Redirector question with DM 5.0

[Turk54]

Are there any new features with the new Desktop Redirector that comes with the new Desktop Manager v5.0 that was recently released? I work for a small company that doesn't have BES but we have an exchange server. I would like to wirelessly sync my email, calendar, contacts, etc. both ways. My understanding is that the previous versions of Redirector would sync my email but not my calendar, contacts, etc. Also, my understanding is that previous versions of Redirector would not include attachments in the redirected mail. Does the new version with DM 5.0 have any new features that would solve my problem? Does anyone know of another solution without costing an arm or a leg? Thanks in advance for your answers.

[BigDaddyNYY]

I have not been able to find any of the additional options to sync calendar or contacts using Redirector with BBM 5. As far as attachments, I simply forward a message that I receive on my BB to one of my other accounts, and you can open the attachment when it is received in that account on your phone.

Another option, which isn't that expensive would be BB Professional Software which I think is about $500 for 5 users, and $850 for 10. It installs on an existing server and connects to your Microsoft Exchange server. It says that it syncs email, calendar and contacts, but I haven't tried it so I cant confirm this. Maybe someone that is using it can confirm or deny, but until more members of my firm begin using a BB, redirector works fine for now.

[Turk54]

Thanks fo rthe suggestion. We have evaluated Blackberry Professional Software (BPS) and have discounted it for the time being. The two biggest issues with BPS in our opinion are that it currently doesn't support HTML (and RIM will not commit that it will in the future) and there have been lots of rumors that this product will go away. If I recall correctly, it has not been updated or enhanced in nearly two years. I am hoping that RIM will announce a BES 5.0 lite (or something equivalent to BPS) soon.

On another note, a question for you or anyone else that wants to pipe in. Does Redirector only work outbound? That it to say, if I make a change to a contact or calendar entry on my BB will it update my Outlook, or will I have to plug into the Desktop Manager to have inbound sync'ing?

[BigDaddyNYY]

As far as redirector, it sends emails from your Outlook mail folders to your phone, it does not provide any type of wireless sync of calendar or contacts. If you connect your phone via USB, you can select if you want a two way synch or limit it to a one way synch.

Using redirector will allow you to reply to an email from your outlook mailbox, will mark the original email as replied, and will store a copy of the sent message, but redirector will not allow you to delete messages from your outlook mailbox remotely. Actually, the only time that my messages even show that they were read is if I forward a copy or reply to an email using my BB.

Not sure if any of this has helped. I have read a lot of suggestions of synching your outlook calendar and contacts with google, but not sold on that, and the other option is to set up Outlook OWA and connect to your email, calendar and contacts using that from your BB. Again, I am not sold on that either. If you find an ideal solution that works for you, I would be glad to hear about it.

[Turk54]

Thanks BidDaddyNYY -

I thought that Redirector was pretty much one way, so that is why we haven't used it. We have been using Outlook OWA to access our exchange server. We have had no real problems with it. All emails coming into the inbox on the exchange server are sent to the BB handheld, and when read on the BB handheld they show that they have been read in Outlook. Also, emails sent from the BB handheld show up in the Sent folder in Outlook. What it doesn't do is sync calendar or contacts at all. For what it does, it works flawlessly.

The problem for us is that is not enough. Those users in our company that have Windows Mobile devices or iPhones just use ActiveSync and have no problems what so ever two-way sync'ing all of their info, including contacts and calendar entries. Just wish that was a solution with the BB. We have looked into NotifySync and AstraSync as a possible ActiveSync solution on the BB handhelds, but unfortunately we have found both products too expensive and lacking in several key features, the biggest of which is that neither supports HTML mail or is integrated with the BB message folders.

I should say that we have also tried Google sync, and whereas we had some marginal luck with that, we ran into problems with syncing of calendar items and less than complete mapping of contact info. Can't remember what the specifics were at this time, but after all of our trials, we just decided to "grin and bear it" and stick with standard BB offered applications/solutions. If we find anything that solves our issue, we will gladly post in this forum, but in the interim we are trying to find a decent solution. The lack of having either an ActiveSync prodcut or a more robust Outlook OWA access offcering is definitely a weak point to the overall BlackBerry solution for users like us.

[funkybrunk]

In the same boat as Turk. Astrasync and Notifysync are both garbage. I'm using Redirector for emails (this works to send and receive). The drawbacks are - no attachments and my computer must be on 24/7.

I'm using Funambol sync for "pull" contacts and calendar sync over the mobile network.

I wish RIM would come up with something that supports activesync or they will begin to see market shares slip as people move to WinMo or even iPhone. But I guess they need to protect their BES business. My company's IT department is now advising people to ditch blackberries in favor of WinMo.

It just stinks that the platform that supposedly has the best email experience has no solution for people that need work email in a timely fashion.