B2 Media Net

Corporate email, Nokia E62, and Blackberry Connect

To all the corporate enterprise types (and just the overly connected), you may be interested in a new phone I am testing, the Nokia E62 from Cingular.  The Nokia E62 is the 'light' version of the Nokia E61, which eliminates 3G and WiFi from the line up.  In addition to testing the phone itself, I am also testing Blackberry Connect, which I find has little written about this fascinating expansion for Blackberry into non-native devices.

So far, my first impressions are very positive, the phone has a great form factor, and the screen is incredibly crisp.  I was concerned that I might be facing a steep learning curve adapting to the new menus (to me that is) of the Symbian Series 60 UI, especially after using Motorola devices for so long,... but then again I was a long term tester for the Windows based Seimens SX-66, and the Palm Treo 650… yet so far it seems rather easy and natural to navigate within the device.

After I have had the phone for a week I will detail my thoughts and experiences in a review, so expect something new in the pipeline soon!

Nokia E62 from Cingular
Quad Band, Edge
MiniSD
Qwerty Keyboard
Hi res color screen
Blackberry Connect Software

[Nokia E62] [Nokia E62 from Cingular] [Blackberry Connect]

The Blackberry cloud... RIM rain!

Earlier this week, one of my clients announced that they were eliminating the Palm Treo 650 from their enterprise lineup, due to frustrating call quality issues, and ultimately, to many missed sales opportunities from those dropped calls.

At first, I wanted to talk them out of it, especially since I felt some loyalty to the platform... ironically, I was one of the two original founders of the Capital Area Palm Users Group (now defunct) in 1998… but I couldn't find a valid reason to so. You see, I had experienced the same disappointment myself, and had migrated away from the platform in the last year, trying Windows Mobile devices to no avail, and now investigating Symbian OS SmartPhones.

Now this post ins't about the Palm per se, but it is about FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.).

As asked, my role as consultant was to find a solution for their needs. They had three scenarios, keep the Palm and live with the problems, get wireless cards for their laptops and additional handsets for voice calls, or find a device that would enable the same capabilities as the Palm, but had a better phone.

With Cingular decided as the provider, I went to work divining the hardware. For the combo solution I recommended purchasing the Motorola RAZR V3 or SLVR L7, both being stable quad band phones (I am aware of the slow address book...), and offering a choice of form factors, working in tandem with the Serra Wireless AirCard 860 PC Modem. For the SmartPhone only solution I recommended any one of the following, the Blackberry 8700c, the Cingular 2125, or the Cingular 8125.

As you can see, I recommended the Blackberry 8700c. Understand that I am not only cognizant, but intimate, with the ongoing litigation between NTP and RIM, as I cover cell phone news for one the most heavily trafficed cell news portals on the net, yet I still made the recommendation, and here is why...