handheld manager and desktop manager...

what are the differences...

anyone care to take a stab at it?

The Handheld Manager is basically the piece that tells your Desktop Manager what type of device you are using and how to connect to it. I believe this piece is also required for updating the software on your handheld. The Desktop Manager is the user interface where handheld configuration changes etc can be made. I'm not sure if you were refering to that or the Device Manager which basically just manages the connections.
Hope this helps.

I thought the Handheld Manager was the software on the BES server used for provisioning new devices?