Hi All,

I know you probably get alot of threads like this, so I apologize in advance.

I was thinking about getting a BlackBerry Curve. I have had a Motorola Q, and it died. I've heard so many good things about Blackberry's, but I'd like to validate some things first.

First of all, it seems like there's always a "Windows Mobile" version of something. Is there a wide range of "apps" for the Blackberry too?

I'm an IT guy for a small company. We run MS Exchange. I heard that you can run a free version of BES for 1 user. Is this true?

When I played with a couple of the Blackberry's in the Verizon store, I wasn't overly impressed with the web browsing capability. Is this one of the weaknesses of the Blackberry OS? Are there alternative browsers?

Thanks in advance!

-Mike

Welcome to the forums!

The first thing you should accept is that a BlackBerry is not Windows Mobile (I'm sure you know that already....). So there will be differences and you'll either have to accept them or not.

As for the applications, there are a LOT of applications for the Blackbery. Here is a great start: 3rd Party Application List - BlackBerryFAQ. You can also search 'Mini Version Tracker' here for a thread that also includes a list.

I am not sure about the free BES....we use full-blown definately-not-free BES. But that does sound familiar. Someone else will have to validate.

For the browser, search for Opera Mini - that's a browser alternative that a lot of people here use (but not me).

Thanks Juwaack.

That third party app list makes me feel so much better.

I realize that there will be differences between BBOS and Windows Mobile... And somehow I think that will be a good thing. My MotoQ was always locking up on me and I had to reboot. How is the BBOS in terms of being a "resource hog"?

Here are my main things I'm looking for:

Sync with Exchange (manual OTA sync, I hope there's an option to turn off "push")

Surf the web (My main issue with the BB Web browser, is it just felt like it was an afterthought, and didn't seem as elegant at Pocket IE - I know that sounds horrible). I'm glad to hear about Mobile Opera though.

Check my Gmail

Maybe do some IM

SSH would be great, but not required

Terminal Services would be great but not required

Anyways, it sounds like the Blackberry is probably the way to go for me, seeing as I couldn't find a WM device at Verizon that I like.

-Mike

There have been some models that have had memory issues, and if your device gets too low on memory then it will start deleting email/text/call logs. I had this issue with my Sprint 8130, but not with my 8330 Curve (the 8330 has twice as much memory, though). There is an excellent reference here for getting rid of unwanted garbage on your device to maximize the memory:

http://www.blackberryforums.com/gene...ee-memory.html

For syncing with Exchange, your company will either need a BES, or you can use hosted Exchange (search for ExchangeMyMail).

If you want to check your Gmail, you can install the GMail application, or create a BIS account by checking here:

How to add / delete email addresses - BlackBerryFAQ

Rove Mobile provides an excellent application for SSH and Terminal services, too.

Good luck!