I personally think it's good practice to back up devices every day so this wouldn't be an issue if the users did this (except for the day they drop it off the desk)

Which is another reason why BES is great. Constant backups of data.

I have used a Blackberry for 7-8 years now and not one time have I had it fall off my desk. I have inspected my 8800 USB connector and find it to be about the same as my other devices. To have FIVE devices fail for the "tender" USB connector seems a little funny.

I would check your office for a jealous Treo user!

Might I suggest lightly tasing anyone to "drop" a BB? I'm sure that, while perhaps illegal, it will save you a lot of hassle!

Or two or three.......

Can you say sabotage?........

I have a different take on this. Having to manage 80,000 desktops and 23,000 laptops in my enterprise has taught me this: Make sure the employee knows they are responsible for their device. See, if we just give people things and they don't have a sense of responsibility to ensure it is safe, not torn up or damaged, then incidents like this will happen often. We have over 5000 BB's deployed and we maybe get one or two in for repair every so often - and that is rare. Why? Because if it is determined that the BB was misused or abused in anyway (by management), the employee becomes personally liable for the replacement cost. People tend to take care of company items more when they know that they can be docked pay for misuse or even simple ignorance; No, it's not bliss!

If you get a BlackBerry and use it quite often, there are somethings you should know about its care. If you have it hangin on the edge of a desk where it can fall off and be damaged, I chaulk that up to not being educated about how important your device should be to you. If you are afforded one from work, apparently they feel contacting you at a moments notice is important. Take that into consideration when being lax about its care.

Just my .02 cents.

How true. In my office we have to read and sign an agreement that we will return it and any accessories in the condition that we received it - minus normal wear and tear.

We have been using Blackberries at my office for a couple of years now. We have 40 of them and we have gone thru a few different models. In this time I have had 2 users come to me with this problem and I know from past experiencs with these specific users that they are hard on their equipment. So, I have seen the problem but I would say under normal use this should not happen.

Agrion
ConsumerBeef.com - What's Your Beef?

LOL!! Maybe you should ask for the makers of your desks to do a recall. I would be pissed if that many devices fell off my desk!