Blackberry Connect Now in Final Beta!
Finally! Like many I was beginning to think that Blackberry Connect on our Treo was nothing more that bad hype but now I can tell you that it's real, that it's in final beta (still no ETA for full release) and that it looks pretty cool from the little time that I had to play around with it. I hope to provide you with an update on this a litlle later though...
Treonauts can't wait to BB Connect...
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Comments
Ask the Mobility group at MSFT what they use. It ain't Blackberry and it ain't ActiveSync. It is GoodLink. Ask Dell sales reps what they carry. Ask ESPN, ask Visa, ask..you get the picture.
Good will NOT be done in two years.
The average user does not need wireless syncing calendars, the Palm calendar is good enough. The average user does not need secure access to the corporate network, just push e-mail that is simple to setup and does not require a proprietary software instillation. Therefore, most small and medium size businesses (which would like to avoid Outlook because of viruses and would like to avoid having to host their own e-mail, or avoid changing their hosting arrangement for a few users) will never use a service like Good's.
Instead, Blackberry has this market with an easy to use web-client. With Blackberry connect, the holy grail is within reach: palm functionality with a good web-based push e-mail system. The Treo lacks push e-mail, the blackberry calendar is useless without Outlook. Moreover, RIM can sell this better than anyone else, because the wireless service providers have the Blackberry service as part of their current offering. No other push service is as easy to understand or is priced as low. Let the large corporate users keep their security white papers and case studies, the bulk of the market will buy the simple to use and easy to obtain product.
Wow..I suggest you research the product your are defending as well as the one you are slamming before posting. But since you didn't, let's get a couple of things straight:
1) Blackberry is 100% propietary, both hardware and software. That is why it only runs on BB devices. It DOES require a server install, it is NOT simple to set-up and run. It DOES require that customers have their own Notes, Exchange or Groupwise install. So, from a small-to-medium business perspective (based on your post) BB Connect won't mean a hill of beans. What BB Connect will do is companies that already have BES installed will be able to support non-BB devices. Funny thing is, when the users with BB's who realize BB connect will work on their cool new phone and they pitch that old BB are gonna be highly agitated that what they COULD do on the BB device, they CAN'T do on their device. But wait, GoodLink will do EVERYTHING (and more) on that cool new phone that BB did. Bye-Bye hardware sales (70% of revenue), bye-bye activations (data plan with GoodLink is cheaper than any data plan from the carrier for RIM since RIM hides their charges in the carrier's bill).
2) RIM doesn't sell anything. The carriers are RIM's salesforce. If the carriers hear from their customers (and they are) that they want something else, you can bet your butt that they will offer them something else. I read somewhere that Good has hired over 120 sales people in the last 6 months to sell directly to the customers and through the carriers. Ask a corporate carrier rep when the last time it was he spoke to a RIM rep. RIM is/was a monopoly and Good and the other competitors, are hungrier than RIM and have a better BUSINESS product than RIM. If RIM wants to target conusmers, great. Guess what: consumers aren't buying Blackberries. They are buying RAZRs or whatever new phone, that by the way doesn't support Blackberry, is hitting the market. Refer back to the hardware sales/revenue comment from above.
As for push email for the treo, I suggest you pay a visit to treocentral and look at chattermail and snapper mail. Push email, for the treo for the consumer that is either freeware or minimally priced that offers more than BB connect will when it DOES finally get released.
Stop drinking the Kool-Aid from Waterloo. Two years ago, yup, RIM was it and nothing else was. That time has changed and RIM had better understand that.
We're not looking at intellisync who offeres treo push support now. I dont mean to get into a debate with anyone but simply put what treo charges for one seat in one year i can but 4 intellisync or BB seats. Who in their right mind would pay that premium. ITs a good servce but no longer unique. I'd pay their subcription if it was say 100 a year but come on 350 a year.
Within 2 years every device will come w/ native active sync. And nobody will be paying 350 on a yearly basis to get their $400 treo to work.
To see an update on how good security on the Blackberry is please go to
According to this link, BB Connect for Palm will only be compatible with GPRS networks. Can anyone confirm this?
You said Treo, but I am assuming you meant GoodLink. Since so far you have quote $300 and $350 and since neither one of those is the right price for GoodLink, your credibility is zero regarding what you state as fact. However, let's look at some things you call fact:
BB cheaper. Wrong. To provide a Blackberry deplpoyment, you install Blackberry Enterprise Server, which is $4,000. Then you pay a per device license fee. If you want maintenance from RIM, you pay an annual support fee. Want to upgrade? Another $1,000. For a 5 user deployment of Blackberry, the cost would be $3,9995 + roughly $75 per seat + support (unless you want to use the carrier for your BB support). For a GoodLink installation of 5 users: $1650, but you alson get 2 months for free, so it works out to anout $21 a month.
As for two years from now. Mark my words, you will start seeing deals with Good and the carriers well before two-years that will entrench GoodLink as THE alternative to RIM for the enterprise
actually your right goodlink is 330 a year, on top of the device cost.
http://www.good.com/store/goodlink.jsp
I guess you've never set it up, also i'd check your breakdown of blackberry server costs its about half over 2 years.
Look if goodlink changes their priceing i think its a great product. Fact is the priceing is out of step w/ the market. And in a world where activesync rules, there will be little room for other products particullary one that is 2x the cost of BB.
GoodLink is GOD let Blackberry tremble as its new master is around for GOOD
From Blackberry's page:
Server with 20 users: $3,995
Support: None, except through the carrier
Upgrades: $1999.00
Data Costs: I know Sprint's pricing, so that is what I can go with:
$49.95 per month
TCO for two years: $27,971 without adding the upgrade cost.
A 20-user GoodLink installation:
Server with 20 clients: $10,824
Support: Included
Upgrades: Included
Data Cost: Again, Sprint
$19.95
TCO for two years: $20,400
Add in devices: 650's can be found for about $300, BB 7100 around $250 or so. Still, lower TCO
Hey GT,
Firstly may you forgot the subject of this thread which is that BES will be able to run on the Treo. so lets just forget about carrer pricing.
I know you really want Goodlink to be cheaper but you just showed me. A goodlink server is 10K while a BES is 4k which is over 2.3X more. (I'm assuming your using the Goodlink 2 year discounted pricing) Anly call goodlink they will tell you they are more
Also about your figures they are wrongwrong cannot get a treo dataonly plan for 19.95 a month, you must add on a $39 voice package.
honestly on the service side your gong to spend about the same no matter what you do. And also dont foget that in a week or 2 you'll be able to get the BES server to work with the treo. Which underlines my point Goodlink is crazy expensive you showed me yourself goodlink for 20 users 10k, BES 4k.
anyway the market will make my point for me, either goodlink will get its nose out of the air and charge a resonable rate or they will go bye bye in a year or 2.
once BES is out for the treo goodlink becomes even more unatractive, and
You are apples to oranges. The Total Cost of Ownership is less for GoodLink than RIMM. I showed it to you. There is a reason the carriers charge more for a BB data plan than a standard data plan, because RIMM hides their cost in the plan. Your point about a voice plan is ridiculous. Why would you get a 650 and not have voice and data? Why would you get a Blackberry and not get voice and data? Sure, initial cost of BB is lower, but companies look at the total cost of a solution. As for BES to work for a Treo in a week or two, you are dreaming. It was announced last May and is just NOW in final Beta. I stand by my numbers. The total cost of ownership of a GoodLink deployment is substantially less than a similar RIMM deployment with a superior device (650 vs 7100), on an industry standard platform with no propietary lock-in, with support provided by the developer of the software, not a carrier who has no idea nor stake in the product once it is sold. And, by the way, I have called GoodLink, I have done a comparison of GL vs BB and my company went with GoodLink because, when all was said and done, it had a lower total cost for a vastly superior product.
I'm glad you stand by your numbers but the carriers dont, if you want a treo dataplan it will cost you the same is BB.
on the other hand if you can get a TREO dataplan for 20 a month i have about 100 users who would be very very happy.
Anyway just so you know if your call your sprint rep they will give you the exact same pricing for BB service (voice+data) as they do treo.
if you go w/ Tmobile then BeS is much much cheaper.
anyway i want to say again I love the TREO i thikn its great. But look goodlink is more expenive. if your going to argue the BES will never be out point (which i know for a fact is not true) then i'd tell you to go look at intelisync which offers push email to a treo, or even the free options out there, Sprint will charge you 15 a month for a onsite enterprise server that will do push email.
at the end of the day my point has always been that if goodlink continues to charge 330 dollars per device per year it will go under becuase while right now it (with the exception of intilisync which just entered the push retail market this year) the only treo game in town it will not be by the end of 05 and certainly not 06.
go pick up a pocket PC device and check out the very early stage activesync features w/ AUTD. Microsoft is givingn this away free, and in two years this WILL be the standeard. Palm's client (versamail) sucks now but you dont really think it will continue to suck do you?
when every device (nokia, mot, palm) all support active sync w/ AUTD, and when bes is half the price, Who is going to pay an extra 330 a year? you maby. but not me. i'd loose my job.
You can continue to argue this pont but really you have to look to the future and admit in a year from now when versamail or maby palmoutlook (who knows) will sync via push (autd) contacts, calander, tasks, notes and everthing else who would be foolish enough to go to pay 330 a year for the same thing. Esp when i fyou dont like active sync you can go w/ BES.
Also i'd like to point out that goodlink has some serous limitations, you cant get bloomberg on it (which you can w/ blackberry) and it wont sync public calander (they conferm this) which is huge. BES does both, as does pocket outlook.
if you look to the future good bad pricing doesnt make good look so good.
What a bunch of sad muppets you are. Different solutions suit different organisations. One isn't better than the other, you just might find one is more appropriate. And costs differ depending on the number of devices you need to roll out.
Go and get a life. Or at the very least fight about something worthwhile e.g. Bush signing the Kyoto treaty or wiping out third world debt.
I am very interested in getting the BB software for my Treo 600. My company wont support GL, but they do for BB. So I am almost abt to give up my Treo, which I dont want to. Is there any way I can try the beta software, before i am forced to do something I dont want.
To the bonehead that posted a news article at Fox News.
The Fox News people are idiots and don't know the difference between a T-Mobile Sidekick II and a BlackBerry.
Paris Hilton doesn't have a BlackBerry.
And another thing - the BlackBerry doesn't rope you in to proprietary devices - the very fact that this was said in a thread discussing BlackBerry working on a Treo makes the post even funnier.
Siemens has a device that speaks BlackBerry. Nokia and Sony Ericsson too. PalmOne will soon. Good doesn't run on that many devices. It runs on old Mobitex BlackBerrys and Treos. Wooo. Two whole devices.
Uhhh...try again, E. GoodLink runs on:
Palm:
Treo 600
Treo 650
PocketPC:
HP iPAQ 6300 series
Samsung i700
Siemens SX66
Sprint PPC-6601
T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition
Verizon Audiovox XV6600
Pocket PC (Wi-Fi-only):
Dell Axim X50
Symbol MC50
Blackberry does NOT run on Treos. Blackberry Connect is in final Beta in Europe on Treo almost a year after it was announced. Blackberry is 100% propietary right now and always will be. BB Connect will be limited to email, limited contact accessibility (whatever "remote address look-up" means). Nothing near the full functionality of a BB device.
anyone tried http://www.notifylink.com/ or http://jpmobile.com/default.asp?
We are a groupwise shop and looking to sync both email and calander.
It would be good (no pun) if we could get both blackberies and treos devices synced over the air using one solution.
It looks like BES for groupwise may have been released, I no longer see coming soon on their web site, but may have missed it.
if bc doesnt sync calandar, then it is limiting. We can use http://www.chatteremail.com/ for that.
I am currently analyzing Good Link/Intellisync/RIM.
Currently for 500 wireless data users Goodlink costs twice as much as BES.
I am not too comfortable giving out exact numbers online...
Intellisync costs about the same as Goodlink for the same level of functionality.
For real people, goodlink is freaking nutzoid expensive at the enterprise level. Furthermore, at the enterprise level, giving the Intellectual Property risks you are running with these things, it is probably better to go with an end-to-end total ownership solution.
That and Blackberries can be accidentally flung across the room from five feet high onto a concrete floor and not crack the screen. Try that with your Treo.
Correction:
Intellisync is about the same as BES...Sorry bout that mix-up..
Wrong, wrong, wrong. The total cost of ownership for GoodLink is equivilant, if not less, than BB. Cheaper data plans (at least with Sprint) for GoodLink vs Blackberry. Cost for support for Blackberry while none for GoodLink. Here is an example I found at TreoCentral:
"Let's take Sprint for example. Sprint data plan: $15/month, Sprint Blackberry Plan: $49.95 So, for 20 devices:
GoodLink:
GoodLink Licenses: $330 x 20 = $6600
Data: $15 x 20 x 12 = $3600
Total Cost: $10,200 or $42.50 per user per month
Blackberry:
BES: $2,999
20 Licenses: $1,398
Support (12x5, BES): $625
Support (12x5, devices) $300
Data: $49.95 x 20 x 12 = $11,988
Total: $17,310 or $72.13 per month
Let's look at year two:
Numbers are the same for GoodLink (though a two year subscription is cheaper, we will leave it at a renewal from year-to-year:
$42.50 per month
Blackberry:
$12,913 or $53.80 per month per user"
For 500 users, the price will be even cheaper because I know Good gives discounts at that quantity.
If you are worried about intellectual property, RIMM is the gamble, not Good.
We are using ATT. Same for unlimited data plan, 50 dollars per month no matter what.
500 Blackberry users = 32,500 + 12,500 yearly support costs for a total of 45,000 dollars the first year, 12,500 every year after that.
Data lines for cell phones are fixed at fifty dollars either way we go. Servers are priced the same.
Let's say that good decides to give me 500 Cal's at 100 dollars a piece. per year. That's 50,000 dollars per year.
Good qouted me 300 per user. 300 * 500 = 150,000 yearly licensing fees. If they are willing to take of 66% percent of the price, then it costs me 50,000 per year in licensing fees.
BES costs 45,000 the first year, 12,500 each year after that.
Are you saying that good is willing to give me 500 cals for about 12,500 dollars per year?
How much is it going to cost to cradle them all on implementation if ATT doesn't provide the BES 4.0 client on the devices when you get them? Some carriers are, some aren't, don't know about ATT. How much is it going to cost to cradle all those devices when a BES upgrade comes out? Because everytime there is an upgrade to BES and you want the devices to be the same, they will have to be cradeled. What level of support are you getting? Are upgrades included or are you going to pay the $1,000 upgrade price when the next revision comes out?
What about training your users? How much is their time worth trying to learn an unfamiliar system? Are you getting the 7100 devices from RIM? If so, you can add even more time as they try to learn/use the touchtype system.
You need to look past the initial charges and look, again, at the TOTAL cost. The intangibles from a support, maintenance and management standpoint. Read this:
"With exceptionally wide support for devices and carriers, plus a very powerful and easy to use client, Good's end-to-end platform is still the most impressive wireless messaging solution we've seen. If your organization has already committed to the BlackBerry platform, BES 4.0 (with its improved device support and over-the-air updating) will serve just fine. But if you haven't committed to a wireless messaging solution yet, GoodLink 4.0 is the way to go."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1774932,00.asp
As for outright pricing, I was quoted about $430 for a two year license through a distributor and that was for 150 licenses. You may want to check with your rep.
Hey GT, let's take this offline. You raise some good points, and I would like to talk more at length with you about this.
Email me at my gmail account.
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