Is BB the right choice for my Business?

**eve6er69** · 04-08-2012, 11:06 PM

Originally Posted by BergerKing

Motorola Photon Android, running stock. Wish it was a 9930, but they wanted too much and I wasn't sure then if BB was gonna be supported yet. iPhone isn't an option for me, no matter how many family members try to talk me into it. Plus it keeps my upgrade cycle intact so I can get new annually.

Not trying to hijack the thread, OP. Definitely want you to get devices that fit your needs.

Ahh nice. If I were still on sprint and were looking elsewhere I would probably get the photon. I've heard nothing but good things about that device.
I used to be open minded about apple and respected their quality and innovation but after I read that article about the factory workers and the environment they work in I vow to not buy another apple product. Not even an ipod.

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

**Muttypint** · 04-08-2012, 11:08 PM

If your main point is the messaging then the Blackberry is definitely the way to go, i use a BB and a iphone, and i like both, but the BBM is the way to go with messaging.

**Injection Classique** · 04-09-2012, 07:23 AM

Originally Posted by eve6er69

I would probably go with the berry then. They have the compression and also with bbm you can have groups. Put the 1st 3 phones in 1 group and all 6 in another. That way you can chat all the time without having to go between peoples chats.

Again its your decision and you are asking a lot of blackberry fans but 2GB between 6 phones I feel may be a little tight with most phones even blackberrys but iphones would most likely use up more data and incur more data fees. That's my $0.02

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

Ok, so I think I'm going to have to try and negotiate a good contract. If not then add a little bit more data to my plan. For an additional $60 I can get 6 GB's added.

Ok, let me throw a hypothetical at you. I have 6 phones on a shared plan that has unlimitted talk and text between the phones (unlimitted talk anytime). NONE of the phones will surf the net (I know....hard to believe...but I did say "hypothetical"....lol) and we all agreed that we're just going to send messages via the BBM. All pictures sent and received are through BBM. When a client sends some pictures, they are then loaded onto the office PC and transfered to the office BB via the DM. Then the office BB will send the picture(s) via BBM.

Because the pictures are compressed through the NOC (?) that is why they don't use a lot of data. (I hope I got that right....lol)

It's that last sentence that I'm hearing a lot of conflicting comments on. Some people say that it's free or included in your plan, some say that it's not free but just compressed and you'll never see any overage on your plan? I've had clients send big size pictures (up to 5 MB's) and they'll send 8 or 10 pictures that size in one email. Do that a few times a day over the course of a month and it adds up. Or are those considered small???

Now the compression might be just too technical for me to understand and that's fine but that just seems like a lot of data. If it's free, if it's sent via BBM, then that's the way I'm going to go. It just makes the most sence.

**eve6er69** · 04-10-2012, 09:07 PM

Bbm does go against your data cap. There is 1024mb for every 1GB.
So that's about 408 pics through bbm at 5mb a piece.

The noc is pretty much a server that all internet traffic goes through that also does a good job at compressing data.

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

**Injection Classique** · 04-11-2012, 09:45 PM

Originally Posted by eve6er69

Bbm does go against your data cap. There is 1024mb for every 1GB.
So that's about 408 pics through bbm at 5mb a piece.

The noc is pretty much a server that all internet traffic goes through that also does a good job at compressing data.

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

Nice...thanks for educating.

**_StephenBB81** · 04-11-2012, 10:12 PM

@ Injection Classique

I assume you are planning to stick with Telus,

You need to contact telus about available Plans,

With Bell you can get Business share plans which Pool minutes and data together, if Telus offers those Plans then BlackBerry is BY FAR your best business solution.

being a small business owner I suspect you don't need device management, you, just want to keep in touch with everyone, share pictures to speed up customer service/sales/etc, and save yourself money.

Things you want to consider
- Hardware replacement costs: Look at the FULL PRICE hardware costs, if someone breaks a phone you need to replace it at full cost, assume 1 in 10 phones will be replaced annually.

- Data usage, 10 BlackBerry's can comfortably share 2GB of data, Really BlackBerry is the only platform you can reliably say that about, even photo's within BBM are data compressed to reduce your requirements it is about a 4:1 ratio compared to other platforms.

- Durability / Climate WHAT do you do? and what can happen to your devices? Otterbox? what are their costs? Battery life? what proximity are you to power sources?

- Speed requirements, in Canada "4G" is LTE, We called HSPA+ which AT&T and Tmobile called 4G, 3G+ and for the majority of your needs HSPA+ is more than fast enough, LTE will only be beneficial if you are streaming content such as youtube movies and music, and you shouldn't be doing that on work devices I'd assume

I helped a small plumbing company in Toronto move from the Bell 10-4 system which is just like the Telus Mike System to BlackBerry's with BBM,
Text messaging was NOT included on his plan and if anyone used Texting they were billed for it,
The advantages were BBM has Groups, Direct Messages, Voice Notes, picture sharing, and Groups had a shared calendar which he posted schedules too, you even can send someone your location from within BBM to save giving directions.

Once you learn to use BBM as a tool, it becomes very powerful for the small business owner, and VERY cost effective if you are able to get corporate data share plans

**_StephenBB81** · 04-11-2012, 10:13 PM

Originally Posted by eve6er69

Bbm does go against your data cap. There is 1024mb for every 1GB.
So that's about 408 pics through bbm at 5mb a piece.

The noc is pretty much a server that all internet traffic goes through that also does a good job at compressing data.

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

That completely depends on your carrier and your plan

I can get a BIS Plan with unlimited BBM and a 100MB Data package

ALSO BBM auto Compresses images, that 5MB image would be compressed to around 400kb, with a "request high quality image" link available to download it, which most often is not needed.

**_StephenBB81** · 04-11-2012, 10:20 PM

Originally Posted by Flexin

I only have 500 mb on my BlackBerry. This is the first month I went over. 2 gb of data could be used up pretty quick.

James

What is your usage like that makes you go over?

My Business BES connected BlackBerry very very rarely Breaks 100MB though it is used strictly for Business, emails / Calendar / Contact syncing all the time,
BBM semi regularly.
Browswer is used at most once a week, and I never surf with the playbook while bridged.

my personal BlackBerry I see 500-800MB of usage but I play with it, and use it all the time

**eve6er69** · 04-11-2012, 10:38 PM

Ok where I am and on att we just get a lump sum of data and bis. They don't really break it down for us in the states. Wish I could pay what my friend pays in scotland. 5 bucks for unl bbm/facebook /email and twitter and pay as you go minutes.

I'd be rich! Haha

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

**_StephenBB81** · 04-11-2012, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by eve6er69

Ok where I am and on att we just get a lump sum of data and bis. They don't really break it down for us in the states. Wish I could pay what my friend pays in scotland. 5 bucks for unl bbm/facebook /email and twitter and pay as you go minutes.

I'd be rich! Haha

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

I've been comparing a few plans lately for one of my phones,
looking to go to a Pay as you Go minute plan and add data and texting as a monthly fee, they don't make it cheap in Canada, but I do see I can add a BlackBerry Messaging package to another plan that has data, and it comes out cheaper than a larger data package. ( mind you over all I'd be saving 5 dollars a month if I don't talk on the phone at all, sooo not ready yet to change my really old plan)

Canadian Carriers give a few more options with data than US carriers because we have so many more restrictions and limitations

**eve6er69** · 04-11-2012, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by deRusett

I've been comparing a few plans lately for one of my phones,

looking to go to a Pay as you Go minute plan and add data and texting as a monthly fee, they don't make it cheap in Canada, but I do see I can add a BlackBerry Messaging package to another plan that has data, and it comes out cheaper than a larger data package. ( mind you over all I'd be saving 5 dollars a month if I don't talk on the phone at all, sooo not ready yet to change my really old plan)

Canadian Carriers give a few more options with data than US carriers because we have so many more restrictions and limitations

Yeah and you guys have 3 year contracts there.

If not talking on the phone would save you 5 bucks I would rather have the peace of mind for the 5 bucks to be able to field phone calls if I wanted to.

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

**chaddeus** · 04-12-2012, 01:15 AM

Originally Posted by Injection Classique

I've been seriously looking at changing my plan (and paying a penalty to do so) in order to equip my work force with faster 4G/LTE phones.

I'm going to need 6 cell phones to start and I might need to go up to 8 or 10 in the future. So you see it's a small company. Presently I am using the iden (MIKE) network but recent changes within my company means I need something that will let me send and receive pictures. I have 2 BB's and 2 PB's and as I'm sure you all know, the iden network is like the stone age network. With 3G and 4G and now LTE available, it makes sense for me to change.

HERE'S THE QUESTION.... Is there any other phones or platforms that allow you to send/receive pictures to one another like BBM does FOR FREE?

I know LTE is faster than 4G (right?) but even 3G phones will be lightning faster than what I have so speed is not the issue. The issue is data usage. It IS free to send pictures via BBM to BBM...right? Is there something out there that does the same or is it always sent via your data plan? (as you can see, I do NOT use BBM that much....lol). Even though I might not take a lot of pictures at the beginning, the ability to communicate and send each other files via BBM just makes sense. However, I have no clue if there is something else out there that is similar to BBM?

The other thing I think I'll see is a push to get new customers to buy the BB7's in the next couple of weeks / months so maybe the time to get a great deal is now?

Thanks in advance for any help. I'll research any suggestions...

First of, nothing is FREE. You dont go to a buffet restaurant and say the food are free. You pay a monthly fee for your data plan and you can have unlimited usage.

Having said that, all phones after paying for their respective data plan should allow you to transfer photos or whatever. There are third party applications such as WhatsApp on Blackberry, Android and Apple that allows what you are doing. Heck, you can even use Google Talk or MSN Messenger!

Some people claim that BB is good for business due to security. Well, its true but how important is this security in your business?

Talking back to your business. Blackberry offers a wide range of phones. So if you want to have a unified mobile platform, I say choose Blackberry. From a low priced phones 9300 to higher end phones like the 9900, you can basically assign phones to employees. Also, employees would use the phone and when they leave the company, you can take the phone and pass it down to someone else.

You also minimize the need to support different phones with different software etc. Imagine a company with Android, Apple and Blackberry. When something goes wrong, its much harder for you to support different model, differnet specs etc.

So having said that, at this moment, I think Blackberry is the best platform. Its a business phone, not a phone to play Angry Birds or DrawSomething, and it supports multiple push mail accounts, excellent keyboard. What else do you need in a business phone?

So go for Blackberry if you are a decision maker. Some people may not like it and wish for an iPhone but you have a profitable business to run and not a charity organization.

- Charles