This is very true about Blackberry - it is a corporate gadget and corporations do not buy on a 1-2 year cycle, they go all in at once on the technology.

Since Exchange SP2 has built in the majority of the Blackberry functionality, the need for a Blackberry and multiple phones will drop as well as the need for the BES license. What they save in server cost they can use to justify development on the Windows Mobile platform.
yes, I’ve heard Vlad give this speach before..

They had the chance to make it work. They had years of lead time on Microsoft and they had enterprise server support. You don’t get a much better lock on the market than that.

“Simple” doesn’t cut it. Look at Apple. They have been pushing ease of use for how long - and they held on to 3% of the market until they pushed out an iPOD.

Its getting to the point that clients are no longer handing me their blackberry and asking “What can this do that Blackberry can’t” when I show them the PocketPC.

Now its more along the line of “Wow, why can’t blackberry do that”

Thanks to Vlad and his mighty PocketPC demonstration skills (minus porn comments) it will soon be “Wow, how do we unplug the Blackberry and get some Smartphones around here. Look honey, it shoots videos too!”

Very good points Vlad but the only thing keeping Blackberry in business right now is Microsoft’s own incompetence.

They billed WM5 as the Blackberry killer. They said Exchange 2003 SP2 will bring all the security we want. They said Exchange SP2 will deliver instant email.

Well, Exchange SP2 came and went. Winodws Mobile 5 came and went. Neither with full support for instant email to the device, remote wipe or anything else. It is an incomplete series of programs that are complex to explain and sell to the business owner.

Microsoft needs to step up its release quality control.

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(I don’t work for Good Tech, and I’m sorry about the length.) The REAL value leader in this market segment (especially if you want more than 5 smartphones) is Exchange (5.5 - 2k3) plus GoodLink from Good Technology (http://www.good.com — I wonder how long ago they registered THAT name?). Good simultaneously supports Blackberry, Palm, and WindowsMobile/PocketPC2k3…that’s all from the same server…it shouldn’t be run on the Exchange server, but resource requirements are minimal (and there’s an SBS2k3 version). It’s also highly secure with high-bit encryption from end-to-end (payload stays encrypted in the Good datacenter). It’s priced (depending on wireless carrier/vendor) very similarly to BES. Handheld management is policy-driven with remote app installation, password requirements (with complexity), and remote wipe.

As if that weren’t enough, it’s the ONLY solution I can find to sync Public Folders that contain Contacts (haven’t tried it with custom forms…not sure how the system differentiates between Contacts Public Folder and others). That’s a HUGE feature for a lot of the businesses for which I consult. It also syncs subfolders of the Inbox.

What it (and most others) doesn’t do:
- Allow multiple accounts (like a “common” account whose email is answered by multiple people PLUS one’s regular account).
- Sync subfolders/new-root-folders of Contacts, Tasks, Calendar or Notes.

Over all that is the responsiveness of the tech support at Good Tech and the amazing administrative ease of use and flexibility (with role-based admin and pure over-the-air provisioning of devices).

Microsoft has done a great job marketing their next wave of devices. Everyone is asking if it runs Windows Mobile 5 already. Blackberry lost their swing when they started demanding $1,500 for 5 users for BES. They could have conquered the small business as their devices are typically half of Microsoft’s cost or in most situations completely free.

That tombstone has been in the yard long enough, it just took another mistake by Research-no-Motion to put it up.

Everyone in my company has been given a Blackberry. I hope someone comes up with a full size keyboard.

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