[DavidThi808]

My wife decided to get a new Blackberry phone. We have Exchange at home (what can I say, I'm a nerd) and so she told them on purchasing that it must connect to Exchange's ActiveSync so it synchronizes her email, contacts, and calender. And at the Verizon store they said - yes, no problem.

1. So I go to options to set email and... no option for Exchange. I call Verizon and get passed to two different people where I'm told to use IMAP. When I explain that no, we want ActiveSync we get passed over to BlackBerry where after a longer wait I am told that you don't set up ActiveSync connections in email btu instead in advanced options. Ok, so 25 minutes and 4 people to find that out.
2. So I try that and this is where I start to learn that BlackBerry essentially has no error messages. It tries to connect and if it fails, after 25 minutes, pops up a message saying there was a problem and see your system administrator. I am my system administrator - what earthly use is a message like that?
3. So call Verizon again where we are passed through to BlackBerry where they then dive in and discover... that my wife's account did not include enterprise access. So the ***** at the Verizon store (is "*****" redundant?), told that she wanted enterprise access, did not include it in her plan. And the ***** at BlackBerry (redundant again?) the first time did not notice that she did not have enterprise access on her account.
4. So we get all that set and now we're going to... Get the same stupid error again. Ok, this time I get forwarded to BlackBerry tier 2 support (which means an additional 38 minute wait) because tier 1 support has no idea what to do. And tier 2 support, after 10 minutes of asking me a bunch of questions and checking some stuff then tells me that... We have to install BlackBerry software on our server.

Yep, that's right, BlackBerry requires software on our mail server. Which I then have to learn how to configure & administer. And assuming that it is as poorly written as their setup code on the BlackBerry, that could end up being a full-time job.

So I figured that instead we will go with a company that understands how to write usable software. I connected my iPhone and my daughter's iPod to Exchange in under 2 minutes each. My wife will return the BlackBerry to Verizon on Monday and switch to an iPhone & AT&T.

And to the CEO at Verizon who has that nice message at the start of the customer service call - no I did not get what I needed. Not once in any of the 4 calls. If you want to get enterprise level customers, get an enterprise quality product. And that is not BlackBerry.

[txaggie84]

hate that you had all those problems. It really is an easy setup process(imo). Sounds like all this could and should have been avoided at the beginning.

[branden3112]

Normally I don't recommend the iPhone, but obviously BB is not the product for you. I would recommend Android before iPhone, but that doesn't have Exchange. After that I would recommend Symbian, but I don't think that has Exchange either. Then I would recommend the iPhone, but you already want that, so no convincing there. Then, if all else fails, I would recommend Windows Mobile as a last resort.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[danhclare]

Maybe you should have done this research before the purchase and double check what a salesperson on commission says. It would have saved you some two weeks of trouble

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[DavidThi808]

hate that you had all those problems. It really is an easy setup process(imo). Sounds like all this could and should have been avoided at the beginning.

You are right. If the people at the Verizon store were trained on what to say when someone said it was for connecting to Exchange, even if it was just here's a sheet of paper you need to read. I think that's the biggest problem with BlackBerry's poor enterprise support a distant second.

[DavidThi808]

Normally I don't recommend the iPhone, but obviously BB is not the product for you. I would recommend Android before iPhone, but that doesn't have Exchange. After that I would recommend Symbian, but I don't think that has Exchange either. Then I would recommend the iPhone, but you already want that, so no convincing there. Then, if all else fails, I would recommend Windows Mobile as a last resort.

Why no love for the iPhone? I was on the Windows 95 team at Microsoft and have used Windows software my whole life. And I don't think the iPhone is perfect (and I recognize iTunes is badly written software).

But I think the iPhone is easily the best enterprise class mobile device out there. And so it's the one Apple product I own.

[DavidThi808]

Maybe you should have done this research before the purchase and double check what a salesperson on commission says. It would have saved you some two weeks of trouble

Good idea except... I did start diving in to this and this information was not available. All of the Verizon and BlackBerry pages I found say "talk to your sys admin to connect your BlackBerry." Apparently they assume that no new companies will ever get the BlackBerry for enterprise use.

And with the way they don't support, that is probably a fair assumption.

[pkcable]

BES is a much more robust enterprise product but its tough to learn and really not suited for a small home network like yours. Yes it could work, but as you correctly pointed out you would have to install BES and administer it. Large companies that use it, love it, and have trained blackberry administrators running it for them. Again though it does not sound like a good fit for you. Iphone or winmo is the way to go for you.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[branden3112]

Why no love for the iPhone? I was on the Windows 95 team at Microsoft and have used Windows software my whole life. And I don't think the iPhone is perfect (and I recognize iTunes is badly written software).

But I think the iPhone is easily the best enterprise class mobile device out there. And so it's the one Apple product I own.

I actually love the iPhone OS. I'm playing with my iPod touch as I write this. It's the iPhone's hardware that I don't like. Terrible battery life, non user serviceable, not user replaceable battery, etc. The iPhone OS is definitely the best mobile platform ever created. I love iPods and Macs, but I'm not a fanboy. I actually think iTunes is really great. Why else do you think I would have 6 iPods including one iPhone?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[ninja please]

bfd. why do people make these threads?

[branden3112]

bfd. why do people make these threads?

They make these threads because they want input on their choice from the CB community.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[pkcable]

I actually love the iPhone OS. I'm playing with my iPod touch as I write this. It's the iPhone's hardware that I don't like. Terrible battery life, non user serviceable, not user replaceable battery, etc. The iPhone OS is definitely the best mobile platform ever created. I love iPods and Macs, but I'm not a fanboy. I actually think iTunes is really great. Why else do you think I would have 6 iPods including one iPhone?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Some might say you were spoiled. . J/k

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[branden3112]

Hey!! That's (^^^) not nice!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Tlynnsmith]

They make these threads because they want input on their choice from the CB community.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Nope. Wrong answer. Try again. He asked for no input. He stated that he was leaving, and told us why. It's called a "noisy exit", which is fine...I don't get it, but I love my phone, so...

I just want everyone to be happy, and enjoy their devices. I wish him well.

[DavidThi808]

Nope. Wrong answer. Try again. He asked for no input. He stated that he was leaving, and told us why. It's called a "noisy exit", which is fine...I don't get it, but I love my phone, so...

I just want everyone to be happy, and enjoy their devices. I wish him well.

Fair enough. So let me post the question that led to my post here although I didn't state it.

Why is it that the RIM people can't write software as well as Apple? At least after Apple showed how well it could be done, why didn't RIM at that point do the same thing.

Plus there is use I think in pointing out that RIM & Verizon do a terrible job on enterprise level support. It lets others know when they Google search if enough of these posts get made.

[branden3112]

I also have been wondering why RIM can't write revolutionary software like Apple can.....

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Tlynnsmith]

Fair enough. So let me post the question that led to my post here although I didn't state it.

Why is it that the RIM people can't write software as well as Apple? At least after Apple showed how well it could be done, why didn't RIM at that point do the same thing.

Plus there is use I think in pointing out that RIM & Verizon do a terrible job on enterprise level support. It lets others know when they Google search if enough of these posts get made.

You know what, David? I don't know why RIM software isn't as great as Apple. Makes you wonder. Someone with expertise in software design, as well as knowledge regarding the objectives of both Apple and RIM, will have to answer.

[branden3112]

RIM needs to start coming up with great new ideas so that they don't fall behind the iPhone like almost are..... :/

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[amazzajr]

1. Research before you buy (this thread annoys me, as I'm a BES Admin)

2. The VZW Rep is an *****.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[ScandaLeX]

Why no love for the iPhone? I was on the Windows 95 team at Microsoft and have used Windows software my whole life. And I don't think the iPhone is perfect (and I recognize iTunes is badly written software).

But I think the iPhone is easily the best enterprise class mobile device out there. And so it's the one Apple product I own.

Fair enough. So let me post the question that led to my post here although I didn't state it.

Why is it that the RIM people can't write software as well as Apple? At least after Apple showed how well it could be done, why didn't RIM at that point do the same thing.

Plus there is use I think in pointing out that RIM & Verizon do a terrible job on enterprise level support. It lets others know when they Google search if enough of these posts get made.

Hi David. On one hand you're praising Apple; on the other, you're putting them down. I hope you realize that iTunes is Apple's software.

[andrewopolis]

iTunes is crap. just sign up for Zune and you won't have to keep paying 1 dollar per song.

instead you pay $15 a month, get 10 credits a month to download songs that you keep forever, and you can download as many songs as you want and listen to them as long as you pay $15 a month. you could download like 1k songs for just $15

ya dont even have to download the songs to listen to them if ya dont want to

[amazinglygraceless]

RIM needs to start coming up with great new ideas so that they don't fall behind the iPhone like almost are..... :/

It is this kind of thing that annoys me to no end. RIM IS NOT AN APP
DEVELOPER!!

RIM is responsible for the OS and the core applications that define it.

The reason that BlackBerry apps "lag" behind every other platform is that RIM
takes security more seriously than any other platform.

And to be perfectly honest, I am happy that current BlackBerry apps are not
following the lead of the Iphone. Apple may have a huge catalog, but truth
to tell most of it is useless dreck.

[andrewopolis]

yeah, who wants to make a cookie that they can't eat. Iphone is for toddlers. I couldn't belive it when I was at AT&T buying my Touch Pro on the first day of availability 11/11/08 (in my area at least), that a business lookin man with a long sleeve shirt, tie, and long pants was excited to get an Iphone. what a noob. and of course the noob had to have them transfer his contacts and stuff for him.

[Tlynnsmith]

It is this kind of thing that annoys me to no end. RIM IS NOT AN APP
DEVELOPER!!

RIM is responsible for the OS and the core applications that define it.

The reason that BlackBerry apps "lag" behind every other platform is that RIM
takes security more seriously than any other platform.

And to be perfectly honest, I am happy that current BlackBerry apps are not
following the lead of the Iphone. Apple may have a huge catalog, but truth
to tell most of it is useless dreck.

Well....there you have it: Different objectives. So, Apple will never be RIM, and vice versa. I have an iTouch, and to be quite honest, after spending about an hour searching the app list via iTunes, I found a few games and a couple of apps that I wanted.

It's just like folks who love those chain all-you-can-eat places. Many are mesmerized by the abundance of choices, but most of it is crap. I'll say this again: Do a lot of research, ask a lot of questions and run those questions by mulitple sources. Store/CS reps are not always the most qualified, and that's the truth.

[DavidThi808]

It is this kind of thing that annoys me to no end. RIM IS NOT AN APP
DEVELOPER!!

RIM is responsible for the OS and the core applications that define it.

The reason that BlackBerry apps "lag" behind every other platform is that RIM
takes security more seriously than any other platform.

Uh, I would call having the phone sync with Exchange a core application as the BlackBerry is just a phone without that capability. As to security, I haven't heard of any holes in the iPhone's ActiveSync connection.

I think it's fair to say that RIM's developers are way behind the ones at Apple. I can understand that RIM needs to wait to see what Apple does and then copy them because they can't think of these ideas on their own. But I would hope they are skilled enough to then implement a direct connection to ActiveSync once they see it can be done and how simple it makes life.

And to be perfectly honest, I am happy that current BlackBerry apps are not
following the lead of the Iphone. Apple may have a huge catalog, but truth
to tell most of it is useless dreck.

I'll agree with you there. I have 1 app on myiPhone - a news feed.