[CAL7]

I am getting a T-Mobile BB Pearl and need to understand whether I should also be getting BES support. I currently use Outlook and Thunderbird for email with an IMAP account; which I am pretty happy with. But, to better support the BB capabilities, I am considering changing email to a Hosted Exchange server (with Outlook client) that can also provide BES.

My IMAP provider is almost free, but Exchange with BES will be about $18 per month. So, the cost is not huge, but more than trivial. In addition to BB support, Exchange gives me some calendar and contact integration between different clients, so there is some added benefit.

My real question is: What benefits will I see to Exchange/BES integration with the BB over the email support with T-Mobile's standard BB data plan (BIS?)? In addition to email integration, does BES provide many other benefits?

Thanks for any advice and hints you can give me.

[John Clark]

You will get wireless reconcile of email and wireless sync of calendar, contacts, memo pad, etc. Also, just about all data on the BB is wirelessly backed up. So, in essence if you were to lose your BB completely, all you would need to do is reactivate on the BES and all your data would come back. You wouldn't get 3rd party apps, etc. but all the important stuff would come back upon reactivation. I recommend BES. You can still add other email accounts via BIS if you need/want.

[NJBlackBerry]

BIS pushes e-mail every 15 minutes or so. BES pushes the e-mail instantly.

[CAL7]

Thanks!

As to cost, it looks like I need three things that each cost about $10: 1) Hosted Exchange, 2) BES, 3) upgrade T-Mobile from "Blackberry Unlimited" to "Blackberry Unlimited Enterprise".

Right? Is there anyway around that third one?

[MrKyoo]

http://www.exchangemymail.com/

~MrKyoo

[Pizzle]

Originally Posted by CAL7

Thanks!

As to cost, it looks like I need three things that each cost about $10: 1) Hosted Exchange, 2) BES, 3) upgrade T-Mobile from "Blackberry Unlimited" to "Blackberry Unlimited Enterprise".

Right? Is there anyway around that third one?

1) Yes
2) Yes
3) Yes

And there's no way around the 3rd one.

[CAL7]

Thanks for the info. One more clarification, please. At the T-Mobile store, the rep showed an Outlook calendar on a PC; then she entered a new appointment on the PC and in about 60 seconds it was pushed to the Pearl.

Was this BES or does BIS also have this functionality?

[gziz]

Originally Posted by NJBlackBerry

BIS pushes e-mail every 15 minutes or so. BES pushes the e-mail instantly.

plz dont give wrong info, BIS does not route email every 15 mins. some integrated accounts do, but dont make it seem like all of BIS works like this.

yahoo and i believe gmail are instant push, and mail connector which is a part of BIS pushes exchange email instantly as well.

[lieb39]

Originally Posted by CAL7

Thanks for the info. One more clarification, please. At the T-Mobile store, the rep showed an Outlook calendar on a PC; then she entered a new appointment on the PC and in about 60 seconds it was pushed to the Pearl.

Was this BES or does BIS also have this functionality?

Only BES does this function.

Cheers

[lieb39]

Originally Posted by gziz

plz dont give wrong info, BIS does not route email every 15 mins. some integrated accounts do, but dont make it seem like all of BIS works like this.

yahoo and i believe gmail are instant push, and mail connector which is a part of BIS pushes exchange email instantly as well.

For iMap and POP3 it takes a maximum of 15 minutes for BIS, as the pop3 and imap accounts are checked every 15 minutes. This can be overcome by either forwarding your mail to the BIS email address or by using a service that has integration with BIS (E.g. Gmail)

I was using BIS for a few months - I've now switched to BES, and it has been the best switch ever, honestly. I love the fact my calendars, contacts, todo and emails are synced!

Cheers

[takeshi]

Originally Posted by CAL7

In addition to email integration, does BES provide many other benefits?

I think this is all detailed at Blackberryfaq.com.

[david_uk]

IMHO the BES killer feature is that all mail folders are synced, not just the Inbox. It's so useful to be able to track what you've sent, not just what you've received.

Together with the reassurance of push email, having a copy of your Outlook folders always available takes BB functionality to a whole new level.

Highly recommended.

[ShaneToronto]

I was on the fence about moving from BIS to BES and after almost two years of BIS use and having experienced BIS V. 2, I decided to try hosted exchange through exchangemymail.com. I've been using their service for about two months now and can't believe how much more useful my blackberry has become. i was converted in the first week and I highly recommend using BES with your blackberry, even if you're not a corporate customer.