hi all,

over the weekend i bought a blackberry curve from att, so i could throw away my ancient hp jornada 560 pocket pc. i like the interface of the blackberry and pretty much everything about it, but one thing is a letdown:
when i sync with outlook, it takes 30+ seconds every time. is this everyone's experience? my ancient hp jornada would sync in less than 5 seconds. seems that the blackberry software checks everything all the time, so that even when there's only one change, such as a single new task, it still takes 30+ seconds. VERY ANNOYING. Any suggestions on how to speed this up? thanks

ps: also, my ancient pocket pc would sync on the fly. Meaning that as long as the device was connected, and I typed a new appointment or new anything into outlook, it would automatically get transferred to my pocket PC in under 1 second, without me having to click a sync button or do anything. Blackberry also doesn't seem to do this. any suggestions? The blackberry device itself is awesome, but if syncing is really this awkward, i might have to consider a palm centro... thanks for any feedback!

30 seconds? try 2-3 minutes on mine with contacts and calendar items taking most of that, according to the updates.

You will need a BES setup for your BB if you over the air sync of the address Book and Calendar, etc.

If it is not what you need to serve your purposes, I do suggest you do you do a little more research before committing yourself to deeply into the BB world.

hi,

Well, i'm not sure it is what i need. and i don't know what BES setup is. all i want to use it for is an organizer. to keep all my contacts, calendar appointments, task list, notes (memo pad). I don't even need it for email or internet. that's all. But I can't stand how long it takes to sync. Understand, i'm not saying this because I advocate PocketPC or windows mobile, but how can it be that my Pocket PC which is over 5 yrs old, took 5 seconds to sync the same amount of data that the blackberry takes over 30 seconds to sync? And how could technology over 5 yrs old sync real time on its own every time i wrote something new in outlook, and blackberry desktop manager doesn't seem to be capable of immediately syncing automatically when a change is made either on the device or in outlook (while connected to PC). that doesn't seem to make sense. Any way to sync faster? by the way, I'm using v. 4.5 of the desktop manager, downloaded from the blackberry website, and usb connection to PC.

We have a FAQ here that will help you
BlackBerry Glossary - BlackBerryFAQ

For your other issues, you just need to decide what is best for you. I guess yours are the reasons that RIM stock is doing so horribly.

How often are you syncing, every five minutes? Do it once a day.

Honestly, an open mind might benefit you here some in adapting to a new device, technology and such. And if it is not what you need, enjoy your WM.

anybody know how palm centro sync speed compares with BB and PocketPC?

You need to figure out what you are looking for in terms of a device. Is it purely the sync? And your best bet for a comparison is to go to sites dedicated to that product line. While many users here have used other devices, being that this is a BLACKBERRY forum, you will find that most are a bit biased.

I can tell you however that with thousands of calendar entries and thousands of contacts it takes about 10-15 minutes to perform the sync. With a BES its whenever changes are made, so near instantaneous.

I apologize for my ignorance but i don't exactly know what BES is. I just looked it up and know it stands for BB enterprise server. So i think this is probably something a company has and allows employees who all have blackberries to use? so if i'm an individual just syncing with my PC, then BES is not an option. True?

Because if it allows intantaneous sync that i'm used to, then that's what i would want. i don't sync every 5 minutes, but it's annoying if i do it 10 minutes before i go to sleep, and then remember 2 minutes later that i need to add a new appointment or task which i enter in outlook (because it's much easier to type on a computer keyboard), and then have to re-sync for another 30-45 seconds. and as my contacts etc grow, this will only get longer. that's why i think intantaneous sync is important.

so anyway, if i'm using USB to PC connection, then am i stuck with this slow sync speed, end of story?

How many records are you attempting to sync and what version of Desktop Manager are you using on what PC OS? And you can always enable Bluetooth sync as well, so that your device will sync every time it comes in range of the PC

270 address book, 200some calendar items, 20some tasks, 10-20 memo pad items. that's it. my PC doesn't have Bluetooth. but even if it did, would syncing be intantaneous through that? Using v. 4.5 of desktop manager, and windows XP.

downgrade from 4.5 to either 4.3 or 4.2 sp 2. Those versions are much faster in my experience.

No, it won't be instantaneous unless you connect with a BES server.

wow a whole 30 seconds geez it takes me longer than that to take a leak. You need to have real expectations. If you cant spare a minute or so to sync a device then you are too OCDed

Point taken, but the OP is saying that his 5 yr old device can sync faster than the newer blackberry. Shouldn't newer devices sync much faster with better technology?

My Palm Treo 650 takes even longer than the blackberry. I imagine the Centro would be similar to the Treo

The user and is comparing apples to oranges. If they need instantaneous sync, the BB provides that If the user doesn't want to pay for it (BES), that is their choice.

OK, some people seem to be taking this personal, perhaps can't handle the truth? Which is that a 5+ yrs old device is leaps and bounds better at syncing through USB than today's blackberry. "tuanle" you are right, it is RIDICULOUS that the BB has to take that long to sync. And actually "Dawg", I timed it today, it takes a minute and 20 seconds, which is a complete joke. Does it take you that long to take a leak? So "Dawg", I do have realistic expectations, which is for technology to keep moving forward, rather than backwards, i.e. for today's blackberry to sync faster, not WAY slower than a device over 5 yrs old.

So now that we got that out of the way, and you guys criticizing me can stop your denial and admit that this IS a problem with the BB, can someone please tell me how one goes about getting BES? and if a personal user like myself can get it (i.e. outside of a company) then how much does it cost? does it work with MS Outlook? thanks.

its not a problem for anyone but you. My BB will run circles around your 5 year old device. And usually it does take me that long to take a leak. Its not ridiculous at all. I sync 480 contacts and countless appointments and it takes less than a minute I can live with that any day.

Sounds like you need to stick with your outdated PDA and leave this device to the big boys.

so,

"Sith apprentice" made the only worthwile suggestion here, which was to downgrade from 4.5 to 4.3. I did this, and the sync speed improved dramatically. Went from 1 minute 20 seconds to just 20 seconds. This is now acceptable, although it is still annoying that the device doesn't automatically sync when a change is made on the PC.

So, is it possible to sync a Blackberry every N minutes automatically while it is docked with USB rather than having to tell the user to press 'Syncronize Now' ?

- MM

Thanks