# BlackBerry alternatives



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

"...*there are a number of suitable alternatives*"









*Bonnie Cha
Senior associate editor *

From CNet.com

Research in Motion was dealt a nasty blow in its ongoing legal battle with NTP, a small holding company suing RIM for patent infringement, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a Federal Court of Appeals ruling against the BlackBerry maker. The latest news brings the possibility of a service shutdown one step closer to reality, and though RIM says it has a software "workaround" that will allow it to continue service, we have yet to hear any details about it. Obviously, this doesn't ease any of the worries or concerns of current or future BlackBerry owners, leaving them wondering about the fate of the CrackBerry. However, if there's any consolation, it's the fact that there are a number of suitable alternatives that can perform the same functions of a BlackBerry and, in some cases, do a better job of it.

Click *HERE* to go to C|Net and see if one of them is right for you.


----------



## JM Anthony (Nov 16, 2003)

My BB is still chuggin' away nicely. Thank you.

John


----------



## Sherlock (Mar 24, 2002)

We also looked into GoodLink as a strategy. Now GoodLink is in a patent lawsuit.:grin:


----------



## jfalkingham (Dec 6, 2005)

None of those devices can do what the Blackberry was built for. Push email, calendar, address book enabled wirelessly and doing it with efficient use of the battery. If email/calendar/address book management 'real time' is vital to you and your business, there is only Blackberry. 

MS Mobile 5.0 with active sync does have some of this in their feature set, but its unproven in the field. Besides have you ever used a MS based handheld phone? Not for nothing, I tried Siemens SX 56, Motorola mpx200 and now the H6556 they are subject to lockups doing everyday tasks. Blackberry is not immune to this, but they are certainly more stable than any MS based PhonePDA device.


----------



## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

jfalkingham said:


> None of those devices can do what the Blackberry was built for. Push email, calendar, address book enabled wirelessly and doing it with efficient use of the battery. If email/calendar/address book management 'real time' is vital to you and your business, there is only Blackberry.
> 
> MS Mobile 5.0 with active sync does have some of this in their feature set, but its unproven in the field. Besides have you ever used a MS based handheld phone? Not for nothing, I tried Siemens SX 56, Motorola mpx200 and now the H6556 they are subject to lockups doing everyday tasks. Blackberry is not immune to this, but they are certainly more stable than any MS based PhonePDA device.


Just listened to a podcast where a MS rep stated that exchange server 2003 WITH SP2 upgrade will do full push e-mail. I missed some of the cast but I believe it uses SMS messaging to trigger your WM5 device to login and sync the 2003 E server mail calendar etc with each push.

Now I am a bit confused over this- Anyone care to explain how any of these push e-mails will work with a WM device or any momentary connect like a cell phone? What if I get an e-mail every 90 seconds, would the Push feature have my phone logging in every 90 seconds to resync? I like having exchange server features and am right now looking into it but this part of Push e-mail has be confused, when using a mobile device.

Oh, I'm on my 3rd MS based phone. One was 2003 and two now are WM5 and I find them fine. What they lock up on is over loading the device with too much stuff. As with any computer, proper management of resources is a must. MY wife is new to her Treo700w and is learning but she loves it for here E server now. Not push but she hits send/receive when she thinks about it and it syncs with everything. All Push will do for her is make it automatic, right? Me, I'm still on POP3 but reviewing my options for the future. I need Eserver but will probably end up with a service.


----------



## Jason Nipp (Jun 10, 2004)

DonLandis said:


> Just listened to a podcast where a MS rep stated that exchange server 2003 WITH SP2 upgrade will do full push e-mail. I missed some of the cast but I believe it uses SMS messaging to trigger your WM5 device to login and sync the 2003 E server mail calendar etc with each push.
> 
> Now I am a bit confused over this- Anyone care to explain how any of these push e-mails will work with a WM device or any momentary connect like a cell phone? What if I get an e-mail every 90 seconds, would the Push feature have my phone logging in every 90 seconds to resync? I like having exchange server features and am right now looking into it but this part of Push e-mail has be confused, when using a mobile device.
> 
> Oh, I'm on my 3rd MS based phone. One was 2003 and two now are WM5 and I find them fine. What they lock up on is over loading the device with too much stuff. As with any computer, proper management of resources is a must. MY wife is new to her Treo700w and is learning but she loves it for here E server now. Not push but she hits send/receive when she thinks about it and it syncs with everything. All Push will do for her is make it automatic, right? Me, I'm still on POP3 but reviewing my options for the future. I need Eserver but will probably end up with a service.


Don, My i730 was preloaded with Wireless sync, which I actually had to pay extra for in my contract. It supports push and several other types. If I understand correctly, Verizon has this setup so push is all done on their server, and it uses about the same bandwidth as a text message cause it only syncs 2k worth unless you tell it to DL the whole message. I actually uninstalled wireless sync as I didn't use it and it caused a beep every 20 seconds apart on my calls. People got mad at me cause they thought I was recording them. Lots of info on PDA type phones at these 2 websites, which I have found invaluable for patches etc, uncrippling the Verizon cripples, etc. Now if they could make my WiFi work properly when MS Voice Command is installed I would be happy.

http://www.pdaphonehome.com/forums/

http://www.phonescoop.com

There's a couple other I frequent but don't have the URLs saved on this PC. Definitely the DBSTalk of PDA smart phones. 

Take a look.


----------



## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Jason- We had lots of problems getting my wife's Treo700w working with Exchange server. Receiving was pretty easy as it just took setting up the User ID and PW in the right places. Sending was a different story. Her company didn't permit her to send messages as "reply" but required you to do a separate login via the web access which, IMO is stupid but according to the Verizon FAQ, many companies do this. So, to fool these servers, Verizon set up a special relay server to achieve reply send e-mail through those servers that had this shut off. I set it up but would need to review the details to give you the complete process. It required that you establish an account with Verizon's Text messaging service. Then when you want to reply, the access to the company's Exchange server was via Verizon's server, not by a direct access from her Treo700w. I still don't understnad why this is so but it is and aparently wide spread enough for Verizon to set up this work around. Anyway, her IT techs still don't understand how we did it and I told my wife, since they were little to no help, just tell them she hired an outside consultant to fix it.  Apparently my wife is the only one in the company that can receive and send e-mail from their PDA phones using the company's server which they require. Stuff like this that makes me happy I don't work under today's corporate rules. 

Also, I have found the hack, a simple one that works to enable the wifi and phone transceivers in the XV6700 simultaneously. It is an easy switch in the registry where they had that feature shut off. I can now be downloading a large file, receive and take a phone call and the download never interrupts. However, having BT, wifi, and phone active, sucks the battery down very fast! The answer and also the other hacks that don't work were in that first PDAPHONEHOME link you posted. I read that one often. 

Some other tools you may want to check out are Core for a more robust media player and Opera, a web browser that supports java scripts and loads about 50% faster than PIE.


----------



## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

I still love my Treo650. I don't trust the 700w as Microsoft's version 1.0 is ALWAYS dicey with any new product....

My only beef about the Treo650 is the fragility of it. I dropped it by accident 18 inches onto a sheet vinyl floor with a plywood subfloor and the screen cracked. Since Cingular wouldn't let me get insurance on this model, I had to spring for a new one. 

It is indispensable to me. Syncs easily with all outlook functions, has an mp3 player, a camera, MobiTV via a subscription, plays all Palm OS software, can get my email, and has web access (about ISDN speed).


----------



## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Bob- Couple of things-

The Treo 700w is not a pure windows Mobile 5 OS. Palm had a deal with MS to modify the windows 5 OS. Second. WM5 is not version 1 as it is based on 3 predecessors that I know of. So it might be called version 4 but the reason it was named WM5 was because it was derived from the originals mobile OS that were based on Years as in 2002, 2003, 2003SE, and then was known for a brief time in alpha testing as 2005, later shortened to WM5. ISDN speed is considerably faster than the GPRS since these cell phone GPRS speeds are varialble and shared node. The old ISDN that was used mostly by Radio Stations for sound links was a dedicated bi directional speed and didn't vary so over a sustained data connection it was very reliable and could be counted on to delivery a guaranteed speed. 
I'm surprised you weren't allowed to get insurance on the Treo650. I haven't had any issues with my ability to obtain insurance and that included when I was with Cingular 3 years ago. I even had a claim for a cracked screen with Cingular and they swapped it out no questions and that was before the practice of the deductible. When I bought the 700w (from Verizon), I could not select the insurance because they did leave it off the website order page but I called them on the phone to question that and they added it for me. About a week later it was added to the website order form.

However- all my friends with Treo 650's love them except for the fact it must use Palm OS which is said to be a dieing OS and there is a limited number of aps being written for Palm OS. But if it does all you need then why bother. The 700w is a good tool for the executive who needs what Palm added to the WM5 OS. However, it does not handle additional apps well due to very limited memory. For Power users who want ot do lots of robust applications, I'd not recommend the Treo700w. That is why I did not order a second one for me. I went with a more robust hardware smart phone PDA but it lacks the form factor that so many love in the Treo design. 

IMO- the Blackberry users who are happy with their Blackberry's should seriously consider The Treo700w if they want WM5 OS, if not the Treo 650 is a hell of a bargain right now. If you want a new tool with great expansion capability to do may things, then I'd seriously look into the XV6700 or the Samsung that Jason has. I can load 5-7 apps and it still has memory to spare. Load two on the Treo and you are on the edge of things not working right. Load 3 and it just may lock up on you requiring a soft reset.


----------



## Jason Nipp (Jun 10, 2004)

DonLandis said:


> IMO- the Blackberry users who are happy with their Blackberry's should seriously consider The Treo700w if they want WM5 OS, if not the Treo 650 is a hell of a bargain right now. If you want a new tool with great expansion capability to do may things, then I'd seriously look into the XV6700 or the Samsung that Jason has. I can load 5-7 apps and it still has memory to spare. Load two on the Treo and you are on the edge of things not working right. Load 3 and it just may lock up on you requiring a soft reset.


The Samsung has proven limitations to it's physical memory. However it has additional safe store memory, and I found a hack on the web that allows me to cache all my working swaps to the SD card. Sounds like it would be slower but they were right, this really free's up the phones resources and should be a standard option to the phone. I find that by using the SD card for swap files and PIE cache etc....That I do really need to use the ULTRA SD cards. And for some reason the Samsung chokes on 2 Gig SD cards. I have tried a 4 Gig card, but it could not see all the available space. So I am sticking with the 1 Gig Ultra for now.

I love MS Voice command, but it corrupts BT and WiFi operation, I would love the features of VC such as incoming call announcement, from a package that doesn't interfere with the other workings of the phone. Voice Signal came with the Sammy and doesn't impair the operation, but it is not as accurate in commands/speech recognition, the amount of commands it self are limited, and there is no call announce feature. So if you have any recommendations here they are welcomed.

One other thing, the Sammy came with Windows IM installed, I cannot find an AOL version that works with the phone. I am told AIM on the 730 is a no no. Would love a client that can do Yahoo IM, AOL IM, and Win IM all in one package.


----------



## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Jason- Per MS rep at CES: WM5 has a 2 G limit on the SD storage! Some hackers have tried partitioning but that failed too. 

I have a 2G card mini SD on order from sandisk to test in my XV6700. 

I saw the hack to change the registry to store your history, cookies and cache from PIE to the SD card but subsequent reports says it causes the PIE to freeze up often. The TREO and the XV6700 have 42+ Mb of storage so it just needs to be purged or find a time when you can purge it automatically. 

This morning my wife told me about another problem with the Excgange E-Mail. Aparently it won't send when the memory gets below 5 Mb but then you have to reset the phone for recovery of ram. Once you reset it Pocket Outlook fails to remember the settings for folder options in the e-mail program. One of these is to store a sent e-mail check box. It defaults to delete the mail everytime she resets. It's still on the server but you shouldn't lose those settings each time you have to reset the phone. 

Voice Command works very well on the Treo700 as it has been custom built for that phone. But it sucks on my XV6700. It worked very well on my IPAQ 6315 and even supported Voice announcing the inbound calls on my BT 1.2 headset. I understand they are working on a new release for WM5 users and it should be out next month that will resolve these WM5 issues.


----------



## Jason Nipp (Jun 10, 2004)

DonLandis said:


> I saw the hack to change the registry to store your history, cookies and cache from PIE to the SD card but subsequent reports says it causes the PIE to freeze up often.


 Been rock solid for me since I did this 2 weeks ago. Haven't had to reboot or otherwise after putting in the registry hack for this. But as always YMMV, try it but I would definatley backup your registry first as a factory reset will not restore previous registry settings.



DonLandis said:


> Voice Command works very well on the Treo700 as it has been custom built for that phone. I understand they are working on a new release for WM5 users and it should be out next month that will resolve these WM5 issues.


 Your saying VC is being updated correct? And that I should wait before giving up on it?


----------



## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Good to know, I have backups of the registry and will give it a try. I'm also using Opera more lately since it supports java. Slow to launch but it loads websites much faster. 

VC is being updated for WM5 compatibility issues. Said for March release. Leaks from the beta community! Rumor is that it will be free upgrade but I'm not banking on the rumors. IT was a worthwhile program I had on my IPAQ6315.


----------



## Jason Nipp (Jun 10, 2004)

Well your right, Loaded Opera and it flies.

However I don't like several things. Scrolling is jumpy, The rollups in the forum still don't function, the auto word suggest feature doesn't work when I am typing, paragraphs seem to run together, I cannot see the quote/original post format properly, your quote and my replies blend so I can't decern the difference.

But my God is it faster, really, amazing, night and day difference.


----------



## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Today at 1:46 PM Judge James Spencer declared that there is no escaping the fact that RIM violated patent rights of NTP and would soon issue an injunction that will shut down all Blackberry e-mail. This doesn't look good. Anyone know how many are relying on Blackberry at this time? How long did RIM market this and was it known all along that there was a possibility that Blackberry owners might get screwed owning a device that will not work? I recall VOOM receiver owners understood the possibility that their purchase might not survive but it seems to me BlackBerry owners, at least early last year were oblivious to this.


----------

