In this multi part article, we look at several smartphones and mobile carriers, and try to extract the best overall values for small businesses. We rate the phones according to several business criteria, including business productivity (email, calendar and contacts), applications, mobile network, cost, and fun factor.
Next up, the BlackBerry Storm2 from RIM and Verizon.
There are several BlackBerry models from several carriers we could have reviewed. In the end, we decided to review the Storm2 from Verizon, because it has a full screen like the other smartphones in this review.
There are 2 potential methods to connect your BlackBerry smartphone to your Microsoft Exchange or Google Apps push mail, but neither is all that user friendly. Most of our clients who use BlackBerry use BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express (which recently was released as a free basic product, before February similar BlackBerry technology cost several hundred dollars). To connect your device to your user data, you must either physically connect the device to the server, or go through the clunky process of over the air Enterprise Activation, which takes a long time and is an involved process that uses temporary passwords and hardly ever works on the first try. The other method, which is not available on all BlackBerry smartphones, is to use Push through BlackBerry Internet Service, but this does not always give you access to Calendar and Contact data. For Google Apps, you must use this method. 1/5.
Apps on the BlackBerry is a tricky category. The BlackBerry Storm2 is geared especially to business users, and actually comes with several business apps standard out of the box that you do not find on the iPhone 3GS or the DROID, such as support for Office and PDF documents. Until recently, loading and deploying apps to the BlackBerry was too much of a hassle for a small business, that is until BlackBerry deployed their own store, the BlackBerry App World, similar to the Apple iTunes App store. The App World is available from the Storm2, but not necessarily on older BlackBerry models. 4/5.
What can we say about the network that we haven’t already said? The Storm2 that we tried was on the Verizon network, which has the highest customer satisfaction and fewest dropped calls, although there are BlackBerry models available on every carrier in the United States. 5/5.
The cost of the BlackBerry Storm2 is somewhat less out of the box than other reviewed models at $179.99, and the voice and data plan are a little less than either the DROID or the iPhone 3GS at around $65 per month. Be careful on Verizon, however, as Verizon imposes a charge of $15-$25 per month extra, depending on the phone model, in order to do the very basic task of Enterprise Activation if you happen to use BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express. Verizon is the only carrier to have this extra charge to my knowledge. As I already mentioned, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express was recently released as a free licensed product. BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express takes about 2-3 hours to install. Despite the added time costs, if an organization hopes to deploy 10 or more smart phones, BlackBerry Enterprise Express may be the way to go because of the ease of administration and policy deployment not available with regular Microsoft Exchange Push, especially if you go with even less expensive smartphone models. 4/5.
The BlackBerry Storm2 is clearly a smartphone designed for business and therefore rates a little lower on the fun factor than other reviewed smartphones. You can play games and have other means of entertainment, and the preloaded Sims 3 and Tetris are actually quite fun. Also, Verizon’s V Cast Song ID is a fun inexpensive app. 3/5.
Overall, the BlackBerry Storm2 from Verizon rates a 17/25.
Copyright
© 2010 Skyrope, LLC. All right reserved
these Websites are worth visiting……
[...]The info compelled in the article are some of the best available [...]…
Just reading…
Good day very nice site!! Man .. Beautiful .. Wonderful .. I’ll bookmark your website and take the feeds also…I’m happy to seek out so many helpful info here within the post, we need develop more techniques on this regard, thank you for sharing….
It is not very often that I get a chance to read such an insightful article. What a pleasant surprise to find such a wonderful well written article. Your informational content has proven very useful.
replica watches…
[...]just beneath, are a lot of completely not connected web sites to ours, having said that, they’re surely worth going over[...]…
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
that “fits you” is the one to…
use. you have probably heard the expression ‘there’s no such thing as a free ride’ when it comes to popularity, or fame, this is not strictly true. many a celebrity have got there with zero talent, and even less hard work….
Comment…
I am experiencing a challenge with your rss feed . Don’t know why I am not able to subscribe to it. Is there anyone getting equivalent rss problem? Anybody who knows kindly respond. Thanks…
R U Kidding Me…
…My personal thoughts are not the opposite as yours……
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
do the day shift, and he does…
the night!you may think you are very knowledgeable about your subject, but it’s great if you attract someone to join who’s known as an expert in their area. i invited two such people from their contributions on other forums and their…
Bonsai…
Subscribed for your blog, many thanks…
rolex replica watches uk…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]…
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Crazy Ideas…
…Why do so many posts disagree……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Related Site…
I’m typically to blogging and i actually respect your content. The article has really peaks my interest. I’m going to bookmark your web site and keep checking for brand new information….
swiss replica watches…
[...]we like to honor numerous other net sites on the internet, even when they aren?t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages really worth checking out[...]…
Ogrodzenia PCV…
hey buddy, this can be a quite interesting write-up…
or anyone that is more hardcore than…
a blog writer who has his or her own opinion on any subject they may blog about! when you think of blog writing, you may think of the mundane tales of your every day housewife, but i am here to tell…