[JG in SB]

I have been doing a TON of research and hands-on tryouts of different devices in preparation for my upgrade date next week.

I have really liked every BlackBerry I have used to date (8800, 9000, and 9700). I have always synced my BlackBerrys with a hosted MS Exchange account and BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

I took a look at the new Windows Phone devices, specifically the Samsung Focus and LG Quantum. Compelling, but not quite good enough.

I have to admit I was extremely turned on by the HTC Aria, a small Android 2.1 powered handset. It is a great size, and is built beautifully. I like Android, but I feel like it still isn't quite "there" yet. I am going to wait at least a year for the system and hardware offerings to mature.

The bottom line, after alot of research, is that BlackBerry devices are simply the best mobile extension of Microsoft Outlook available. Period. They can sync E-mail, Calendar items, Tasks, and Notes. Android devices can only sync mail, calender and contact items. You can get a third-party app that will allow you to sync tasks, but ther is NO solution to sync Outlook notes to an Android device.

Interestingly, Windows Phone devices, which one would assume would offer the best native mobile Outlook support, are actally worse than the situation with Android. They don't appear to sync tasks, and they positively cannot sync Outlook notes. Windows Phone devices appear to be able to sync with Microsoft OneNote, which I use and like, but not the little MS Outlook notes, which serve as my electronic replacement for post-its, and which I use ALL the time.

I ran into other limitations with non-BlackBerry offerings as well. One of the things I find useful on my BB handsets is their ability to recognize that if you have a phone number such as 888 888-8888 x1234, that this is a number with an extension. BB's have a smart-dialing feature that will automatically pause for a few seconds before dialing the extension. You don't have to go back through all your numbers (I have over 2,500 contacts) and put in special characters like commas or semi-colons. That is what you would have to do on an Android device, or something else, depending upon which Android device it is...they are all different. I nixed Windows Phone out of the running before ever trying this out on one, so I don't know what those do. There are a bunch of other small items like this also (such as limiting which contacts sync via bluetooth etc.) It seems like for every little niggling thing somebody has encountered on a phone, BlackBerry has already incorporated a solution into its native OS.

Windows Phone devices have a very pretty interface, but the whole "Live Tile" thing is a little strange to me. I am sure I could get used to it, but my experience working with it in-store was not stellar. Bear in mind that I am a very technologically inclined person who learns how to use most gadgets without any instructions. Even so, I had a difficult time organizing the "tiles" the way I would like to see them on the home screen. If this task proves difficult, what about other things that you would EXPECT to be more difficult? On the calender, they only offer you day and month views. The exceptionally useful "week grid" view, the default I use on the BlackBerry, is not available on Windows Phone (it is on the HTC Aria). What is the logic behind not even providing this view option? People don't HAVE to use it, but what about those who want to use it? What other decisions were made by the geniuses who decided to not provide this very useful calendar feature? I am not anxious to find out. I get the feeling that the designers of the Windows Phone operating system focused SO hard on trying to make it look simple and streamlined, that they made it impossible for end-users to finely tweak various settings that I would want to be able to get to. Why can't engineers learn that it is possible to make a very simple and streamlined interface, and to STILL PROVIDE the ability to finely tune it for those of us that are so inclined?

I was really hoping to try out the HTC Aria, but I had an epiphany after a few hours of looking for various solutions to limitations I kept encountering. My realization: all of this stuff just WORKS on the BlackBerry, and there is no need to try to find ways to make it work. At that point, I decided to stop looking.

The clear choice for anyone that wants a well-built device that provides a robust mobile MS Outlook platform, and can do it using its own native software, is a BlackBerry.

I look forward to picking up my new Torch next week.