Looking to leave BB for WM5... someone talk some sense into me :)
 

I purchased a 7130e a few months ago for Verizon. I love the phone service and the battery is decent, but I do not have a BES for my work email (MS Exchange) and it has become very annoying for me.

PROS:
-LOVE the interface... cannot emphasize this enough
-ease of use
-great phone service/clarity
-amazing community of users. This site has been incredibly helpful and is far superior to any WM5 communities.

CONS include:
-I miss the push and wireless contacts sync on my work email.
-I hate deleting emails multiple times on the device and the PC.
-HATE having to keep my work computer running with Redirector.
-The phone also feels outdated, with no media playback and no camera. These aren't essentials, but are nice things to have. I've played around with the Pearl and the 8800 looks great, but again, no BES...

Now, since my plan is coming to an end, I was thinking about switching over to a WM5 phone that will sync with Exchange. I've played around with the Q, the T-Mobile Dash, and the BlackJack. My thoughts are:

Q:
-form factor a little blocky
-read a great deal about spotty service (hard resets necessary, etc), though have not really experience it in my short time with the phone

Dash:
-nice phone
-no track wheel and keyboard is too small for my large hands (deal-breakers)

BlackJack:
-exactly like the Q, but aesthetically more pleasing
-would have to switch carriers to Cingular, which i'm not crazy about doing

Does anyone have any thoughts in regards to this? I want to hear both PROS and CONS on the operating systems, as well as with the individual phones. Again, I would love to stay with a BB, but the Exchange/BES problem is really a killer.

Any thoughts would definitely be appreciated.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry 8700c: HTC-8500/1.2 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows CE; PPC; 240x320))

I made the switch from the 8700 to the Cingular 8525 and I absolutely love it. I was very weary about the switch after reading what everyone here has to say about Windows Mobile but so far, so good. The only real negative that I have experienced is the battery life. it often runs down before the day is over. But since it's new, I've really been using it a lot to get used to everything and to get it figured out. So once the newness wears off that probably won't be much of an issue. I'm very happy with my switch. I say go for it.

Been there, done that, came back.
 

Let me start off by saying I have owned and used 72 phones since 1995. After using a Blackberry 7290 for a year, I decided to play the field again and bought several Windows Mobile devices. They ranged from the HTC Wizard to the Dash and a few others. Granted, they are much better than the first Pocket PC phones that hit the market (of which I owned a few), but the stability of the software is still lacking. Several resets a day and horrible battery life when using exchange activesync made me wish I had never switched. If your company runs a BES, then there is simply no better device out there yet. Without a BES, the decision is a little harder and Windows Mobile doesn't look as bad. I think RIM needs to develop a better web client and calendar services for BIS users to stay competitive with Microsoft. As for now, I am using an 8700 and don't plan on switching any time soon...

thank you for the input phone.phreak and thatboiwes.

i think i have decided on the blackjack, simply for the exchange functionality. i, too, wish BB would wise up and increase their options.

other opinions are still welcome, as i still have another week to decide!

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry 8700c: HTC-8500/1.2 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; Windows CE; PPC; 240x320))

I considered the BlackJack. But after playing around with it for a little while, decided that it wasn't for me. I don't think I would like to have a Windows Mobile device that isn't touchscreen.

if you just want to look at the specs (and compare to BB's) try Phone Scoop . Just an idea, that and go play w/ live models of those devices you are considering so you can get a better feel for them...form factor and how it feels in your hand and such. (is very objective)

You should definitely go try them out and see how you like navigating with the WM5 OS. Also look at battery life. Most smartphones can't make through the day if you're a heavy user (on avg. about 5-6 hours before needing a charge) which is important to consider especially if you travel for work. The Blackjack for example comes with two batteries. Let's just say they don't give you two batteries to be nice. All the multimedia stuff and the WiFi really drain the batteries.

Can't help you solve the wireless contacts sync and having to delete on both platforms, but there's a real easy alternative that's as fast as any push and gets rid of the need for redirector.

I had my company's exchange admin set up an automatic forwarding rule such that whenever an email hits the server, its immediately forwarded to my carrier.blackberry email address (in addition to, not instead of being kept on the server.) The ONLY thing I use the carrier.blackberry address for is company mail, and you can set that up in BIS so your sent mails show to be from . Unless you look at the headers, its impossible to tell if an email I send you came from my computer or my BB. And sitting at the home office with the BB laying beside the computer, new mails almost always arrive on the BB first, so its really quick - and NO computer running Redirector required. So in essence I don't have my company email configured as an account on BIS, the server never gets polled - its all instantly and automatically forwarded and uses the carrier.blackberry email.

With email working that well, I'll live with sync via DM and the dual delete necessity, to get the much better reliability and efficiency of my BB vs a WM phone.

If you don't have the features mentioned in your list of CONS, you don't have a BES. What makes you think that your IT dept will be willing to support the Exchange ActiveSync??

Do you even know if you are running the correct version/SP of Exchange?

-because thats the environment we have set up
-i was the only person NOT using a wm5 device in the office.
-ive asked our IT group

appreciate the condescension though :)

heh 8-)

Your situation sounds like mine actually. All our people have WM devices because the sync is built into the latest Exchange Server, which is something the company's already heavily invested in obviously.

Do you have Outlook Web Access hooked up? I know, you've prob already thought of this but it works at least for emails (and prevents the need for multiple deletions).

I'm considering my options here too. Don't know why, but I am. I've owned a BB for 3 years now. Love it. But would like to be able to have full control over my work stuff. Hmm...

ive already made the switch and i am definitely happy i did. wm5 is not as easy to use, but i get comparable battery life with my blackjack and it is much more versatile. i do not regret the decision so far.

Let me ask you this, which is what I've seen/heard...

Do you want a device that's limited, but does not crash, or do you want a device that's got a MUCH wider bredth of ability but does soemtimes require a reboot?

I've used WM5 for close to 6 months, and not occasionally, that's the OS on my PDA which I take EVERYWHERE, and I use for everything from games to web surfing to movies to programming! (yes, you *can* write software using a PDA, but it's hell with the screen size and several interpreters dont work well..) While I *have* had to reset it a few times (maybe twice a month on average, twice a week on bad weeks --- and several times a day if I jsut installed new software and cant get it to work quite right...)

Then you have the BB line, which, from what I've seen and heard, is rock-solid stable, but does not have the abilities of a PPC (no expansion slots, less software, some compatability issues) but has the esentials such a web-browser, email, and SSH.

I like my BB for internet-based work when I'm not near a WiFi AP, but when I am at home or work, then the BB only comes out to answer a phone call. But this is just my opinion, and admitantly while I've used PPCs for years, I did just get my BB (though I've researched them off and on since the first one came out in the early 90s(?) and could *only* send/recieve email; not even work as a cellphone)

Just soem things to think about...

i agree 100% with you.

my initial impressions:
-battery life is comparable to the BB
-capabilities MUCH more robust on WM5
-havent had to reset once, which is more than i can say for my 7130
-for the most part, its much faster using softkeys than the scrollwheel/ball
-i have to push more buttons with WM5 to accomplish the same thing
-wireless sync with exchange server is absolutely amazing. we cant all have a BES
-much cheaper to pay 19 a month for unlimited data than 45 a month for BIS

overall, im really happy.

no brickbreaker though!

You've just not looked hard enough. I have BlockBreaker on my WM05 system! lol

edit:
It's abolustely amazing what some ppl consider a deal-breaker... *shakes head sadly* ((lol!))

hmmm i will have to look into blockbreaker

are you referring to my comment on the tmobile dash above as a deal-breaker? i would say those two critiques are rather large, wouldnt you say?

I'm typing on an 8525 that has it's days numbered just as soon as my 8800 gets here. This thing does it all except for it's primary function, make phone calls when and where I need to make them.

Even in the metro area around here I can't get a 3G tower all he time. I'm going to what I need solid gsm network and email. Any added options will be a plus though.

I'm a Windows Mobile fan but the Blackberry is getting better with each new phone. I no longer use WM and use a blackberry daily. Personally I think RIM blew it by not putting 3g into the 8800.

The phones you picked (not sure about the Dash) are smartphones, not the full blown WinMobile phones like the 8525. You can get plenty of feedback at the forums.cingular.com or HowardForums: Your Mobile Phone Community & Resource sites on the Blackjack.

WM, not Smartphone, has lots of software, the software is generally less expensive. It can do html email and logs into pop/imap servers either manually or automatically at intervals you preset to get mail. You don't have to sync with these servers as does the BIS, but you don't get mail pushed either.

Other than pushing secure corporate text email, I still think the WM devices have the BB beat in software with PocketOffice, pdf readers, the ability to put files on the memory cards for viewing or editing later. On the downside, the battery life isn't good as was mentioned above. Given a choice between a BB 8800 and a Cingular 8525, I'd probably choose the latter or at least give it serious consideration.

Regards-Michael G.

I just switched from WM5 (XV6700 with VZW) to BB 8800. I'm happy I switched to BB, but I think perhaps I was using too much software on my WM device. I used SBSH Pocketbreeze, Wisbar Advance, Pocketweather, and a couple other utilities on my homescreen. This caused awful slowdowns on the phone, dropped calls, unable to pick up a call when it was connecting to data, 4 minute bootup times. And to be honest, the XV6700 wasn't that good of a phone. Activesync wouldnt always work. And the phone needed to be rebooted at least once a day.

So i'm curious - is the blackjack handling everything pretty well? I had WM5 on my xv6700, but have they really ironed out all the issues? I lasted about 8 months with the xv6700 and even paid the termination fee to switch to cingular's 8800.