BlackBerry NewBee Questions 1

[pctekk]

Were considering going to them w/ cingular,

1. how well do they work w/ Exchange 2k and Outlook ??
2. is there an option for wireless internet access to surf
the web ??

3. is there a "color" blackberry instead of black/white ?

4. does it auto sync w/ your email if your in another location/state for example, like "push technology" or do you have to cradle it w/ your desktop to sync ??

5. Finally, any 3rd party apps for Network Administration ?
thanks gang

 

[dfhwa]

Has anyone successfully used Blackberry Enterprise with SBS 4.5? How do you work around the fact that you can not install Exchange Administrator 5.5 seperately from SBS?

 

[holly18]

Yes you can surf the net
Yes there is 7200 series which are color
Only way to sync your blackberry other than calendar is to cradle it I did hear that good.com has an app to where everything is wireless such as notes, contacts, memo and so on
I have had no issues with running BES 2.1 or 3.6 on exchange 2000 and outlook 2000-2003

 

[Foxfire1]

Well Cingular gives you good coverage most of the time... depending where you are... there are two major carriers... Cingualr (Skytel) and Motient (both can be used via Cingular, but not on the same Blackberry). Now the option for wireless internet on the 957 and 857 sucks due to the slowness of the modem. Its good for the email and calendar, but sucks for everything else. The interaction for the Blackberry server with Exchange 2000 is fine, however, depending what version of the BES you plan to use, there is a Fix that you will need to apply to get the BES to work correctly. Now the BES will allow for wireless calendar and email, but everything else is done via a sync using the cradle. Most people do not need to sync task since its something that they do and then delete...

The blackberry will work in all 50 states (some parts of Alaska are not covered as well as Hawaii. It will also work in San Juan, Puerto Rico - but nowhere other than that City.

There is a color version out, but it is not for use with Cingular. As far as I know there are two models... 7230 (which I have) and the 7210. The 7230 is with T-mobile and the 7210 is with AT&T wireless. Both are the same, but there is a little different software. They also use a 56K technology which makes the internet application a little more attractive since pages load quicker. They are also Java based which makes writing applications for them easier.
Finally, your last question... there are third party apps, but for Admin, you should use the BES Admin. Its the best thing to use since it has everything built in that you would need. There are Tons of third party apps that can do everything from Print wirelessly to read attachments, but some are not worth the money you would spend...

Hope this helps,

Foxfire 1

 

[mzenzer]

holly18, regarding this statement "I have had no issues with running BES 2.1 or 3.6 on exchange 2000 and outlook 2000-2003", do you know if any of the Outlook 2003 users have had problem openting attachments (word docs) on their Blackberrys? Thanks!!

 

[pctekk]

not so far, i have several users w/ outlook 2003
no problem

 

[Zelandakh]

attachments are pushed from the server and are independent of the mail client.

Wireless Internet access is available as a server option but is tragically slow.

 

[holly18]

I have ran across some issues with user's not being able to open PowerPoint and PDF does anyone have an answer for that? Also to answer the question about opening word documents, you have to be in the body of the email in order to open the attachment. If your in the header or subject sometimes the attachment will not open.

 

[Zelandakh]

On BES, there is an attachment section. You need to tick the relevant attachments. PDF is in there but I don't think there is a PPT renderer available.

 

[LehmanTech]

Attachment service installed with Blackberry enterprise 3.6 sp2 can view PDF, HTML, DOC, XLS, PPT, TXT, WPD, ZIP.
(not sure if previous versions have the same capabilities)