Observations of a New (not too excited) BB User

Hello, I got a BB curve couple of days ago. I like its looks. Curve is very very beautiful. That's the primary motivation to get BB actually. The UI is fine. Phone & OS seem faster. Experience is good till then.

Note - Right now, I get my email on my BB from my Exchange Server through OWA as https // mail mycompany dot com I also have a T-Mobile unlimited email add-on for 9.99 on this plan.

Here are my first observations:

1. HTML Emails dont show up properly. I read somewhere that OS doesn't support it so, unfortunately I have to pay for it ???? This isn't so in WM 6.0

2. Is there a way to sync with different folders in Outlook ? From my observation, BB is picking up emails that are landing in Inbox. While this is OK, in my OUtlook I may want to have a separate folder for certain emails ( say from the boss). Thus, want to sync-up Inbox & that folder. This didn't seem possible. I can do this in WM

3. Can it sync with Exchange server and pick-up last 'n' days of emails if I want, instead of looking forward to new ones and collecting them ? Happens with WM

4. 2 way sync of emails isnt happening. i.e. if I get an email both in Outlook and BB, then I read it in Outlook, I would like BB to show that it is read. Same thing should happen if we delete an email from Outlook. Again, there are 3rd party software for this but it is not yet a core scenario for phone+OS centered around bringing email to people ???? This happens with WM

I am not trying to convey that WM is better but my shock that these things aren't in BB. I have been WM user for last 2 years.

Is Blackberry committed to helping BB ISVs & ecosystem by not implementing these features and having users buy such necessary software as add-ons ?

If there are solutions to my problems with some tricks or with any free software let me know.

Thanks.

I'm not sure ecosystem is the word you're looking for.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

If you are using BIS(through a carrier) and not BES(through your work), the emails will sync, but deleted items will take a little bit of time. With BIS, RIM's server polls your email server every x minutes. Once the email is on RIMS's server, it shows up on your bb. If RIM retrieves an email from you mail server, then it repolls immediately. If not, back to x minutes. The deleted items take a little longer to update. I have noticed that it will not mark as read though on BIS.

My replies are in the quoted message in bold

Originally Posted by kcmouli

Hello, I got a BB curve couple of days ago. I like its looks. Curve is very very beautiful. That's the primary motivation to get BB actually. The UI is fine. Phone & OS seem faster. Experience is good till then.

Note - Right now, I get my email on my BB from my Exchange Server through OWA as https // mail mycompany dot com I also have a T-Mobile unlimited email add-on for 9.99 on this plan.

Here are my first observations:

1. HTML Emails dont show up properly. I read somewhere that OS doesn't support it so, unfortunately I have to pay for it ???? This isn't so in WM 6.0

Two part answer. First part is that you have to have the OS that supports it, and the T-Mobile Curve doesn't have it yet. It "should" be out soon though. Second part is that your BES needs to update and activate it as well. You won't have to pay for it, but both the server and the device need to be set up for it. If you are on BES, your system admin needs to do it, if you are on BIS, you are at the mercy of your carrier to do it.

2. Is there a way to sync with different folders in Outlook ? From my observation, BB is picking up emails that are landing in Inbox. While this is OK, in my OUtlook I may want to have a separate folder for certain emails ( say from the boss). Thus, want to sync-up Inbox & that folder. This didn't seem possible. I can do this in WM

Not possible. BlackBerry doesn't offer true IMAP, two-way sync. There is no folder breakdown, it will only receive what goes to your inbox and it will deposit them in your group Messages mailbox and the mailbox tied to that account. There is a middle man server that is in connection with your Outlook mailbox and it regularly polls the inbox, and every time it finds a new message, it automatically pushes that message to your inbox. If your mailbox is push capable, the poll happens constantly, if it is a normal POP or IMAP mailbox, the poll happens every 15 minutes and you can't change it.

3. Can it sync with Exchange server and pick-up last 'n' days of emails if I want, instead of looking forward to new ones and collecting them ? Happens with WM

It happens with WM because WM uses a "pull" system and actually syncs. BlackBerry uses a redirecting "push" system, so the answer is no. It will only send new mail to you and the only way to get old mail is to resend it to yourself. On the flip side, it won't automatically delete messages from your device mailbox after 'x' days either. That is either good, or bad, depending on your personal feelings.

4. 2 way sync of emails isnt happening. i.e. if I get an email both in Outlook and BB, then I read it in Outlook, I would like BB to show that it is read. Same thing should happen if we delete an email from Outlook. Again, there are 3rd party software for this but it is not yet a core scenario for phone+OS centered around bringing email to people ???? This happens with WM

Again, this is because it is a different system. The BB doesn't support true IMAP because of the way it is setup. To make up for it, you have the option to enable Wireless Reconciliation, which allows you to delete a message on the handheld and have it also be deleted on the server mailbox. Showing it as read requires true IMAP support, if I am not mistaken, and as such isn't possible over BIS.

I am not trying to convey that WM is better but my shock that these things aren't in BB. I have been WM user for last 2 years.

Is Blackberry committed to helping BB ISVs & ecosystem by not implementing these features and having users buy such necessary software as add-ons ?

If there are solutions to my problems with some tricks or with any free software let me know.

Thanks.

BlackBerry devices have never had these features just because they work differently. Their strong point isn't two way mail syncing, but fast and secure delivery of mail in a very, very battery efficient environment. A middleman server does all the mailbox polling so it saves the device the trouble of having to regularly open a connect to look for mail, and then terminate the connection. Things you have asked about have been asked about for a long time, so they "might" be coming; I wouldn't hold my breath for them though.

Thanks crazetoon.