[rpayne#CB]

i use a 9900 and outlook 2010 and sync via USB for contacts, calendar and notes, always have...this would be a deal breaker for me. can someone explain in very simple terms BIS, BES and the way the z10 works. as my company is small and we don't have a exchange server...i'm not quite sure i understand how this impacts me....think i'm set up using BIS.

[hennesseystealth]

I have to agree. OS10 and Z10 have some real issues to address for those of us who are used to sync'ing our current phones (9550) with Outlook (for me, just the calendar). Also, since I keep all my data and accounts on my phone, the lack of Bridge functionality makes my PlayBook much less useful if I go with a Z10. Fortunately, in the US we have a month or so to see what happens.

[Victoria User]

I and a number of BB users I know run email through a single PC using POP3 or something like that. We're definitely NOT a small constituency.

BB needs a temp fix published PDQ.

An updated LINK is REQUIRED before phones start being returned. Which would really suck.

[Jerryg50]

This is a great phone, but I have two main issues:

The phone will not sync with MS Outlook. This is a very important lost feature.

In the emails, below the Cc and To prompts, I see two erroneous email addresses that are not even in my contacts list! They will not go away! It is very annoying. I cannot find a way to delete or find these email addresses in this phone. I have no idea of how they got there.

One person in the store told me to wipe the phone. But, if I restore my backup, I am afraid I will restore the fault. I spent multiple hours to get this phone set up. I really don't want to have to go through the number of hours again.

I am very frustrated with this issue...

[RubberChicken76]

Rehe will buy an iPhone, because she has heard from all her friends that iPhones "just work", .

She's luckier than me, sadly. :-)

I have an iPhone that I plug into my car stereo and my office stereo. Sometimes it says, "device not supported" when I plug it in. Sometimes it works, then will become "not supported."

I like to watch movies and tv shows at the gym on my iPhone. I'm not an intense workout person, so I sometimes finish at home. Sometimes I point the iPhone at my Apple TV and the movie plays on my TV. sometimes it doesn't.

Sometimes my music syncs with iTunes. Sometimes it doesn't.

Sometimes iMessages appear on all my devices (Mac, iPod, iPhone). Sometimes they appear on two of the three. Sometimes just on one.

Sometimes "Find my iPhone" can find all three. Sometimes it only finds one.

Sometimes my album art displays on all three, sometimes it displays on one or two and is not picked up by the other.

[Rooster99]

The CompanionLink app that needs to be installed on your BB10 device is not in BBWorld yet. It is called "DejaOffice" and is apparently pending approval.

Also to note, the software can be installed on up to 3 computers, so for $50 - $12 promo divided by 3 = about $13. Not a bad price per user. We use GroupWise and there is an iOS and Android app that syncs them and the app costs $15 ($5 for calendar, $10 for email, I believe). This would be a good solution and not a bad one-time cost. It also offers wireless sync via local wifi and says that full integration with the BB Hub is coming in May 2013.

The devli will be in the details for the direct HUB/Native Contacts and Calendar sync they describe. While they do list Tasks in the data that is synced, Categories for those Tasks is not in the list. I would also be wary of any limitations regarding date ranges, etc.

I'd really hoped to not have to use a 3rd party solution. Blackberry has missed a real opportunity here, as they would have been the only, and I mean only, smartphone to sync directly with desktop Outlook. It's a shame.

- Rob.

[Rooster99]

I have a Z10 and I just added my Exchange E-mail address under setup and I was good to go from there, all my e-mails/contacts etc. were there. I am on a BES server so that might make a difference but even with Gmail I just added my Gmail address and it worked great. Not sure why I would ever want to plug in my phone to sync anything really.

Lots of people using desktop Outlook without Exchange. Lots of people don't want their PIM data in the cloud - some for personal reasons, some due to work restrictions.

- R.

[Rooster99]

Because, school aged person, many people run Microsoft Outlook and have NON EXCHANGE based e-mail., With their ISP, or other POP-3 providers.
And BlackBerry Desktop Manager, which I guess only OLD PEOPLE used, allowed you to sync you Contacts, Calendar, Notes and Tasks with your old fashioned BlackBerry.
And now that's gone.

Not only is it gone, but with no warning. That's just plain wrong.

- R.

[randall2580]

I do totally get that bb10 is completely new... no shared code, totally different backend, etc. But it does seem to me that, at least when it comes to the device migration, BB had some tools at its disposal to make this all easier. I don't know the technical side... but even without BIS, couldn't for example they have advised everyone with older BBOS to run a final backup over Protect and then, using your BBID (with the Protect sync) and Link, used that for the migration? Hardwiring that to make sure it worked could have saved lots of headache (and the eventual bad PR they bring).

I believe that somewhere in the great CrackBerry archive, there is a Blog Post from Kevin saying just this, months ago. I believe he has also said similar on the PodCast about a simple migration. I am very happy that my work moved to an exchange server so this wont hurt, but before we did that this would have hurt big time, the DM sync was the key way for me to move my large contact list to new phones.

[Rooster99]

Is this CompanionLink trustworthy? If I wanted to use a 3rd party solution, I would just use Google Sync.

Google Sync has limitations. Outlook Categories for Tasks, Contacts etc aren't synced, and it only syncs Calendar items up to 1 year in the futuree and noe that are in the past. Devil's in the details.

- R.

[shabbs]

Actually, I think BB themselves need to step up to the plate here, put out some detailed user guides for these more advanced users needs, to prevent misunderstandings over features/functions/UI philosophy etc turning into "facts" that the competition and their analyst suck-ups then start running with....

This is just begging for a BlackBerry Cloud Services solution that provides a "connector" to your local standalone Outlook install avoiding a need for any physical USB cord, replicating the DM/USB cable sync behaviour we've been used to. I hope they are working on something along those lines...

[ppeters914]

No more BIS. Exchange and BES (or Active Sync) work fine. Believe it or not, people have e-mail with their ISP/Cable company or even (GASP) AOL. And they must have a way of syncing to the PIM data on their PC.

How many people have a personal BB hooked up to a BES/Exchange server for their personal PIM management?

I don't know, but maybe that would be one solution. /rolls eyes

[brmiller1976]

Syncing e-mails via a direct computer connection to Outlook?

That's from Palm III days. Wow. I seriously didn't know that anybody still did that (or wanted to do it).

[shabbs]

I don't know, but maybe that would be one solution. /rolls eyes

Heh. Let me know when they're handing out free personal exchange server accounts that I can tap into.

[shabbs]

Syncing e-mails via a direct computer connection to Outlook?

That's from Palm III days. Wow. I seriously didn't know that anybody still did that (or wanted to do it).

Not emails. Calendar, contacts, tasks, memos and other PIM info that are in the Outlook app. If this was just about email, this thread would not exist.

[Rooster99]

Syncing e-mails via a direct computer connection to Outlook?

That's from Palm III days. Wow. I seriously didn't know that anybody still did that (or wanted to do it).

Well, now you do!

- R.

[brmiller1976]

Why not just sync your Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Memos and other PIM info to a free Outlook.com account, and sync your BlackBerry to Outlook.com? Then, any change you make on your PC or device will update on both in essentially real time.

Outlook.com is Microsoft's free Exchange service for consumers. Works like a charm across all the mobile platforms, and with Outlook 2013 as well.

[randall2580]

Syncing e-mails via a direct computer connection to Outlook?

That's from Palm III days. Wow. I seriously didn't know that anybody still did that (or wanted to do it).

Emails no one has to do any more. But if you use a POP3 account for either personal or business the direct sync was the only way to move contact and calendar data other than sending it to Google or Mr. Softie.

Until my small company went to host our own email on an exchange server, I moved 100% of my contacts on multiple BB's via this method, at least until the Google account sync came out in beta. I basically used only my work Outlook for contacts and synced to the phone and carried changes home in my BB. I know there are folks here who want no part of sending to cloud or Google. They counted on being able to do this. I know, because I participated in the thread here on this site that there is one fellow CrackBerrian who believes it's simply the most secure way to sync and didn't understand why anyone would do otherwise.

He's going to have to find another way I guess, but I don't blame him for being upset about it. I feel for the folks who feel this is a core function of BB's and are at a loss on what to do next.

[brmiller1976]

Outlook.com is secure and works well. It has the added benefit of being "real Exchange," with real ActiveSync -- secure AND great battery life for push contacts, calendar, and e-mail.

[shabbs]

Why not just sync your Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Memos and other PIM info to a free Outlook.com account, and sync your BlackBerry to Outlook.com? Then, any change you make on your PC or device will update on both in essentially real time.

Outlook.com is Microsoft's free Exchange service for consumers. Works like a charm across all the mobile platforms, and with Outlook 2013 as well.

This is something I'm looking into now. Ideally, connecting the standalone Outlook client to Outlook.com would accomplish what I need, I hope. I need to look at the details as to what fields etc... are kept in Outlook.com vs what I have now. As we've seen, not everything is transferred with some of these PIM connectors.

[brmiller1976]

The fields from Outlook.com are identical to the ones in Outlook 2013. It's full-fledged Microsoft Exchange for free use.

And it's a treat. I'm pleased that BB users can enjoy what we WinPhone folks have enjoyed for a while now.

[shabbs]

The fields from Outlook.com are identical to the ones in Outlook 2013. It's full-fledged Microsoft Exchange for free use.

And it's a treat. I'm pleased that BB users can enjoy what we WinPhone folks have enjoyed for a while now.

Oddly enough, I was seriously looking at a Windows Phone because of this issue... but then I came to my sense.

Heh.

EDIT: So a quick look at hooking into Outlook.com is promising. Notes don't seem to exist in Outlook.com though, but the Calendar, Contacts and Tasks are all there. I'd essentially have to "move" my Calendar, Contact and Task items from their current location to the Outlook.com linked profile. For those that are in this situation, it may provide the solution you need.

[cbvinh]

This is a great phone, but I have two main issues:

The phone will not sync with MS Outlook. This is a very important lost feature.

In the emails, below the Cc and To prompts, I see two erroneous email addresses that are not even in my contacts list! They will not go away! It is very annoying. I cannot find a way to delete or find these email addresses in this phone. I have no idea of how they got there.

One person in the store told me to wipe the phone. But, if I restore my backup, I am afraid I will restore the fault. I spent multiple hours to get this phone set up. I really don't want to have to go through the number of hours again.

I am very frustrated with this issue...

I don't have a Z10, so this is only speculation on my part...

Based on my experience with Gmail, these email addresses are email addresses that are frequently added as a to/cc when you email a particular contact. For example, most of the time, your to/cc is sent to person1@domain1.com, person2@domain2.com and person3@domain3.com. Today, you just want to email person1@domain1.com. The email program sees the contact you listed (person1@domain1.com) and is saying, "Hey, you might want to include these people too, because you have in the past." person2@domain2.com and person3@domain3.com aren't necessarily in your contacts list, but in the email headers of old emails. Until you /choose/ to add these email addresses by selecting them, they won't be included.

[netnative]

It is not about syncing e-mails but Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes.

??? who else is syncing he's emails via desktop software on any smartphone???

Active sync, Data Syncronizer, pop3, imap, gmail....

[Rooster99]

Lots of interest in this topic. For full disclosure, I started the thread below but check out the "enthusiastic" responses! :

Direct question to Kevin or RIM/Blackberry re Outlook desktop sync

- R.