[tobyw]

Dear All,

As a new BB user there is a lot to like about the platform. However, to my mind RIM needs to make some huge strides if it is to penetrate the 'prosumer' market as it has said it wants to. In particular, I'm thinking of people - like me - who don't have the option of BES, whether hosted or otherwise.

I'm particularly thinking of the issue of reconciliation. It seems very backward to me that I can't reconcile changes in Outlook with the BB (for example when I delete a message on the desktop). Further, it would be nice to be able to file messages in folders from the BB.

My thoughts are that there are a raft of Windows Mobile/Symbian/etc. devices out there that do this sort of thing out of the box. Most users won't understand why the BB can't do this. Clearly RIM may want to protect revenue from BES, but in my opinion they can't afford to be too closed-minded about this given that the prosumer market is becoming increasingly flooded with better and better smartphones.

I thought I'd let RIM know my thoughts and found the best address seems to be . I don't know whether anyone will have read the message from little old consumer me, but I thought I would urge anyone else out there on BB Forums to drop in a quick e-mail if you have any thoughts (or agree with the above) about the BlackBerry service, particular from a prosumer point of view.

I've taken the liberty of creating a poll to gather some thoughts on this.

[NJBlackBerry]

I think the e-mail address is

Good luck with your campaign.

[rambo47]

I suggested, probably like a million other users, the ability to receive HTML email. Default could be off with an option to toggle it on.

[tobyw]

Originally Posted by NJBlackBerry

I think the e-mail address is

Good luck with your campaign.

Thanks NJ - not sure it will come to much though! I orginally e-mailed and they e-mailed back to say it was . Maybe both the .net and .com go to the same mail box? Alternatively they may have not liked my suggestions so gave me a dud address

[NJBlackBerry]

Could be. For years, they used RIM.Net, before they owned BlackBerry.Com.

[tobyw]

Originally Posted by NJBlackBerry

Could be. For years, they used RIM.Net, before they owned BlackBerry.Com.

Well, just dropped them another message so we'll see if I get a reply. I really hope that RIM considers how BIS fits into the strategic goals of the company. My own opinion is that they need to be acutely aware of the increasing draw of Windows Mobile to consumers/prosumers. However, I don't envy their position - it's a clear juggling act to balance the consumer/BIS market with the corporate/BES market. In particular when Windows Mobile is also nibbling at corporate customers...

I'm a bit ignorant of this, but presumably since BIS 2 was only relatively recent there will likely be a considerable wait before BIS 3 comes along?

[tobyw]

Well, I didn't get an autoreply to that bbsuggestions address but I didn't get a NDR either so hopefully messages are being fed into some kind of pot from which RIM gathers customer suggestions.

[LunkHead]

I voted I am happy with BIS.....

[Soapm]

I kept asking for a 3 to 5 minute reminder alert and after 1 year of sending 1 per month I never received a single response...

[cet710]

I am actually happy with BIS. I use three different email accounts on it. Of course I am a new user & may grow to not like it. As for noe though, I am totally happy with my BB & all its features. Right now you couldnt tear me away from it.

[jibi]

Originally Posted by tobyw

Well, I didn't get an autoreply to that bbsuggestions address but I didn't get a NDR either so hopefully messages are being fed into some kind of pot from which RIM gathers customer suggestions.

It's either/or now - .com and .net.

[takeshi]

Originally Posted by tobyw

In particular, I'm thinking of people - like me - who don't have the option of BES, whether hosted or otherwise.

How exactly could reconciliation be set up from one POP client (BIS) to another (Outlook or whatever) which is the majority of what BIS users integrate with BIS? That's one reason why it's a BES-only feature. There is also the consideration of undermining the advantages of BES as you mentioned...

They really do need to implement better IMAP support. The current approach is a bit of a mess.

Why are you unable to use hosted BES? Are you unable to do so or unwilling to pay for it?

Originally Posted by tobyw

My thoughts are that there are a raft of Windows Mobile/Symbian/etc. devices out there that do this sort of thing out of the box.

These devices can reconcile with POP account clients?? That's news to me...

[tobyw]

Originally Posted by takeshi

How exactly could reconciliation be set up from one POP client (BIS) to another (Outlook or whatever) which is the majority of what BIS users integrate with BIS? That's one reason why it's a BES-only feature. There is also the consideration of undermining the advantages of BES as you mentioned...

They really do need to implement better IMAP support. The current approach is a bit of a mess.

I wasn't really thinking of POP. I was thinking of IMAP/OWA/Mail Connector. Probably a blinkered view, but I don't really think of POP much these days For IMAP/OWA/Mail Connector it would seem that, even with a Network Operations Centre in the middle, full reconciliation would be possible.

Originally Posted by takeshi

Why are you unable to use hosted BES? Are you unable to do so or unwilling to pay for it?

I'm unable. I work for a large institution with no BES and where I have less than zero influence on there being a BES in future. So, I suppose I could pay for hosted BES but I only want to receive my work e-mails on the go. I also wouldn't use calendar/notes/addbk reconciliation (with a personal hosted BES account) as I need to keep these on the corporate Exchange server. I'd be more than willing to fork out for a paid for solution if it was available.

Originally Posted by takeshi

These devices can reconcile with POP account clients?? That's news to me...

Got me - again, I wasn't really thinking of POP here.

The main thrust of my concern is that a lot of prosumers, won't understand why their BlackBerry mailbox is not in sync with their mail client that they use for IMAP mail, for example. In the relatively short period of time I have been hacking around BF and similar I have noticed loads of posts asking why the BlackBerry doesn't do what their old device does in terms of syncing e-mails.

Whilst if I were RIM I would be keen to ring-fence BES revenue as much as possible it seems to me that they are going to have make some changes to the BIS system to stay ahead of the game. That's assuming they are still set on an onslaught of the consumer market (which their recent devices suggest is the case).

I know lots of people may not agree with me, especially if using BIS as an adjunct to a BES account. It's only one person's opinion and my message on the subject probably been deleted by someone at RIM already as "message from a loon"! Fortunately, I'm not dissatisfied with my Pearl. I knew what I was getting and kindly people (including takeshi) posted helpful comments before I bought it. The form-factor, reliability and battery life are all huge improvements over my Treo. Even though I could get pseudo-push e-mail on my Treo with Chatter and IMAP/IDLE I prefer the Pearl for the above reasons. That's not to say that I don't miss being able to sort things into folders on the Treo, "sync" deletes from mailbox to Treo etc etc.

Hope this makes sense!