BlackBerry 8800's lack of camera a plus

Michael Lazaridis expresses great confidence in his company's BlackBerry 8800 phone/personal digital assistant device -- almost as much for what it won't do as for what it will.
During the recent Federal Office Systems Expo at the D.C. Convention Center, Mr. Lazaridis, president and co-chief executive of Research in Motion, explained that the 8800 doesn't have a built-in camera because in many corporations, enterprises and government agencies -- think of the Defense Department -- having a camera at hand isn't always a good thing.
This device, available from Cingular Wireless for as little as $299 with a two-year service commitment, elevates hand-held communications to a new level.
I hate to say it, but I have to imagine that my trusty Treo smart phones, the Palm Inc. products I've loved for so long, may have finally met their match.
The 8800 is larger than the BlackBerry Pearl reviewed here a few weeks back. It has a full "Qwerty," or typewriter-style, keyboard, a color display, and the BlackBerry e-mail system, along with support for up to 10 different e-mail accounts.
The unit has 64 megabytes of memory but can be augmented with "micro" SecureDigital or SD, cards of up to 1 gigabyte of RAM. The device is a quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE-enabled phone which, as with the Pearl, means it can operate in most of the world, and with high-speed data as well. And there's a Bluetooth connectivity feature that lets you use wireless headsets and other devices.
This new phone also incorporates the TeleNav Track Global Positioning System service, which is promoted as "an affordable enterprise-grade application" including location tracking, mileage tracking, wireless time sheets, alerts and detailed location reporting to capture field data.
Cingular, in a statement, said a "premium" TeleNav Track product can also be had, offering "wireless forms, dispatching, bar code-scanning support and voice and on-screen turn-by-turn GPS directions." The service costs an extra $13 or $22 per month, on top of phone and data charges.
In short, the BlackBerry 8800 can not only tell you that you have an appointment, it can tell you how to get there.
For most of us, I suspect, the key elements will be phone, e-mail, and Web browsing. In these areas, the BlackBerry 8800 is one of the most amazing devices I've come across. As a phone, it's as good as any device out there.
There's an included corded headset, if you don't want to use Bluetooth, and the built-in speaker and microphone are excellent. Dialing is relatively easy, although I wish there were an onscreen dial pad with the traditional "ABC" arrangement found on phones.
Web browsing is easy, although the lack of Java capability renders some Web sites unreadable. Such would be a problem on other hand-held phones with Internet capabilities, so I won't fault BlackBerry here.

Mobilizes SugarCRM for BlackBerry Smartphones

iEnterprises Brings SugarCRM Customers "Mobile Edge for SugarCRM": Mobilizes SugarCRM for BlackBerry Smartphones

iEnterprises Joins SugarCRM's SugarExchange as Premium Provider and Helps SugarCRM Customers Extend Their CRM Wirelessly

iEnterprises, Inc. (http://www.ienterprises.com/), the global desktop and wireless customer relationship management (CRM) experts, and SugarCRM, the world's leading provider of commercial open source CRM software, today announced that they will be offering "Mobile Edge for SugarCRM," a new wireless "extension" for SugarCRM users so they can instantly make their SugarCRM available on BlackBerry® smartphones from Research In Motion (RIM) (NasdaqGS:RIMM - News).

Mobile Edge for SugarCRM (which can be purchased through SugarExchange) allows SugarCRM Professional and SugarCRM Enterprise customers with mobile employees equipped with BlackBerry smartphones to access their important information anytime, anywhere -- in a matter of seconds. The pre-built solution uses an open standards Web services interface, making it tightly integrated to the two SugarCRM product lines, while being very user-friendly and configurable. Mobile Edge for SugarCRM also upholds SugarCRM's commitment to providing flexible deployment options. Customers can conveniently choose hosted and / or behind the corporate firewall deployment. Both are affordable and hassle-free to manage.

By accessing SugarCRM on BlackBerry smartphones, mobile professionals can quickly tackle urgent issues and gain extra productivity and peace of mind wherever they may be. Furthermore, customers can maximize their CRM and wireless infrastructure investments.

"We're excited to be contributing this valuable wireless extension to SugarCRM customers and the Linux / Open Source community," said Phil Sheehy, iEnterprises' VP of Strategic Alliances for Wireless Solutions. "Companies want to empower their mobile workers with the information they need to get the job done, and done well. Mobile Edge for SugarCRM helps them do that smoothly within days, and without breaking the bank. Since it's so inherently configurable, Mobile Edge for SugarCRM works and grows the way your business does."

Here is a sample of tasks that SugarCRM customers will be able to do from their BlackBerry smartphone with Mobile Edge for SugarCRM:


-- Sales teams can quickly access customer contact, lead, and pipeline
information.
-- Executives can view opportunities, performance status, and be alerted
of important or urgent issues.
-- Customer service representatives can resolve issues and communicate
with customers and other business divisions immediately.
-- Field Service personnel can access, open, and close service tickets on-
site, improving the quality of service and maintaining Service Level
Agreements.
-- All mobile users can schedule meetings, maintain a centralized
calendar and address book, and assign tasks while away from the office.

Please visit http://www.ienterprises.com/sugar-crm-mobile or http://www.sugarexchange.com for more information.

About SugarCRM

SugarCRM is the world's leading provider of commercial open source customer relationship management (CRM) software for companies of all sizes. Sugar easily adapts to any business environment by offering a more flexible, cost-effective alternative than proprietary applications. SugarCRM's open source architecture allows companies to more easily customize and integrate customer-facing business processes in order to build and maintain more profitable relationships. SugarCRM offers several deployment options, including on-demand, on-premise and appliance-based solutions to suit customers' security, integration and configuration needs. For more information, call (408) 454-6900 or 1 87 SUGARCRM toll free in the US, email contact@sugarcrm.com, or visit http://www.sugarcrm.com.

About iEnterprises

iEnterprises, Inc. brings companies desktop and wireless CRM solutions that achieve their CRM vision and drive success. The global CRM experts' chief products are the award-winning CRM solution, iExtensions for Notes, and wireless CRM application, CRM on the Go (also known as Mobile Edge). More than 10 years ago, iEnterprises began with a vision that CRM software should be affordable, easy to use, and easy to implement. iEnterprises delivers its products worldwide through a vast network of global business partners and employs a value-driven methodology and personalized approach that helps customers stay focused on their top end-users' needs. iEnterprises, Inc. is a Premier level member of IBM PartnerWorld and a member of the BlackBerry® ISV Alliance program. The company is headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey, and has its European office in London, United Kingdom. For more information or to download a copy of the software, visit http://www.ienterprises.com.

iEnterprises, iExtensions CRM and CRM on the Go are the exclusive properties and trademarks of iEnterprises, Inc. iEnterprises, iExtensions CRM and CRM on the Go are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. IBM, Lotus, and Lotus Notes are registered trademarks. Notes and Domino are trademarks of IBM. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


Contact:

SugarCRM Media Contact
Tara Spalding
P: 408-355-3858
E: Email Contact

iEnterprises Media Contact
Daisy Wall
P: 404-695-0195
E: Email Contact


Source: iEnterprises

PinStack Launches BlackBerry Professionals Job Board

Recruiters can now post Jobs on PinStack and instantly reach it's audience -- more than 500,000 visitors and 2.5 million page views per month. In addition, PinStack visitors can browse BlackBerry Jobs that fit their career path free of charge.

blackberry_jobs_small.jpg

The Blackberry Job Board is powered by the JobCoin job board software. "There are a wealth of talented BlackBerry professionals who are not browsing traditional job boards," said JobCoin CEO Keith Schacht. "The BlackBerry Job Board... helps companies who need to hire BlackBerry professionals reach these talented individuals [that read daily."

"This is an excellent alliance for us!" said PinStack Founder, Hayden James. "A large portion of PinStack's visitors belong to the IT industry who will welcome this new service. A glance at the Jobs already listed and it's clear that this new service opens up great opportunities for BlackBerry Professionals and the Companies seeking them."

If your company is looking to hire BlackBerry admins, developers, support staff, or sales/marketing staff in the BlackBerry space - we think the PinStack audience is the ideal place to search. If you have immediate position to fills, contact phartge(at)jobcoin.com about posting a job right away so you it can be listed for the launch of the new job board.

The Pinstack job board can be found at BlackBerryJobs.PinStack.com.

About JobCoin
JobCoin helps employers reach their ideal job candidates and provides website publishers with a new source of revenue by including highly relevant job listings on their site. Ultimately, JobCoin seeks to change the way candidates and employers connect. JobCoin is a privately held, privately funded company based in Chicago, IL. For more information, please visit http://www.jobcoin.com.

About PinStack
PinStack is a Discussion-Based Community focusing on BlackBerry Professionals which has developed into the largest and fastest growing online BlackBerry community of well over 100,000 registered members. PinStack offers everything BlackBerry related including discussions, downloads, discounted Software & Accessories, user guides, reviews and more. Further information visit: www.pinstack.com.

Contact:
Hayden James, Founder
PinStack
Phone: 268-764-5003
hayden.james @ pinstack.com

BlackBerry Pearl

LaptopMag reviews the BlackBerry Pearl and writes, "Call quality was clear, and we had no problems with dropped calls or weak signals as we walked between the subway and our office in Midtown Manhattan. The Pearl's voice-dialing feature also worked well and quickly identified the contact we wanted to call. Web pages loaded quickly, and we were able to access reviews on our site in a matter of seconds. Surfing was pleasant overall, but don't expect a rich Web experience, as pages are stretched to fit the Pearl's vertical display."

Sanyo M1

MobileBurn reviews the Sanyo M1 and writes, "The Sanyo M1's on-board 2 megapixel camera with auto focus produced some nice photos right from the get go. When taking photos outdoors, no messing around with any of the image controls was needed to get a good shot. But when we went indoors, we struggled a bit when it came to the camera's flash. The white balance always seemed a bit off kilter and needed adjustment. The M1 comes with lots of great options to help improve images though. A focus lock feature lets users center on a subject, set the focus, and recompose the picture while still keeping the original subject clearly in focus. We tested this feature over and over and it never failed us. The cameraphone is also able to take multiple photos in quick succession. The 2 megapixel camera can handle up to 9 continuous shots taken in sequence. Resolution will be lowered to QVGA (320x240 pixel), but this is still a great bonus. The M1's cameraphone can be activated from either the open or closed position. Either way, I had trouble keeping my fingers off the camera's lens, and at times the flash. My hand always seemed to want to block the camera. The M1's video recorder produces QVGA (320x240 pixel) resolution video clips that can be up to 120 minutes in length. Both pictures and videos can be uploaded to the Sprint website, or can be copied over directly to your computer via USB or Bluetooth."

BlackBerry Pearl with camera

OCRegister has a review of the BlackBerry Pearl and writes, "There's a nice 1.3-megapixel camera with a 5x digital zoom and flash. But it doesn't record video. A micro SD slot lets you add more memory, but it's hard to reach because it's inside the phone, tucked underneath the battery. It has Bluetooth, but if you want to transfer multimedia files, you must use the USB cable, which means another accessory to pack on trips."