1. Xadion's Avatar
    Hello all... I have been a die hard WebOS user sence I pre(lol) orded my pre... I used my Sprint Pre for over two years and recently got a Pre 2 on verizon in hopes of the Pre 3... sadly HP is ********.

    Now I am looking at all the options, I bought a HTC Evo when it first came out and returned it during my 30day return window- Android is not for me...turrbble...

    With WebOS in a precarious state I find myself looking for the best alternative...

    What I am looking for in a mobile OS is what drew me to WebOS oh many years ago- clean interface, natural and real multitasking - full support for exchange email calender tasks etc and good web browseing.

    Now for my questions:

    Does BlackBerry still require use of BlackBerry Server for Miscrosoft Exchange access or can it use webmail interface like every other device.

    Heard about "blackberry outage" a few times in the last few months...why? why are the phones connected to mother canada in any way?

    How does BBX and BB7 Multi task- what I hate about android and ios is "task killers" and stuff- also even in Android ICS the "multi task" panel shows recently used apps...not ACTIVE apps only...I want to go between what I AM DOING and be able to close what I dont want- not just show me what I have done..that is the most dumb way of "multi tasking" i have known... thats why I love WebOS and the cards- and from useing a playbook BBX seems to...umm "borrow" that idea well (except the dismissing of the 'cards' on BBX/playbook whatever is just an animation when you swipe up and in webos the card actualy moves with your finger untill it is all the way up and dismissed)

    I love the pre and torch1/2 layout- I like a larger screen AND keyboard- any hope of a torch 2 or the like on Verizon.

    Thanks all!
    11-17-11 08:26 AM
  2. SRR500's Avatar
    I can't answer your questions regarding exchange but I do have a couple of answers for you.

    Blackberries data is routed through RIM's Network Operations Center (NOC) as data is passed through the NOC to and from the handset it is compressed and or encrypted etc. The use of the NOC is how BlackBerry provides it's second-to-none security and data efficiency.

    Yes there was a huge outage that left a lot of people without data service for a while but I've heard that the actual up-time is above 99%. The fact that the outage made front page news should be seen as a testament to the fact that it doesn't happen very often. If it did the media wouldn't bother to cover it if it was "just another outage". Personally, I've been using BB for over three years and have never experienced an outage.

    As far as multitasking, BB does it extremely well. After you open an app it can be moved to the background by pressing the "end" button which takes you back to the home screen. You can quickly switch between running apps by holding the menu key for a couple of seconds. You do have to watch out that you don't forget to close an app when you're done with it or the phone can start to lag and the battery can drain faster.

    Hope this helps you out some.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-17-11 10:06 AM
  3. joeldf's Avatar
    None of the current BB OSs have native. Exchange ActiveSync. However, BIS does provide limited access to an Exchange email account through OWA to the phone's native email. It does not give you OTA syncing of calendar and contacts (that must be done with direct connection to the Desktop Manger software loaded on the PC that has Outlook on it). It is how I keep up with my office email. It is not instantaneous like BES or ActiveSync would be, but it's good enough for me.

    That outage, by the way, really only affected BIS users - those on personal BlackBerry plans and phones (like me). It did not affect business/corporate, government, or university users on their own hosted BES email servers. The idea that the outage affected businesses was way over-exaggerated by the media as they shouldn't have been affected at all.

    No one really knows what BBX will be like. But we have heard that it will support BES (unlike the current PlayBook OS), AND Exchange ActiveSync. So, that's a plus.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-17-11 10:57 AM
  4. Xadion's Avatar
    Thanks for the info, when you press and hold the menu key for it to display apps are they active or "recent" .. I may sound short sighted and many (android/ios) people would say "whats the diff, its close nuff the same!" if it is showing you active apps that is great- the playbooks "cards" are (although not quite as smoothly intergrated as webos) a big jump imo over android (even ics) and ios4.

    RIM needs to get with exchange active sync - it is just how everything is. I understand the history of BB/RIM and give them mad props for being the first to offer exhange on your phone- but the times have changed and BB needs to advance with it- I also understand the data encryption etc is a prime reason for the different way of doing things- but it seems BB/RIM is starting to get back into the consumer world- consumers dont want an extra "blackberry" 10$ charge per month or have to hope their job has a bb server- for instance my job (state college) did, well technically still does but will NOT add ANYONE to it- as it is to be taken out as soon as everyone is off of it.

    What I like about BB7 is that it has what you need, I hate haveing to build my own OS in android...and well... ios...meh
    11-17-11 11:14 AM
  5. newcollector's Avatar
    I use my phone for business and for pleasure...I am on BIS. I do not pay an extra fee. My minutes and data are the same as they would be without a BlackBerry.

    My email's arrive very timely...the same with text messages. I use a little BBM, because only a few people I know have BlackBerries. I also run some of my non-BlackBerry contacts through BBM. You don't get the "d" nor the "r", but you do get them pushed through RIM's servers.

    The security is nice. BlackBerry Protect is a real winner...remote wiping, location of a lost device through satellite maps and cloud backup.

    Every device OS has strengths and weaknesses. You have to decide what works best for you. I could have waited for BBX phones to come out, but the OS7 phones are great and more than meet my needs for now. Like you did with Android, I'd get one and try it out for 30 days and see if it meets your needs. Become familiar with the shortcuts and customizations and I think you will find the phone compares well with WebOS and in some areas even exceeds it.
    zc1 likes this.
    11-17-11 12:54 PM
  6. kbz1960's Avatar
    I can't answer your questions but I feel the same way about android and iOS, yuk. I do love how my playbook works and looking forward to similar on a phone when they come out.
    11-17-11 01:23 PM
  7. joeldf's Avatar
    Apps that show up when holding down the menu button are in fact running apps. They update the entire time if that's what they do (like Scoremobile). There is no such thing as a "recent" apps list. They are either running or they are not.

    There are at least 5 core apps that run all the time and can't be shut down. But, this is normal for all BBs. They are Home (the home screen), Phone (because it is a phone after all), Messages (to get those push emails), Browser (don't know why, but doesn't do anything if no page is loaded), and BBM (to get those messages too). The only one that is possible to kill is BBM, but you have to actually remove the app. It's not really a big deal to leave it even if you don't use it. I don't, but I leave it on my phone anyway.

    I agree with you that BB should have ActiveSync now, but they have been trying to protect their BES income. That was their bread-and-butter for years. They are obviously losing that battle now, and is why BBX will finally have Exchange ActiveSync.

    As the other poster said, BIS is NOT an additional charge (at least not in the U.S.). I know that BES was (and still is). However, you can get exchange email over BIS if the exchange server has Outlook Web Access turned on. If you can get to your account on a computer using Web Access, then BIS can get to it too right to the email system. As I said earlier, it's not full integration - you also don't get subfolders if you have them - but for just getting emails, it works well enough.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    11-17-11 04:09 PM
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