As far as server syncing on IMAP with the Blackberry 8700, this is in fact functional on the Cingular network. When deleting or reading or sending an email from the device as soon as you open your Mac to check your mail, all actions from the Blackberry are recognized on the Mac (an email sent from the BB will be found in sent messages on the Mac mail).

The Blackberry Pearl which my wife has (unlocked functioning on the Cingular network) works the same way and is a great device for less email intensive users.

As I have written before BB will always win as their service is reasonably priced and always releiable. As they inprove their hardware (Pearl and the new 8800) they will continue to grab a larger share of the consumer market.

The MS Push eMail works faultlessly, including download of those big attachments over wifi if required.

Up to earlier in this year the Windows Mobile devices tended to suffer from trying to cram too much functionality in, however some of the latest handsets are rock solid and knock the Pearl for six.

Mobile operators are slowly starting to pick up the idea of offering hosted WM push mail accounts in the same way that they do currently with BB, after all it is a cheaper solution for them to deploy!

Ultimately the latest incarnation of Windows Mobile was designed with the enterprise in mind and they will no doubt aggressively chase the market, whose potential is huge.

Lastly, I couldn’t really let the following pass

“ActiveSync and its gazillion variants – it’s flaky, period. If it’s not flaky for you, you aren’t using it enough.
I’ve used it since it was dubbed “AirSync” (back in WM 2003), and every single iteration has its issues. More worryingly, it only works reliably when both client and server versions are perfectly aligned.”

I’m sorry but this is total nonsense, we currently have 30+ Windows Mobile devices at work (a large Aerospace engineering company)which have push mail direct from our exchange server, they are all heavily used, and the majority of the devices are used as a mobile phone too. The implementation was extremely easy and completed at minimal cost and the ongoing support costs are even smaller, RIM will have to change it’s enterprise model to compete.

RIM’s advantage is the thoughtful integration of all mobile business functions (email, phone, PIM), along with controlling the infrastructure that delivers the email reliably to their partner customers.

RIM’s foray into the prosumer market will be successful — it’s hard not to be successful when you introduce a compelling product into a white hot market. But one very interesting note, which RIM made frequently in the past, is that less than 5% of all camera-enabled cell phone users purchased a data service, thereby limiting the recurring revenue stream to service providers. RIM’s customers, though, purhcased data services over 99% of the time.

So, Nokia and MSFT and the Koreans will win a lot in the consumer / prosumer ‘phone’ market that involve minutes and an endless assortment of handheld gimmicks. RIM will continue to dominate the market for sophisticated, network-enabled handhelds for business.

And as for RIM applications, one needs to look no further than the RIM partner website. All sorts of productivity applications, utilities, and CRM/ERP connectivity tools are available. My company, GPXS (www.gpxs.net), provides both a comprehensive productivity suite with Spell Check, File Explorer and Print2 fax/network/Bluetooth, along with a unique management tool to effectively and security distribute and manage applications to mobile devices.

• Best reason to use a Blackberry as phone – instant access to your corporate directory

(i.e., you can query for people beyond your address book). Killer app for folk in a multinational.

• ActiveSync and its gazillion variants – it’s flaky, period. If it’s not flaky for you, you aren’t using it enough.

I’ve used it since it was dubbed “AirSync” (back in WM 2003), and every single iteration has its issues. More worryingly, it only works reliably when both client and server versions are perfectly aligned.

• Devices:

Symbian clients for ActiveSync on UIQ devices (which are third-party) crash often, don’t give you full functionality. I’ve also used it in about 6 different Windows Mobile devices (from Pocket PC class to SmartPhone Edition), and in most cases the Blackberry client worked better (less traffic, more reliable push, great on-demand “get more” functionality).

On the Nokia E61 and E60, it also has several platform-specific issues (by way of forced conformance to Series 60 limitations), and wastes battery. Again, the Blackberry client works a little better.

As to the 8700, it is an excellent platform (regardless of variant). I have used my 8707v in several trips as a UMTS modem (Windows-only, I’m afraid…), and the keyboard is still much better than the SureType alternatives. Plus you can read several lines of text in it and still have a moderately decent font size.

As for the WM5.0 devices, they are more extensible, you can get great apps and you have the freedom of many devices to choose from, but, the OS is sucks. It crashes frequently, email works and then stops, sometimes it notifies you when an email arrives sometimes it doesn’t, etc. etc. As Om suggests, it cannot be trusted which in terms of todays standards is not acceptable.

The only way that I see MSFT competing is for them to start emulating RIM and make their own device where they can guarentee that their software will work properly and be able to certify add-ons that do not cause instability. Creating an OS for OEM’s in the mobile world is just not possible. Their are too many fragmented pieces of hardware and many versions of radio drivers, etc. that make it very complex. RIM only deals with a few versions of their software, they dont innovate and they keep it simple. It works and they win…

Wordperfect
Lotus123
Lotus Notes
FoxPro
Harvard Graphics
Palm
Apple
Eudora
Netscape

These were all extremely dominant segment inventors. And yet MSFT has come along with inferior and bug ridden products, only to completely destroy these companies.

Products are nice, but in the end they don’t matter. And the guy who sells more because he is better at selling will win. Period. Just go to your local mobile phone store and count the number of Windows mobile devices vs the number of Blackberry devices. Ask yourself what the answer to that question would have been 2 years ago, and try to figure out what it would be in 2 years.

So what do you think will happen with RIM?

I keep holding out because I didnt want the square bulky devise…and the whole crackberry scares me :)

Goodlink itself works very well on both devices, but the integration on the E61 lacks in many respects vs. the Treo. No integration to the phone (example: no caller ID name from Good contacts) or phone alerts (calendar, email, etc do not alert to Symbian) are the biggest complaints, its just a standalone application on the E61. I will probably go back to the 650 despite the Nokia being a FAR superior device in almost every respect.

As that market grows to 63 million units per year by 2010 from just 7.3 million last year, the BlackBerry’s overall share will decline, according to IDC.

While RIM has set the standard in the industry, Microsoft is coming on strong through partnerships with Motorola, Palm, and others. As the market for converged mobile devices grows, IDC expects Windows Mobile handhelds to grab an increasing share of the pie, for a 32.3 percent share of the market by 2010.

Nokia is another major rival to watch out for in the future, since it is already offering an end-to-end solution of its own, IDC said.

“Several BlackBerry clones have previously attempted to challenge RIM’s reign in the enterprise market, but this is a more formidable strike,” said Sean Ryan, research analyst for IDC’s Mobile Markets, in a statement. “The timing is right for a more powerful attack against RIM’s BlackBerry as competitive forces converge.”

But now I get the same functionality with WM5 devices now. Cool. But after a few years of using Blackberrys, people don’t want to switch. They’re hooked on the wheel.

Oh wait – there’s something else too, you see, I would love to turn email forwarding/IMAP syncing on/off at whim to avoid email back-log coming onto my phone, when, say, I’m in front of my PC… right now I have to delete the IMAP email accts from my BB services then add them again to turn the syncing on…