Hi

Im currently undertaking a review and replacement of over 100 pda devices for the company i work for. Weve had HTC TYTN for the last couple of years but the contracts are up now and we are looking to replacements.

We are also currently upgrading our exchange servers to 2007 to allow for push email, rather than having to currently request email from the phones, then download from the headers, and are running windows mobile 6 currently.

We are also with vodafone, and having had the devices for 2 years are paying huge bills for data usage so we are looking to move to a more data friendly tariff.

Most of our staff also travel to asia frequently so i presume 3g is also a must.

Couple of questions:
Given the infrastructure required for blackberries what are the benefits over WM6 and exchange 2007 push email?

The only 3g device thats not over 2 years old from BB is the bold, and thats the size of a brick, is this the only BB that will work in Japan? (thats also not tied into one supplier like the storm)

What other limitations do the BB have over other phones, other than limited handsets?

Has anyone used a HTC HD, iPhone, Nokia E71, or N95/96 as a serious business phone for email and how do you rate them?

many thanks for your help!

Matt

[dickst3]

I have little/no experience so can't answer your specific questions, however I have been looking for a device with similar functions. I was originally drawn to the Storm but given the very mixed reviews I have gone off it (I have a couple of mates waiting for theirs so if they do get them and love them I may reconsider).

Reading lots of reviews etc I am personally now in the market for a SE Xperia X1. My current contract ends in January but thats my 1st choice phone at the moment. I just have to try and get it from Vodafone on the same deal as the Storm!

Rich

Problem with the Storm (apart from the bad reviews) is that its just vodafone, and the data bundles arent that good compared to o2 or orange.

Anyone had any experience with the BB in asia (/Japan), as we are under a lot of pressure from some users for them, but with the costs and limitations of 3g and devices, id rather stick to WM6 and exchange 2007?

Bump

[itsamac]

I did the same comparison, albeit with Exchange 2003 ActiveSync and the Blackberries. The company had an existing investment in BES for about 40 odd users. On paper, the Exchange option looks good as it boosts the ROI for your Exchange platform and the functionality comes straight out of the box. You will need to set up a Microsoft ISA server 2006 in your DMZ to allow the WM6 devices to authenticate.

That being said, Exchange ActiveSync tends to be a little resource heavier than BES, both on servers and handhelds. Case in point, we trialled a few HP iPAQ QWERTY keyboard devices and were getting less than 2 days at very best. An equivalent specified BB was lasting approximately a week.

Sums wise, with the deals that some vendors will throw your way for BES, you might find that the TCO for BES and ActiveSync are on par. At least for our organisation it was.

If you company is willing to switch to O2, you can get global data roaming for £26 per month (£20 for the data, £6 for local voice). This is particularly useful for your colleagues that travel frequently to Asia. The SME team are very willing to make a deal so don't be afraid to do some arm twisting. They will even take all your bills and analyse them, and they will probably throw in a bunch of new devices for non BB users. I managed to get our bills down by 50%, blowing the ROI sums for Exchange out of the water. Best time to approach them is end of quarter.

Probably the only issue with moving to BB/BES is retraining of your user base but the latest devices are pretty ituitive, so that shouldn't take long.

What about non 3g blackberrys will they work in Asia or specifically Japan?

[itsamac]

Outside of Japan, any type of BB will work in Asia.

Japan has always been a difficult country to roam in but with the introduction of 3G, it makes it a lot easier. I believe that for Japan, you will need a 3G BB to receive data such as the Bold or Storm. A 2G device will not work due to different frequencies. The phones will need to roam onto Softbank Mobile (aka Vodafone Japan) or NTT DoMoCo. Most mobile operators should have an agreement with them so this should not be a problem (I know O2 and Vodafone do)

With the data, I would recommend O2 as they do a flat rate £20 per month for international data (that is usually for BB email, though I believe you can surf on that as well - check with O2).

[itsamac]

You may find this useful about mobile data in Japan

Blackberry Bold and Japan, a Mid-Trip Overview - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com

[Daddy k]

for the phone id have to recomend the new nokia e71,

3g,
supports push and exchange,
slim,
good battery

ill leave it to you to find a competitive business tarriff however