pretty good around here, not sure about elsewhere in the world.

 

[markdmac]

All the major carriers will support it. You just need for the Windows Mobile Device to have Internet access.

I use my Samsung i730 as a modem to dial into work every day when I am onsite at my customer location. When not being used as a modem I rely on the device for Syncing my mail, contacts & calendar when I am on the road. notes will unfortunatly only sync with a PC and not via server active sync.

I hope you find this post helpful.

Regards,

Mark

 

[leeym]

Will the Micsoroft product sync with exchange as well like Bkacberry Enterprise Server can?

 

[markdmac]

Yes that is what Server Active Sync is.

Should point out the one main difference between the two technologies though.

Blackberry has a push technology where Server Active Sync is a pull technology.

A blackberry will get new mail as soon as it arrives while a Windows Mobile device needs to "check" for mail on a schedule you specify in minutes. 5, 10, 15 or manual.

Windows mobile 5 will support the push technology if you have SP2 loaded on the server and apply an add on to the phone. The add on is not available yet but will be free from MS as far as I am aware.

Bottom line for me is that I don't need my mail the VERY SECOND it comes in. If I am waiting for something I can do a manual sync, otherwise I have mine set to sync every 15 minutes which is sufficient for me and it save hundred if not thousands of dollars over the additional cost of having a blackberry server which shoudl really run on its own hardware.

I hope you find this post helpful.

Regards,

Mark

 

[leeym]

yes you info is very helpful. Can Windows Mobile be configured do pull as often as every single minute?

Also, what does Windows mobile cost? Thanks

 

[markdmac]

no the shortest interval is 5 minutes, but as I stated above if your are waiting for a hot message you can always click the button to sync manually.

There are 2 kinds of Windows Mobile devices. Smart Phones and PDA devices. I son't like the Smart Phones. If you really plan to send email from the device you will want a PDA for ease of typing. If smaller form factor is your thing then the smart phone may be the right fit for you.

There are MANY different devices you can get so research what is available to you. I love my Samsung i730. A lot of people are hyped up about the new Verizon Palm Treo which Verizon has an exclusive on running Windows Mobile (don't get confused with the other Palm treo line running on Palm OS).

The cost of the devices range from $100-600 USD depending on device.

I really liked the Audiovox 6600 model, but will warn you I encountered numerous problems withthe speaker emitting a high pitch sound constantly over time with the device, eventually making me want to smash it. Autdiovox has a new model out that looks really sweet, the 6700.


I hope you find this post helpful.

Regards,

Mark

 

[leeym]

I saw on the MS site that Windows Mobile runs in conjunction with Exchange 2003. Does this mean there is no middleware server like Blackberry Enterprise Server?

If so, I guess we'll need a dedicated server. Thoughts?

 

[dkediger]

That's part of the attractiveness of Windows Mobile/Active Sync - it works directly with Exchange and doesn't need the middleware server ala Blackberry.

 

[leeym]

so I guess the only thing our business would need separate to Echange 2003 with SP2 is a mobile device that's Windows Mobile supported, correct? Does this mean that everything will be synced just like BES? If so, won;t this put them out of business?

Thanks so much

 

[Zelandakh]

That's the plan

 

[leeym]

You rock man. I looked at the major carriers and havent seen too many Windows Mobile 5 supported devices out there yet. Is this an altogether new release?

 

[Zelandakh]

Pretty recent yes. I got mine about October.

 

[markdmac]

You don't need Mobile 5 for Active Sync, only for support of the coming feature for instant sync.

Just about any device you buy now with WM4 will get a free upgrade to WM5. Just get a commitment from your carrier that they will provide it. The update won't come from MS, it will be provided by either the carrier or by the manufacturer of the device because they customize it for their hardware.

Despite anythign Microsoft does, RIM may not be around anyway because of their current legal troubles. All crackberry users are on pins and needles waiting to see if the courts shut down their service.

I hope you find this post helpful.

Regards,

Mark

 

[leeym]

I guess there really is no way to test out this functionality unless we get a smartphone or PDA with WM4 on it already, huh?

 

[markdmac]

Nope. You need a device.

I hope you find this post helpful.

Regards,

Mark

 

[u080570]

My boss wanted to setup a Blackberry server in-house....I started doing research and asking questions like those above....I went and bought an HP iPaq 6325, turned on Mobile Services on my Exchange 2003 SP2 server and had everything up and running in 24 hrs....without spending alot of $$ - Needless to say my boss was thrilled to not spend a bunch of money and I was because I didnt have to support a Blackberry infrastructure...

 

[dkediger]

I'm pretty sure that within 5 years (if not a whole lot sooner due to legal issues) that Blackberry will be to WMA what Lotus 1-2-3 was to Excel and WordPerfect was to Word.

The lack of ownership of an actual messaging core (like Exchange or Notes) means that essentially they're just a service provider - and one caught in the middle at that between wireless/device providers and messaging systems (Microsoft/Lotus-IBM).