BB Push E-Mail VS Oth. Push E-Mail

[p051t1v3]

Hello all!

I have some questions regarding BB Push Email.
I'm a newbie in Blackberry world, replies and answers are very much appreciated.
I'm getting a new phone, definitely a Blackberry. But for the last few weeks, I've been reading up on articles on other phones like LG, HTC, i-Mate and found out that they are providing Push E-Mail technology as well. To name a few, LG KS20, HTC Touch Diamond, and Sony XPERIA.

My questions are
1. Are they using Blackberry-connect software to get the push-email technology on their phones?
2. If not, how does their push-email technology compare to BB Push Email?

Thank you all in advance for insights, replies, and answers.

[zenartbb]

Wirelessly posted (Curve 8330)

BlackBerry and Good have the only true "push" technologies.
All others are fakers in my humble opinion.

Good is not really out there much anymore, and tends to hijack the OS of the device it is loaded on (which can suck on a number of different levels).

The others (ActiveSync included) simulate "push" by having the device check for mail in the background. This means that your device is doing the heavy lifting, and you will experience battery drain issues.

With BlackBerry the server does the heavy lifting (BES or BIS) and simply sends (err a representation/copy of)the mail to your device and reconciles back with the server.

[Dubdub]

Blackberry connect works on some platforms which essentially makes it act sort of like a BB where email is concerned.

As I understand WM email from my Palm and WM days, the device makes the poll to go get email every so often as you set it up to do. You can also request it to poll as well. RIM just automatically pushes email tot he device with no interaction or set up on your part. At least that is how I remember it being long ago and far away - Treo 600/650 days.

[p051t1v3]

Thank you... that definitely cleared up some confusion. More comments and insights are welcome.

[PaulMdx]

Most non-BB devices will use Microsoft DirectPush technology, which is an add-on for IIS that interacts with Exchange. (It's the same add-on that gives you Outlook Mobile Access, and works in the same way as Outlook Web Access.) The nice thing about this is anyone can set up a server and have their devices use it (whether they be corporate or personal handsets) with a standard mobile contract with data.

I think the lines are blurred slightly with what push and pull actually represent, and to be honest I'd don't see a significant difference. I had a Windows Mobile device for quite a while and I didn't see it use significantly more data than my BB uses.

To answer your questions more specifically:

1) They are likely not to be using BlackBerry Connect, but may do. BlackBerry Connect (at least with O2 UK) is quite a bit more expensive than a normal BlackBerry contract.

2) In terms of user experience, I don't believe you will see a great deal of difference. For me it's the handset that is so much better than competitors.

[pinhead]

If your main goal is fast emailing then you will be quite happy with either BlackBerry or WM Direct Push. I have an 8310 on one line and a HTC phone on the other. Email works VERY well on both devices. The Curve has simplicity going for it whereas the Tilt has functionaility. Regardless of the talk about battery life with Direct Push instead of BlackBerry email I get BETTER battery life from my more heavily used Tilt than I get from my BlackBerry. Push email is running on both devices all the time.