Hey guys,

I've been looking around on google for ages on an article how to do this and all I can find out is that you can sync your Outlook Contacts, ToDo ect with your Blackberry through the desktop software, great, not what I want to do however, I want to be able to view\send\receive emails through Outlook on my Blackberry.

We do have exchange 07 up and running and the only thing I can think of is access OWA through the internet ova the phone.

I know the iPhones have an easy place where you can add\edit\configure email accounts and they have PUSH.

Has anyone had any experience on setting this up? Have I missed something obvious(more than likely)

QGL to the rescueee!!!!

hahahaha

It should be straight-forward, I'm sure you've missed something.

More importantly, which Blackberry did you buy? I've heard the Bold getting a lot of positive talk lately, was thinking of getting one.

I think you need (to pay for) BES for what you want?

Which sucks. This s*** should be free.

I feel your pain mate. We have one customer who refused to use the Desktop Redirector, yet wouldn't pay for a BES install.

Yet, funnily enough he was happy to pay for a subscription for AstraSync. It's essentially an ActiveSync port for Blackberry devices and replaces the Blackberry interface wholesale.

Have tested it and can confirm that it works quite well. They also offer a 7-day trial (iirc) that will let you test it and confirm it's suitable for you.

HTH

You don't need outlook on your Blackberry to access and send MS Exchange emails. You need the Blackberry Connector on your Exchange Server. Then you activate the function on your Blackberry through the Blackberry Email Activation option in your settings once you receive an activation code from your Mail Administrator. Well that's what I did eons ago.

I use my Blackberry more than I use outlook on my Corporate Laptop for all my email needs.

We wireless sync all contacts / meetings / mail to our Blackberry but yeah I manage a BES so it is configured in there via the policy. Oh and it's Domino but I'm sure that doesn't make any difference to the BES interface other than the way it interacts with the LDAP / Directories you are sync'ing with and the mail proxy.

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/server/offers/professional_express.jsp

^ Free, single user licence BES server, you can pay to upgrade it to about 30 users or full blown bes if you want. I've found the exchange connector to be a hassle as opposed to this, although it all depends on your environment.

I've been looking around on google for ages on an article how to do this and all I can find out is that you can sync your Outlook Contacts, ToDo ect with your Blackberry through the desktop software, great, not what I want to do however, I want to be able to view\send\receive emails through Outlook on my Blackberry.

Short answer no you can't. Long answer, yes you can, via this VVV

Yet, funnily enough he was happy to pay for a subscription for AstraSync. It's essentially an ActiveSync port for Blackberry devices and replaces the Blackberry interface wholesale.

I just deployed one for our CEO and works well albeit a bit slow and clunky. Astrasync email client isn't really that great because it's slow and can't really match the native BB email client.

So we use Astrasync to sync contacts & calendar over the air, then use standard BIS to access Exchange OWA. I know it's not true syncing but our CEO doesn't care too much about syncing emails perfectly as long as: a) he gets them, b) when he deletes from his BB it synced with his exchange inbox (though the opposite isn't true but he doesn't care about that).

Looks like I was wrong.

All sounds interesting though. What Blackberry peeps recommend then?

Pinky, get the new Bold. The older model tends to have problem with the trackball after a while i.e. it's probably one of the first thing that died on BB. The newer model of BB Bold has optical track pad. Our chairman has this model as his old one's trackball is starting to go and he loves it.

Also not sure who your mobile provider is but we're with NextG, coupled that with BB all the road warriors just love their BB to bits.

I'm currently with Optus and have been for ten years. I'm not really keen on changing. Would that be an issue?

Nah no issue, from my (bias) experience BB Bold with NextG is so much win. But Optus would be fine too, won't change the operation of the handset just coverage and speed. Coverage seems to be the issue for our road warriors because they travel to some far out places. For personal use Optus would do though.

I belive BES is free for 5 users or less

Just use BIS

It connects to your OWA

Wont do contacts but will do relatively pushy email

I managed to set it up, I'm with Telstra.

I went to their web interface and there is a back end set up to hook it up with our exchange server, it has POP\IMAP off, so I configured it though OWA.

Yay, thanks for your help guys was like wtf why cant I do this on a business grade phone without purchasing a s*** load of expensive crap.

Thanks QGL, you guys rock my socks!

Yeah BIS can actually be faster in some ways because it doesn't have to route everything through blackberry

i got a bb curve.
meh, its ok, cept its doing this annoying thing where some phone calls sound quality goes to s***

That's probably because it's on crappy EDGE, a few people complain about that the call would drop etc. On NextG call quality has been pretty solid.

Curve is only edge though isn't it

The 8310 anyway

^^^ Yeah what I meant to say was that if he use newer 3G/NextG version of BB (not curve) the call quality is great.

So if I'm reading Twinsen's post correctly, you're happy with PIM sync over cable but want email sync wirelessly? Just configure your account with OWA for the email and do the rest over the cable. All the talk of BES seems to be either:
a) A solution to a problem which doesn't exist
or
b) Twinsen sucks at explaining what he wants and I suck at interpreting it.

I was gonna say twinsen that you can use your account that you setup on telstra.blackberry.com to sync with your exchange OWA, but it looks like you figured it out.