Wireless Exchange!
Written: Sep 08 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: email anywhere, small, easy to use, flat fee usage
Cons: must be running Microsoft Exchange/Outlook
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| jenipickard's Full Review: RIM Blackberry Two Way Pager |
BlackBerry by Reasearch in Motion (RIM, RIMM - Nasdaq) is a wirless pda that allows full integration with Microsoft Exchange. (it is actually your email from you@yourcompany.com, not forwarded to you@palm.com like with Palm) The device is a little bigger that a pager, and has a keyboard. Go to www.blackberry.net to see the product. Most people think the keyboard would be hard to use, but it very easy. You type with your thumbs, and is much easier than trying to write script on a Palm Pilot. (I switched from a Palm III to BlackBerry).
There are three options for the service to BlackBerry. One you use a desktop redirector. The email goes from you laptop (which must be up and running during the time you are using the unit) and redirects through the wireless data network to the unit. The second in a corporation that runs Exchange, you can buy the Enterprise Server. With that product the email redirects from the server, so it is not necessary to have Exchange/Outlook up and running on your personal computer. The third way now is through certain ISPs, the same idea as the enterprise server, except you are going through the ISPs server.
Security is top, triple des encryption . It is similar to a VPN connection to the server. It is encrypted on both ends of sending and receiving the mail. Coverage is great, 93% of major cities (you can see the coverage maps off the website). If you are out of coverage area, it stores and forwards so you never miss messages. You can use filters to decide which email you receive to BlackBerry, all you email or just from certain people, or just when you are the recipient in the "to:" field, etc.
Currently, Sept. '99, the units retail for about $399, the air time is about $40 per month, unlimited (not per message sent and received like with Palm). The server software is about 3K for 20 users, $50 per additional user. BlackBerry can only be purchased through RIM or one of their partners. Details on the website. The battery (one AA) lasts me about 2 weeks with my heavy usage. It also has an Intel 386 chip inside with a lithium battery so even if your battery dies, you don't need to replace the battery right away to avoid losing all your information. You could technically wait about 6 months to replace the battery and still not lose the info. I unfortunately lost ALL my contacts on my Palm because my battery died! That's what was the final straw to get me to never use my Palm again.
It comes with a cradle to synchronize your contacts, calendar, tasks, etc. They use the same Puma software that Palm uses for the synchronization. There is a wireless modem built into the top of the unit. You can chose to either be notified of new messages by having it vibrate or beep (having it on vibrate saves battery life). It has a back light so you can read your messages in the dark, or in the movies when you should be at work. ;) It has 2MB of Flash Memory. You can also password protect the system so if someone found and picked up they couldn't use.
Their slogan is "Always on, Always connected". Very true! It is so nice to be able to respond immediately to customers and co-workers. It saves the stress of potentially missing that important email from a customer that needs immediate response. Also is great if you travel a lot. No need to RAS in from a hotel, I don't even bring my laptop anymore on business trips (as long as I don't have a presentation and need Power Point).
There is paging available for another 6-8 dollars/month. You can get webcontent from other companies. Applications can also be specifically built for your company since everything is written in C++!
This is the most incredible new technology I've seen for sometime! It makes life so much easier. It makes email manageable, even when you are out of the office for extended periods of time.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399
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Epinions.com ID:
jenipickard
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Member: Jeni Pickard
Location: Aliso Viejo, CA
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 3 members
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