[ajsellaroli]

Hi, my dad asked me to set his Blackberry Curve 8330 up. He wants certain things for his phone.

First of all, he wants to be able to have contacts and calendar items sync automatically, just like the email does in BIS.

Second, when I used the 'device transfer wizard' to transfer all his calendar items from his Treo 700wx to his new Curve, it only imported the calendar items from the present forward. he really really needs the old stuff on there too. Any fixes for this?

Third, if he does need a BES (and I think he does) where can I find it for a low price?? we would only need to support two devices (my dad's and my mom's) so I don't think it would be smart to actually have our own server. Can we rent?? With my dads treo we rented a microsoft exchange server from someone for $6 a month. Is there anything like that for Blackberries??

Fourth, I am not sure about how the Blackberry express server works. What is the desktop client?? Is it still outlook? are there any options other than outlook? Would you recommend outlook?


Thank so much guys, I know I dumped alot on you at once, but I would greatly appreciate any help.

[smaug]

BlackBerry - Hosted BlackBerry services

[smaug]

Also, where did you get a hosted Exchange server for $6/month? I've been looking into doing this myself.

[bythebeach]

I am not a BES vs BIS expert, but I am a little familiar with both services. When I bought my BB is February I went with BES because I could sync with Outlook wirelessly via a Microsoft Exchange Service I "rented" from the software firm I use for my business. I have recently eliminated BES and have gone strictly with BIS. BES wasn't doing anything for me that BIS couldn't and BES was costing me an additional $15 over BIS on AT&T, plus the use fee for the Microsoft Exchange Server (about the same as what your dad paid.) I love Google products and they work for my situation. I'm not an Outlook fan and so I use gmail (personal email) and Google Calendar with Google Sync (syncs appointments in the calendar wirelessly.) There is a Google contacts sync in beta available, though I haven't tried it yet. My business email I have set up through BIS to POP to my BB and it comes through quickly after being sent to me.

The IT Policy that BES places on the BB can become annoying, too. I don't know what type of business your dad is in, but if he just wants BES for syncing purposes, you might want to look into these alternatives I have mentioned.

The more time I spend here on Crackberry the more I learn and thus the more powerful my BB becomes, often while saving money!

This is my experience and I hope it helps in your/your dad's decisions.

[ajsellaroli]

Also, where did you get a hosted Exchange server for $6/month? I've been looking into doing this myself.

We got ours from 1and1.com, it worked really well for the time being.

Tracy, I'm not quite sure I understand - Does BES just work over a Microsoft Exchange server? I don't really think Sprint Charges extra to use BES, besides, we have the 'everything plan' - where they don't sell anything as 'add-ons' they just give you everything, and its up to you to either use everything they offer or neglect certain features.

Smaug, I also checked your link out - and I have to admit it was very confusing. There are many MANY people offering 'hosted blackberry services' and I have no idea which people there offer a 'good value' or offer horrible service, or anything.

BES users, please recommend something!

thanks

[bythebeach]

I believe that Microsoft Exchange Server allows for the push Microsoft products (Outlook, etc.) to wireless devices and I think that BES is the service that BBs use to facilitate the push over a wireless carrier. I am not completely clear on all of it either, sorry.

I agree, if Sprint will give you everything for one price, go with BES. Your previous exchange server won't work with your new set up?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com