Hi all,

I just moved from a TREO to an 8830. I loved the Palm Desktop software. It was simple and had pretty colours to help me stay on track. I hate Outlook...

When I bought this BB, I was told by the sales rep that it came with a simple desktop software, "almost exactly like the Palm"...

Am I missing something? I migrated the data no problem and have everything working OK. I see where I can sync with Outlook... but I see no sign of a "simple desktop software". Is it there? Or failing that is there a nice 3rd party app that would do the job!

Thanks in advance!

Stu

Outlook is the most popular one supported. Agenda, Groupwise and Lotus Notes are also supported and that is about it. There is nothing like Palm Desktop that would run on your PC, other than Outlook. You were mislead by the sales rep.

Wirelessly posted (Breaking Ball)

Outlook is your best option. You should start warming up to it because it's the closest thing you're going to get to Palm Desktop.

The sales rep was mistaken. There is no PIM software that comes with the Blackberry.

Ugh. Thanks (I suppose!) I have been considering the change for several months and no less than three different sales reps told me the same thing at different times!

Am I alone in this or would thre be a market for a simple app like that?

Thanks again...

S

Wirelessly posted (Breaking Ball)

You're not alone, but definitely in the minority.

The BlackBerry is still primarily a corporate device, and most business users already have a PIM solution... Outlook, Lotus Notes, or Groupwise.

Outlook also comes with Microsoft Office, which is commonly used by most consumers as well.

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense for RIM to reinvent the wheel and come up with their own PIM software.

True enough I suppose, but as they reach down into the small business/consumer market, there might be a need for it.

Perhaps as they get ready to do battle with Apple they'll come up with something...

Yes as a hater of Outlook, I too, would like to see a RIM PIM. I liked the Palm Desktop and it was easy to use though not as veratile as OutLook.

RIM used to be all corp and Outlook rules there but now that they are going consumer, maybe they need to rethink!

Wirelessly posted (At&t curve)

They sales reps probably just meant that it was simple to sync like the palm.

No, I was very specific in my request... and made it to several different reps on different occasions. Al of them confessed that they didn't use it however. Most of the people I know with BBs are small business types, and most don't use it for anything other than email and phone.

Having spent much of last night messing around with this thing, I am finding many things that I miss (fully admitting that I might just need to figure out some of it...)

For example, I don't see a way to make certain items (contacts, memos etc) "private" without locking up the entire machine...

And I do miss the pretty colours on my calendar... I'm in graphics field... I guess my brain must need colour to keep things straight!

You can't make certain things private on the BlackBerry. It simply doesn't have that functionality.

It sounds to me like you were hoping the BlackBerry would be a good replacement as a PDA.
The BlackBerry is not a PDA.
It's a mobile email device first with basic phone and PIM functionality as ancillary items.

If you're gung-ho on sticking with the BlackBerry, then my suggestion to you is to do your best to stop comparing it to the way things were with your old device. You're in a new world now, and you should adjust your usage style to the way BlackBerry does things.
Trust me, your user experience will be much better.

If you find that the BlackBerry is not a suitable PDA... then you're probably within your time-frame to switch back to a PDA type device.

RIM is definitely making strong strides to improve the functionality of every aspect of the device, including PIM functions. It might be worth it to simply stick-it-out and see what RIM offers up in the not too distant future.

I think that sums it up pretty well! Clearly, it deals with email better, but it seems that a lot of "functionality" as you put it is missing. Since Bell almost has a monopoly up here, the option of returning it isn't there, so I will stick it out for a while anyway. It does seem odd to me though that things like privacy aren't part of the package. I have tons of information in my TREO that I would prefer to keep private which I'll need to delete from the Blackberry.

At this point, I can see re-activating my TREO as some of these issues might out-weigh the improved email capabilities...

I understand what you're saying about not comparing it to the "old way", but it is disappointing that a gizmo that gets such rave reviews really is lacking in so many "basic" features... I mean really, shouldn't a user be able to secure certain data in this day and age? If I loose this thing, I don't much care if someone seems my calendar, but I sure as H*ll care about them not getting sensitive financial information!

Considering that the reps all assured me repeatedly that it would do everything my TREO would and more, I am not too impressed! My opinion only of course!

Actually, privacy is of the utmost importance to many BlackBerry users, and the BlackBerry device is arguably the most secure mobile device on the planet.
Security is taken very seriously. However, it's just not done the same way as your old Treo.
With the BlackBerry, you lock and password protect the entire device. It's not so granular as to offer locking of individual applications or content.
All or nothing.

Not necessarily.
Just password protect your phone and set a timeout so the device locks after a certain period of inactivity.

That may be a solution for you. It's all a matter of how willing you are to adjust to the way BlackBerry does things.


Well that's my whole point right there.
It's not really lacking in any basic functions at all.
It's just doing things differently than you're used to.


I agree this was an irresponsible thing for the reps to say.
Everyone has different needs. The BlackBerry might not suit yours, and it was unfair of them to mislead you.

Docs2Go, HTML email, and loading apps to the SD card, oh yeah infrared sums up MOST of what the treo can do at the moment (some treos) that the BB device cannot. other than that i agree what was said by penguin here.

As a long-time former Palm (never Treo) user, I concur with what Penguin and Sith have said. The overall capabilities exist -- you just get there in a different fashion.

As for avoiding Outlook, I suspect that you could probably kludge together a solution where you use the Palm desktop on the PC, sync this "behind the scenes" to Outlook, and then use the Outlook dbs to sync to the Blackberry. I wouldn't recommend this, but I think you could manage to make it work if you really wanted to resist going to Outlook.

LOL.. Not sure I'm up to "Kludging"... Now on day 3 with this thing and I am adjusting to it. Certainly there are many nice features, but some I really miss... (Why can't I look up a contact from within the calendar function when I'm scheduling an appointment???)

None the less, I guess I'm committed now!

I appreciate your thoughtful replies in setting me straight. Before I bought this thing, I was aware of some of these issues and took the approach that it can't be "that" bad since there's about a zillion of them out there. And I think that that sums it up about right. My little TREO is still beeping away at me happily as a reminder of simpler times, and I trust isn't feeling too rejected...

Thanks again!

There is other software out there that will work with the Blackberry. Some of them may cost you but they will work with the Blackberry. I am using software called Agent Office which syncs quite well with my Blackberry. Check with what ever type of business you want to work in and see if there is Management software out there for it, you might just be surprised with what is actually out there.

as a former treo user it took some adjusting but i wouldnt ever ever go back to the constant resets and klunkyness of the treo. I prefer the much stabiler and secure BB. I also hated the desktop of the palm treo give me outlook any day of the week.