1. back2BB's Avatar
    My family had a number of free email accounts with well-known providers. We grew tired of seeing distracting ads and having our mail "scanned" for advertising purposes. Thus we looked for a premium ad-free email provider and ended up going with Office 365/Hosted Exchange at $4/users/month.

    Why we're happy:

    1.) BB Business Cloud Services works very well; full real time synch of mail and calendars, seems just like a full blown BES for only $4/user/month!

    2.) Spouses can send invites to each other for key family dates. This is especially helpful as wife likes to fill the calendar and husband has a hard time keeping dates straight.

    3.) No more ads. No more temptation to click on a news story or whatever that pops up.

    I realize Hosted Exchange/Office 365 is targeted towards small businesses but it works well for our family's needs. BB+Exchange is IMHO perhaps the best tool for managing calendars, which is a big task for my family. (I do wish the BB camera was better for capturing family moments; but I do expect that to improve.)
    Superfly_FR, kraski and BBMINI like this.
    06-18-12 10:47 AM
  2. anon(4018671)'s Avatar
    I've discovered that with BBM Groups you can share a group calendar and picture archive and even send the invites as you say.

    Best of all its free with you BBM plan
    06-18-12 01:58 PM
  3. pmccartney's Avatar
    BBM group calendars are good but limited. It's far better to have a synchronized calendar (and mail) that can be accessed by more than just your BB.

    OP - in some ways a family is like a small business.
    06-18-12 02:09 PM
  4. Superfly_FR's Avatar
    My family had a number of free email accounts with well-known providers. We grew tired of seeing distracting ads and having our mail "scanned" for advertising purposes. Thus we looked for a premium ad-free email provider and ended up going with Office 365/Hosted Exchange at $4/users/month.

    Why we're happy:

    1.) BB Business Cloud Services works very well; full real time synch of mail and calendars, seems just like a full blown BES for only $4/user/month!

    2.) Spouses can send invites to each other for key family dates. This is especially helpful as wife likes to fill the calendar and husband has a hard time keeping dates straight.

    3.) No more ads. No more temptation to click on a news story or whatever that pops up.

    I realize Hosted Exchange/Office 365 is targeted towards small businesses but it works well for our family's needs. BB+Exchange is IMHO perhaps the best tool for managing calendars, which is a big task for my family. (I do wish the BB camera was better for capturing family moments; but I do expect that to improve.)
    yeah, it rocks. Don't forget to mention ... contacts !
    06-18-12 02:53 PM
  5. BBMINI's Avatar
    My family had a number of free email accounts with well-known providers. We grew tired of seeing distracting ads and having our mail "scanned" for advertising purposes. Thus we looked for a premium ad-free email provider and ended up going with Office 365/Hosted Exchange at $4/users/month.

    Why we're happy:
    1.) BB Business Cloud Services works very well; full real time synch of mail and calendars, seems just like a full blown BES for only $4/user/month!
    2.) Spouses can send invites to each other for key family dates. This is especially helpful as wife likes to fill the calendar and husband has a hard time keeping dates straight.
    3.) No more ads. No more temptation to click on a news story or whatever that pops up.

    I realize Hosted Exchange/Office 365 is targeted towards small businesses but it works well for our family's needs. BB+Exchange is IMHO perhaps the best tool for managing calendars, which is a big task for my family. (I do wish the BB camera was better for capturing family moments; but I do expect that to improve.)
    Thanks for the post. I've been considering changing email services and so was interested in the info since I wasn't familiar with Office365. Looks like a cool service.

    One question:
    - What's the domain name of O365's email addresses if you don't own/provide a domain name to use (as in for family use as you described)? Or do you have to provide a domain name to use the service?
    06-18-12 04:10 PM
  6. emtunc's Avatar
    For those looking in to the service... Office 365 is more for professional/business users. It's not really developed for the average John Doe in mind.

    Thanks for the post. I've been considering changing email services and so was interested in the info since I wasn't familiar with Office365. Looks like a cool service.

    One question:
    - What's the domain name of O365's email addresses if you don't own/provide a domain name to use (as in for family use as you described)? Or do you have to provide a domain name to use the service?
    It would be name_you_register_with.onmicrosoft.com.
    06-18-12 05:19 PM
  7. back2BB's Avatar
    That is my understanding too for the domain name: "your_prefix.onmicrosoft.com"

    However, there might be a shorter domain name solution, something like "@outlook.com," but I have not looked into that.

    Office365/Hosted Exchange is not for the average Joe, it took me a couple of hours to figure out and 2 tech support calls. But now that it is set-up I am extremely happy. I've never administered a full BB server, but it seems to me like I have that power now--at 4 bucks a month!

    I hope MS doesn't decide to "re-price" the service once they have a user base locked-in. OTOH, I might upgrade to the full-blown online Office package one day, but for now am content to use tools like Dropbox, SkyDrive, Box.net, etc
    Last edited by back2BB; 06-18-12 at 06:07 PM. Reason: spelling error
    06-18-12 06:04 PM
  8. fire6's Avatar
    What BB service do you need to use the $4.00 service? BES, BESX, or just the BIS plans. The Microsoft website looks like you need the higher plan to sync with BB.
    06-19-12 05:18 AM
  9. back2BB's Avatar
    I have the "Exchange Online (Plan 1)" plan.

    It's listed here, and it references BB synching:
    Microsoft Exchange Online Pricing

    It's listed here too, but the BB integration isn't as advertised as above:
    Take a look at all Office 365 plans available

    It's the cheapest plan..$4/mo/user.

    Once it's set up, the BB service is described as:
    ---
    BlackBerry� Business Cloud Services from Research In Motion (RIM�)
    Add and remove BlackBerry� smartphones, reset passwords, wipe devices.
    ---
    06-19-12 12:00 PM
  10. ElTelUK's Avatar
    Can anyone help please, I am currently using Office 365 Small Business on a Windows Phone and want to move back to BB, can I do this? I have read about these new BB Office 365 Cloud Services that are new from Jan this year, but not sure if I can use this being as I am only on Small Business 365 and not Enterprise 365. Can anyone advise please? Thanks.
    07-23-12 07:51 AM
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