[classact]

I've been on the BB7 OS with a 9930 ever since they came out. I've been using BES all along. I utilize an Exchange hosting provider since I'm a one-man company and it would be impractical to implement BES in-house.

I'm waiting for the Q10 to come out on Verizon.

My Exchange host says they have no plans to adopt the BES10 server since "ActiveSync does everything BES does". We all know how absurd that position is but I can't rush them to their wake-up call and it seems it will be awhile (inevitable as it is). I have a few questions, please.

A) Sync speed - When I do go to the Q10 with ActiveSync, I'm trusting that I won't see any noticeable lag time in how quickly I receive my emails and the syncing to my calendar and contacts. It would really be reassuring if anyone can verify that for me. My Exchange host still has me on Exchange 2007 (they say they need a lot more time to migrate 2007 accounts to 2010).

B) Wanting BDS - I don't need any of the main features that BES10 provides -- being that I'm a one-man company. But I am curious whether BDS will provide any other advantages in terms of basic syncing, such as a "push" email that would be meaningfully more reliable or quicker as compared to the ActiveSync or being any quicker in terms of syncing contacts and calendar. Also, importantly, whether BDS might provide syncing of "more" items -- since I'm already aware that with ActiveSync I'll be losing the ability to have attachments to calendar items appear on the phone (which BES with OS 7 does just fine -- thanks Microsoft).

C) Getting BDS - If BDS does provide any advantages in any of those areas, is there a practical way to get it yet? I don't see it included in BlackBerry Business Cloud Service yet. I assume I just have to wait for my Exchange host to "eventually" come around to adopting it with BES10.

D) Cloud drive - Since I will apparently be losing the ability to get attachments to calendar items on my phone, it looks like I'll need to go to a cloud drive for those files. Two best options I see are SkyDrive from Microsoft and Box. I'm aware that Box is incorporated into BB10, which is a plus there; however, 99% of the time I'll be accessing those files, which are Word and Excel docs, will be on my desktop -- so I want what is most convenient for desktop use and yet will put those files at my fingertips when I need to access them from the phone. SkyDrive may be better than Box in that regard, since those are all Microsoft apps (unless they did as good with SkyDrive as they did with ActiveSync -- NOT).

I guess that's plenty of questions for one post. I hugely appreciate any insights that you can help me with.

Thanks!

[mkelley65]

I've been on the BB7 OS with a 9930 ever since they came out. I've been using BES all along. I utilize an Exchange hosting provider since I'm a one-man company and it would be impractical to implement BES in-house.

I'm waiting for the Q10 to come out on Verizon.

My Exchange host says they have no plans to adopt the BES10 server since "ActiveSync does everything BES does". We all know how absurd that position is but I can't rush them to their wake-up call and it seems it will be awhile (inevitable as it is). I have a few questions, please.

A) Sync speed - When I do go to the Q10 with ActiveSync, I'm trusting that I won't see any noticeable lag time in how quickly I receive my emails and the syncing to my calendar and contacts. It would really be reassuring if anyone can verify that for me. My Exchange host still has me on Exchange 2007 (they say they need a lot more time to migrate 2007 accounts to 2010).

B) Wanting BDS - I don't need any of the main features that BES10 provides -- being that I'm a one-man company. But I am curious whether BDS will provide any other advantages in terms of basic syncing, such as a "push" email that would be meaningfully more reliable or quicker as compared to the ActiveSync or being any quicker in terms of syncing contacts and calendar. Also, importantly, whether BDS might provide syncing of "more" items -- since I'm already aware that with ActiveSync I'll be losing the ability to have attachments to calendar items appear on the phone (which BES with OS 7 does just fine -- thanks Microsoft).

C) Getting BDS - If BDS does provide any advantages in any of those areas, is there a practical way to get it yet? I don't see it included in BlackBerry Business Cloud Service yet. I assume I just have to wait for my Exchange host to "eventually" come around to adopting it with BES10.

D) Cloud drive - Since I will apparently be losing the ability to get attachments to calendar items on my phone, it looks like I'll need to go to a cloud drive for those files. Two best options I see are SkyDrive from Microsoft and Box. I'm aware that Box is incorporated into BB10, which is a plus there; however, 99% of the time I'll be accessing those files, which are Word and Excel docs, will be on my desktop -- so I want what is most convenient for desktop use and yet will put those files at my fingertips when I need to access them from the phone. SkyDrive may be better than Box in that regard, since those are all Microsoft apps (unless they did as good with SkyDrive as they did with ActiveSync -- NOT).

I guess that's plenty of questions for one post. I hugely appreciate any insights that you can help me with.

Thanks!

With Active Sync BES is not needed unless your company is running specific policies. It's instant. Emails hits my Z10 before it hits my Outlook Client on the same LAN as the server. Calendar attachments also come through fine with Active Sync as do Tasks and Contacts.
BlackBerry Link gives you the ability to access folders on your home PC from anywhere in the world.

[classact]

With Active Sync BES is not needed unless your company is running specific policies. It's instant. Emails hits my Z10 before it hits my Outlook Client on the same LAN as the server. Calendar attachments also come through fine with Active Sync as do Tasks and Contacts.
BlackBerry Link gives you the ability to access folders on your home PC from anywhere in the world.

Yeah, I just tested ActiveSync on my PlayBook and, sure enough, email hit there before hitting Outlook on my desktop OR my 9930 with BES/OS7.

Just to clarify, though: You get calendar "attachments"? What I'm referring to is "attaching" a Word or Excel file to a calendar item while in Outlook, and then being able to open that attached file on the phone. All my research indicated that ActiveSync just does not support that.

BlackBerry Link lets me access the files on my PC remotely from the phone? That's news to me! Wow! Similar to GoToMyPC but it actually works on the BB phone? Humph. (Well, not quite like GoToMyPC since I'm sure Link is not providing total desktop control.) Though oddly enough that may still not be practical for me in this case since those files are still going to be attached to Outlook calendar items -- it's the easiest way to keep them current at all my desktops at once. That doesn't lend itself to just opening the files on the desktop -- it requires opening the Outlook calendar time, then the attachment, and then after editing saving the file and then the calendar item. Unless of course I go with a SkyDrive or Box approach. At least that's my understanding, but I'm totally unfamiliar with BB Link.

Thanks very much!

[mkelley65]

Yeah, I just tested ActiveSync on my PlayBook and, sure enough, email hit there before hitting Outlook on my desktop OR my 9930 with BES/OS7.

Just to clarify, though: You get calendar "attachments"? What I'm referring to is "attaching" a Word or Excel file to a calendar item while in Outlook, and then being able to open that attached file on the phone. All my research indicated that ActiveSync just does not support that.

BlackBerry Link lets me access the files on my PC remotely from the phone? That's news to me! Wow! Similar to GoToMyPC but it actually works on the BB phone? Humph. (Well, not quite like GoToMyPC since I'm sure Link is not providing total desktop control.) Though oddly enough that may still not be practical for me in this case since those files are still going to be attached to Outlook calendar items -- it's the easiest way to keep them current at all my desktops at once. That doesn't lend itself to just opening the files on the desktop -- it requires opening the Outlook calendar time, then the attachment, and then after editing saving the file and then the calendar item. Unless of course I go with a SkyDrive or Box approach. At least that's my understanding, but I'm totally unfamiliar with BB Link.

Thanks very much!

I've never attached a document to a calendar in that method. Can't speak on that. If there's a doc I need to access when on the road I leave it in DropBox. One copy and it's always current.
No the BlackBerry Link is not similar to GoToMyPc. It allows you to share Folders. Not access the OS or desktop as a remote client. It's like having your own personal hosted Cloud on your PC. I mapped a NAS drive to my PC, shared it in Link, and now can access my entire music/video/doc library from my Z10.

[classact]

I've never attached a document to a calendar in that method. Can't speak on that. If there's a doc I need to access when on the road I leave it in DropBox. One copy and it's always current.
No the BlackBerry Link is not similar to GoToMyPc. It allows you to share Folders. Not access the OS or desktop as a remote client. It's like having your own personal hosted Cloud on your PC. I mapped a NAS drive to my PC, shared it in Link, and now can access my entire music/video/doc library from my Z10.

Cool. Thanks. I hear DropBox a lot. Also SkyDrive and Box -- now that Box is integrated into BB10 from what my understanding is. I guess it's now just a matter of my seeing which is most practical for desktop access since that will be how I'll be opening those files 99% of the time.

Thanks again!

[classact]

I've never attached a document to a calendar in that method. Can't speak on that. If there's a doc I need to access when on the road I leave it in DropBox. One copy and it's always current.
No the BlackBerry Link is not similar to GoToMyPc. It allows you to share Folders. Not access the OS or desktop as a remote client. It's like having your own personal hosted Cloud on your PC. I mapped a NAS drive to my PC, shared it in Link, and now can access my entire music/video/doc library from my Z10.

Can you please elaborate a bit on... What is a NAS drive? And what's the difference between putting a file into DropBox versus using the BB Link method you described?

Thank you again! I really appreciate it!

EDIT: Never mind about what a NAS drive is. Looked it up. (Wow. Google. What a concept!) Still curious about how you choose between DropBox versus BB Link, though, please.

[mkelley65]

Can you please elaborate a bit on... What is a NAS drive? And what's the difference between putting a file into DropBox versus using the BB Link method you described?

Thank you again! I really appreciate it!

EDIT: Never mind about what a NAS drive is. Looked it up. (Wow. Google. What a concept!) Still curious about how you choose between DropBox versus BB Link, though, please.

I didn't choose. I have multiple options. Critical Docs on the NAS are also in a DropBox folder. If the NAS dies I still have access. Music and videos are not that important. I also use a BOX account that came with 50GB of free storage with the Playbook..
Also I did a little research on syncing calendar attachments. Exchange 2010 and above have an option that allows attachments to be downloaded to the device. I can't test it right now but I will as soon as one of my IT guys comes in tomorrow. I do not screw around with their settings or configurations.

[Old Ag]

BDS or BlackBerry Device Service is not really necessary for your application and neither is BES10 for that matter. The BlackBerry Device Service allows you to:
• Control the connections the device makes to your organization's environment, including connections to your
organization's Wi-Fi networks and Microsoft ActiveSync
• Install and manage your organization’s apps on devices
• Protect your organization’s data and apps on devices

All this can be accomplished through ActiveSync and BlackBerry Protect. The one exception is if you had an intranet that you needed to access and didn't want to implement a VPN to do so. This would be handled by BDS. But its not something I would want to tackle for a single user.

Old Ag