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See the original image at gizmodo.com

MobileMe Push Mail Hands-On Shows Why BlackBerry Is Dead

gizmodo.com — As you can see in the video, MobileMe push mail is now active, fully operative, and perfectly armed. My iPhone is now getting all email in real time, both over a Wi-Fi connection and using a cellphone network. I even use EDGE—not 3G—and a non-official carrier on roaming.

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  • Dohko_Xar, on 07/10/2008, -11/+31I wish I could afford and iPhone/iPod Touch...
    • raytibbitts, on 07/10/2008, -10/+10I wish I could get one that wasn't locked to the carrier
      and that I didn't have to sign a contract to buy it.
      Oh, and cut and paste, and stereo bluetooth, etc.
      • theMurdocVolta, on 07/10/2008, -13/+8jailbreak.

        ... except for the stereo bluetooth, just shut up and stop reminding us about that.
      • osko2052, on 07/10/2008, -7/+6And flash for picture taking and a removable battery.
      • raytibbitts, on 07/10/2008, -4/+2jailbreak will NOT keep me from having to sign my name to Telefónica (Movistar, AT&T Rogers, whatever) for an iPhone 3G.
        If you knew Telefónica, you wouldn't sign anything for them, either.
      • runeasgar, on 07/10/2008, -7/+6I'm sorry that you have a crappy cellular provider but I really fail to see what that has to do with Apple. If you're suggesting that they simply fling the phone out into the world as an unlocked device.. you should really take a few business classes. What Apple is doing is a necessary foot-in-the-door -- standing on the shoulders of established companies to get a footing in a tenuous industry.
      • juanamoros, on 07/10/2008, -1/+6Please. Tell us all which carrier isn't crappy.
      • Taiyoryu, on 07/10/2008, -3/+1contract-less phones are coming

        then you can just jailbreak and unlock to use on whatever network you want being a) AT&T (duh) or b) T-Mobile... ain't competition grand! /sarcasm

        you will pay a pretty penny for it though at $599 for the 8GB version. With AT&T, total cost of ownership is cheaper with 2-year contract than without over the same 2 years at the current price of device.
      • raytibbitts, on 07/10/2008, -2/+3Talyoryu: You forgot the No Monthly Plan method, and Pre-Paid (And all the non-U.S. carriers.)
        $600 sure beats the $1,550 it costs to get a 3G iPhone in Spain.

        $1,550 is the cheapest total cost of ownership, after completing a 2-year contract, with Movistar, and that's a plan that gives you 30 (thirty) minutes of talk-time per month, and you have to pony up $658 up front, just for the phone.
      • ispshadow, on 07/11/2008, -0/+4Lol...I had to vote you up. I really don't care if everybody thinks you're whining. Yes, we've all heard it before. That's doesn't change the fact that some of these things that people are bitching about are legitimate gripes.

        Has anyone noticed that if you bitch hard enough and loud enough, SOMETIMES it actually changes things?

        Rogers anyone? I'd say that was a partial success..
      • Tenoq, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2Import one from Australia. $729 + $80 unlocking fee from Optus. In USD that works out to about... $729 + $80. :p
      • ayeroxor, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1osko2052: Wishing for a flash on a phone is ***** stupid IMHO, but it's certainly reasonable to wish for a user-replaceable battery...

        ipshadow: When you're replying to a thread, try to indicate to whom you're replying...
      • Taiyoryu, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1@raytibbittsraytibbitts Regarding the No Monthly Plan, if you can live without the phone, camera, and GPS, it's better to go with an iPod Touch unless you were referring to calling cards or some such. When I said "without" contract, I meant prepaid. US carriers have prepaid options. However, AT&T having priced the iPhone without contract so expensively, they made the total cost of ownership over two years more expensive for less service than a two-year contract. The difference was like $160 US.

        Device + Voice + Data
        $199 + $40 * 24 + $30 * 24 = $1880 (450 min contract)
        $599 + $30 * 24 + $30 * 24 = $2040 (200 min prepaid)
    • Urkel, on 07/11/2008, -2/+1That is exactly the point. SOME people may "wish" they could get an iPhone, but reality is that rate plans, features, user preference and corporate support will keep people on blackberry.

      The iPhone is successful but whats with people getting so carried away with being the "winner" even though it's not in a race.
    • Shivetya, on 07/11/2008, -2/+3I can afford one and I don't want one.

      why? Because these things are a complete waste of money. Being "in touch" 24x7 isn't all its cracked up to be. I found my life more peaceful and fulfilling once I ditched the all you can eat cell phone plans, e-mail capable phone, and texting.

      Now I live by a pre paid plan on a free phone. It cost me an average of $10 a MONTH. Yet I still have all my friends, they can still get me if needed, and they know if I am not answering its most likely because the damn thing is off.

      The neat thing, more than one has converted to this lifestyle. Nothing like at the end of the year realizing I have nearly $500 more in MY account instead of the phone company's account.
      • jenrzzz1, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1Most "normal" people don't really need push email. My company requires us to have push email in some way, shape, or form as it is the number one way our customers get in contact with us when we're out on calls.
    • tennismac, on 07/11/2008, -0/+0I wish i could afford the iPhone plan. I don't mine paying the upfront cost of the phone because that's one time deal. Plan over 2 years (and more) are just so much more expensive.
  • Gavin, on 07/10/2008, -1/+63I sure hope that man does not use that email.. He is about to get a lot of emails..
    • BrendanSheehan, on 07/10/2008, -1/+6Yeah, and then it would die off again. That's his email address.
    • Firehed, on 07/10/2008, -2/+9Why? Are you going to spam him just because it was in a video?

      firehed@gmail.com, have fun.
      • redwallhp, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1How many spams have you gotten so far?
    • akhomerun, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1as if you can't get another gmail for free....
      • redwallhp, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1It's a pain in the arse though. I hate switching to a new email address. (Though I wonder if that's Firehed's real email. Could've just created it now...)
  • BlackBerryCool, on 07/10/2008, -10/+45Aw, c'mon. BlackBerry still has fightin' juice in it.
    • yokozuka, on 07/10/2008, -20/+7Like I said in the comments, I'm afraid that's not the case.

      BlackBerry OS is antiquated, slow, and hardly the sleek machine that OS X on the iPhone is. At the rate the iPhone has been eating marketshare, and now knowing the strength of their push solutions (complete with integration with Exchange,) it's only a matter of time. RIM is a minor player and I'm afraid Apple marketing machine is going to kill it.

      As a former crackberry addict, it makes me sad to say this, but the iPhone is clearly a much superior solution with more power, flair, and functionality, under a simple killing user interface. Add Apple's marketing power, and RIM is a dead duck.
      • meruru, on 07/10/2008, -6/+15http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/06/ ...
        Yah RIM is dead...
      • Optica8, on 07/10/2008, -7/+4You think those numbers might reflect iPhone sales cooling a bit with everyone expecting the 3G version? I bet they do.
      • osko2052, on 07/10/2008, -6/+6So tell me what do you do the battery in your iphone goes dead and you aren't able to charge it? I pop a new battery in my Blackberry Curve and I am good to go.
      • DelMonte, on 07/10/2008, -7/+5"So tell me what do you do the battery in your iphone goes dead and you aren't able to charge it?"

        You plug a battery pack and you're good to go!
      • mediaphile, on 07/11/2008, -1/+3I plug it into my laptop, or my car, or the wall, or a portable charger.
    • acevoncash, on 07/10/2008, -1/+18dugg for fightin juice.
    • petaganayr, on 07/10/2008, -3/+4Well, having email push capability doesn't mean that the iPhone is Enterprise ready. There's a lot of factors that need to be considered to be Enterprise ready. More likely your IT will not support the iPhone if your company has BES. Though it sure would be nice to have this as a default phone in our company:-)
      • themonkman, on 07/10/2008, -2/+2Petaganayr: Your IT department won't need to do anything real special to support the push email function if your like most other companies and running Exchange 2003 or better. Exchange 2007 even has a nice autodiscover service that makes setting up remote push email via ActiveSync over the air very easy.

        Personally, I dislike BES for the fact that it's a 3rd party communications app that you have to worry about additional security patches for, and because of the price of BES. Over-the-air push via ActiveSync is a great technology that we've used at my work for some time now, and I've never missed Blackberry Enterprise Server. In fact, all of our executives either are running WinMobile 5/6 or have iPhones that will benefit from this update. It's also more than push email. It's also push calendaring and contacts.
      • giveupsin, on 07/10/2008, -4/+3And iTunes isn't 3rd party? Come on. I'd rather use anything than iTunes for application delivery.
      • petaganayr, on 07/10/2008, -1/+1I know ActiveSync and Exhcange works seemlessly, because they're both MS products. Most companies that I know will disable music and picture functions of your phone. iTunes will definitely not be supported. I know BBs have cameras too, but most companies require them to be disabled. So, without those functions the iPhone will just be...a regular cellphone that can receive email. And I don't think companies are about to shutdown their BES to adopt new tech that you can't even change the batteries your self. I don't think it is cost effective. Just my opinion. I am a Palm Treo 750 M6 user by the way. I don't like the BB either. I think the track wheelball is crap.:-D
      • themonkman, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1I wouldn't expect companies with BES to shutdown their servers or move to another platform unless it was cost effective and as feature rich as their current solution. You can load purchased apps from the iPhone Configuration Utility that's built for enterprise management. Besides, the ability to view Word/Excel/PDF and connect to Cisco IPSEC VPNs are built right into iPhone's OS, so no apps are needed for that. Additionally, I wouldn't imagine that many corporations would need 3rd party apps on their phones for much. You can also configure what can and can't be used on the phone. Remote wipes of the iPhone can also be done from this utility.

        With all of that in mind, smaller companies may be attracted to the iPhone or other Mobile 6 phones, respectively. Startup costs are relatively low. The interface is intuitive and easy to use, which means less end user training, and email/calendaring/contacts sync in realtime over the air. I probably wouldn't recommend an iPhone for roadwarriors in sales due to the inability to switch out the battery, but on my phone I can always charge it off of my laptop via USB.
    • runeasgar, on 07/10/2008, -7/+4Don't forget they added more advanced VPN capabilities as well.
    • Waaaaalt, on 07/10/2008, -9/+2Buried for fightin juice. Like the way I buried my fightin juice in your mom last night.

      Make me stop. I'm a monster!!!
  • bryanwebster, on 07/10/2008, -6/+3I have the new iPhone software and push works fine but i thought (from looking at apple's videos) the push email would work to my desktop mail as well (apple mail) this doesnt seem to be the case.

    • billbugger, on 07/10/2008, -2/+12If you have MobileMe, it's supposed to.

      // don't have it... yet, just from reading
      • bryanwebster, on 07/10/2008, -3/+2The push to the iPhone works great but not to the desktop mail client. Mail.app has the tick box to support "idle".

        I guess I will just have to wait until mobile me is up and running properly then look into it.
    • binorgog, on 08/07/2008, -5/+1My uncle sent me this... http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20080 ...

      looks promising
    • Mier, on 07/10/2008, -6/+5I'm not gonna pay $99 per year. I'm not that desperate for the home system to sync to the handheld. Besides Blackberry gives you a software package that will sync the handheld with the desktop.

      Give mind you..as in beer.
      • Firehed, on 07/10/2008, -2/+6So does Apple... it's called iTunes. MobileMe just does the Push stuff - you can have the same access-all-my-data-everywhere with Gmail IMAP, which also handles contacts; I'm sure there will be an official Gcal sync out very shortly as there's been an unofficial jailbreak one out for a few weeks at least (and of course, you can just use the browser-based Gcal).
      • Mier, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1itunes does not send email received by the desktop back out over the network to sync with your handheld. That's what that package does.
    • akhomerun, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1why would you need push email on the desktop?
    • lharrod, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1You're doing it wrong.
  • billbugger, on 07/10/2008, -4/+33One thing iPhone won't penetrate is the government cuz it has a camera.
    • diskopo, on 07/10/2008, -3/+48In the iPhone's defense, that camera is kinda really *****.
    • billbugger, on 07/10/2008, -8/+2LOL, true.
    • nmcglennon, on 07/10/2008, -2/+14Depends on the government security restrictions. Obviously places with elevated security clearances won't let this in, but then again they usually don't let you in with flash drives, iPods, laptops, PDAs, or anything that can potentially hold media.

      Other government agencies (like the one I am at now), do allow these types of things. It all depends on security.
    • NyteStarNyne, on 07/10/2008, -12/+3hehe you said penetrate.
    • runeasgar, on 07/10/2008, -6/+1I'm willing to bet that a hard, pointy object could penetrate and render useless the camera on the iPhone :p thus allowing it to *cough* penetrate the government.
    • ruddy, on 07/10/2008, -5/+2I know another thing it won't penetrate *giggle giggle giggle*
    • akhomerun, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1you think apple couldn't eventually make custom models without cameras for government use? i think they are focusing on penetrating the market as a whole right now.

      also, apple has never been about business or enterprise, for better or for worse. getting into the enterprise market may create a more steady paycheck, but then you have to hold their hands and provide expensive support and bulk up the workforce.
  • innovaciones, on 07/10/2008, -7/+2Now i can throw that 7100i garbage, the only thing i will miss is the bb proprietary messenger, i wish there was somenthing like that for sending free messages between iPhones.
  • eekfuh, on 07/10/2008, -13/+29Google Sync > Mobile Me

    Google Sync on desktops (osx and win), web, blackberrys, windows mobile, symbian, soon iphone.

    Mobile Me Osx, web, iphone.

    Oh yeah.... Free > $99 per year
    • pensel, on 07/10/2008, -10/+3Your comment looks like it'll index well, but not after it's dugg down.
    • aphexii, on 07/10/2008, -5/+9Actually, Mobile Me does work on Windows.

      http://www.apple.com/mobileme/features/
    • Firehed, on 07/10/2008, -2/+5Agreed in principle, but it's not nearly as thorough. And AFAIK there's no Gcal/iCal sync (provided by Google) yet like there is for Gcal/Outlook.
    • cheesejaguar, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2Google Sync is no longer offered.
    • bbqribs, on 07/12/2008, -0/+0Stop being a Google Fanboi. Google bookmark sync is dead, too.
  • jabiggs3, on 07/10/2008, -4/+19RIM being dead may be a little strong, but I think MobileMe is a step in the right direction if Apple wants to make inroads in the Enterprise market.
  • mdavis, on 07/10/2008, -11/+4Blackberry's not necessarily dead-but certainly antiquated at this point.
  • robotmansa, on 07/10/2008, -14/+21The people that use the BlackBerry devices won't be switching to the iPhone. The people who will be switching to the iPhone are people who want an iPod and a device where they can visit Myspace, Facebook, and YouTube. Email is not the selling point of the iPhone.
    • superkendall, on 07/10/2008, -8/+10That used to be true but is wrong in a big, big way now.
      • jabelar, on 07/11/2008, -0/+0I agree, the crackberry habits of the businessperson are now going to be for everyone. It will be a significant difference in the use of the device. Like Blackberry, the phone part of iPhone will be its lesser used feature.
    • osko2052, on 07/10/2008, -6/+9I can visit all those websites on my Blackberry Curve and view videos on youtube with the new 4.5 OS.
    • Firehed, on 07/10/2008, -7/+2Speak for yourself. Email was about 80% of what caused me to get an iPhone (followed by syncing at 15%, only carrying one device at 4% and everything else in the last 1%).
    • jsully, on 07/10/2008, -5/+1Blackberry actually has a slick Facebook app, and Youtube support as of 4.5. I'm running 4.5.0.37 and it works well enough, though it's slow over Edge. Once the Bold arrives 3G style (+WIFI) it will be usable.
    • Turbojugend27, on 07/11/2008, -0/+0Fail!

      mom is ditching her blackberry, which she loves, to go with the Iphone. Which she loves more.
  • Tikisam, on 07/10/2008, -2/+8I wish mobile me wasn't $99/year... i simply hate paying for anything that's not 'tangible'. And I think my sentiments are widely shared b/c if you pull up the App store on your phone you can see number of downloads for each app, and it's pretty clear that the free apps are getting about 600X the number of dl's as even the 99 cent ones.
    I wish i knew more about Exchange and whether or not it's feasible to set up one's own Exchange server.
    • naffets, on 07/10/2008, -1/+3It really isn't feasible. Licensing alone would cost way more than 5 years of mobile me subscription.
    • belumaves, on 07/10/2008, -2/+1hehe... no. someone correct me if I'm wrong but the only way to get an exchange server is to set up a server running one of the versions Windows Server. a year or so ago when I bought server 2003 it cost us about $1000.
      • natenovs, on 07/10/2008, -1/+5corrected.

        http://www.techcrunchit.com/2008/07/08/microsoft-a ...
        youve always been able to buy a hosted exchange email box from a 3rd party vendor, and now MS is offering Exchange as a service. 3$ a month for a package equivalent to MobileMe.
      • subliminalurge, on 07/10/2008, -2/+1Well, there's always the pirate bay if you're conscience allows that sort of thing......

        Cost aside, the last time I attempted to set up an Exchange server, I gave up out of frustration. And I'm a professional sysadmin. I'm sure I could have gotten it going if I'd been more motivated, but given the simplicity of setting up a Linux system that fit my needs, I decided it wasn't worth learning the ins and outs of Active Directory. I'm sure I was missing something simple, but the only way I could find to fix a few of my newbie (as far as Windows Server goes) mistakes was to reinstall the OS.

        Mind you, that was on Server 2000. It may have gotten simpler since then.
    • Mier, on 07/10/2008, -1/+2I would look at a small business package and see what it has. It might have a small business exchange server included.
    • Firehed, on 07/10/2008, -1/+2Well of course more people are playing around with the free stuff. Except that half of it relies on a paid service (Salesforce, that doctor-oriented pill identifier thing, etc), and everything that's been downloaded so far is from people who did the install early because of a Macrumors post.
    • nsummy, on 07/10/2008, -2/+3You can get small business server 2003 which includes 5 licenses (thats the minimum), but as someone already pointed out, the cost of the software alone is around $500. Then factor in the cost of the hardware, internet connection that can't ever got down, ups system, backup, etc. Its not even worth it for one person.
    • BRODEL, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1Don't you need the business iphone plan to use exchange?
      • BRODEL, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1In case anyone is curious, you do. So, $99 a year for mobileme beats $15 extra a month for the business plan.
    • TheYoshi, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1Couldn't you just use appriver or some other hosted exchange service?
  • CaptObvious, on 07/10/2008, -16/+31Wow, that's a huge load of Apple fanboy-ism right there... Rim has a huge hold in corporations that use Exchange, and this isn't for Exchange, so I don't see how RIM=dead.
    • noloveIII, on 07/10/2008, -6/+12because they built in exchange support as well?
    • runeasgar, on 07/10/2008, -5/+14Um.. the iPhone has full exchange and VPN support.

      What was your point again? Apparently I missed it.
    • petaganayr, on 07/10/2008, -7/+3Well, active sync can be tied up to Exchange, just like how BES is tied up to Exchange. But, the iPhone is not Enterprise ready. It will cost a lot of money to have a company to switch from BES to ActiveSync.
    • Angostura, on 07/10/2008, -2/+13Ummm.

      http://www.apple.com/iphone/enterprise/integration ...

      Exchange support is there. I think saying RIM is dead is silly, I think saying that RIM has some decent competition now is more like it.
    • CaptObvious, on 07/10/2008, -3/+1My bad. I obviously don't have a working knowledge of MobileMe. I thought it just integrated with .mac.
  • naffets, on 07/10/2008, -12/+51I hate to be the one to state the obvious, but Windows Mobiles have push email, blackberrys have push email, iphones have push emails...surely this levels the playing field at best?

    As a former Blackberry/Windows mobile user (Now using neither) I still don't see how an iPhone is better other than a flashy interface, which is lost through lack of a physical keyboard. If it were able to give tactile feedback I might think differently... I have an ipod touch, and as a media player it rocks, but as something to type emails on, it sucks.

    Getting a little fed up of sites proclaiming RIM is doomed because apple all of a sudden have push email...
    • corruptor0612, on 07/10/2008, -6/+6I think the big idea with the iPhone is that it's being done without the proprietary BB Server. You talk directly to the exchange server. This way, you dont suffer an email outage when RIM has issues with their routers which happens, what, monthly?

      IPVPN over 3G talking directly to the server to me beats the hell out of having an email outage when a circuit in canada goes down.
      • naffets, on 07/10/2008, -2/+3I wouldn't know much about blackberry outages. As a UK user, I can only recall very few occasions where this was an issue.

        Mind you, I was using BES aswell.

        Oh and the Windows Mobiles don't need anything other than your exchange server on, and your phone on. I admit, BIS does throw something else into the mix; however as a uk user I didn't see any problems with using it during my time as a blackberry user.

        If apple released an iphone with a keyboard and high res screen, I'd consider it. Until then, the X1 is my #1 (800 x 480 screen = awesome (I use RDP remotely a lot))
      • BrendanSheehan, on 07/10/2008, -1/+2Mobile me isn't exchange. iPhone 2.0 has Exchange too though.
    • superkendall, on 07/10/2008, -9/+6The interface s not just flashy, it's functional. And a virtual keyboard means things like keyboards that adopt to a need (like the special URL entry keyboard) or even switching languages on the fly.

      And then there are the applications, and dedicated enterprise app store...
    • Firehed, on 07/10/2008, -6/+9What do you interact with all day long? Yes, the interface. I've used a blackberry and played around with a WinMobile device. The interfaces suck. They're unintuitive and painful to use, and not at all user friendly. I don't want to re-learn how to check my email because some company can't hire a QA/design team.

      Your point about the touchscreen is very valid - while I've done it, I don't love typing out long paragraphs on my iPhone. That said, I also don't like doing it on a tiny physical keyboard a la Blackberry either. I won't give a Stevenote here about the advantages of a software keyboard, but I figure that if I have to use a crappy, tiny keyboard, it might as well not waste space on the device all the time.

      But to each his own, of course.
    • josereyes0, on 07/10/2008, -4/+3I think the point of the post is that now with Push, blackberry's main selling point removed. So now yes you do have an even playing field in terms of e-mail but the extra features offered by iPhone (such as the 3rd Party Apps) make it a superior device not only for residential consumers but also businesses. I can't tell you how many times I've been in a meeting at work where someone will pull their blackberry and after playing around with it and getting frustrated I see them slamming the blackberry on the table out of frustration for numerous reasons.
    • turbo2ltr, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1I agree. The mail app on the iPhone sucks (yes I have an iPhone). I doubt mobileMe will make it any better other than give the iPhone what most other smart phones have had for years, true push email. I've have *true* push email on my 3 year old Treo 650 with a mail app that is actually easy to use and will check more than the inbox folder. No BB server or exchange server needed. The iPhone mail app is clunky when used with more than one account (6 clicks to go from an email in one account to an email in another???), and extremely slim on features..

      I really hope that some 3rd party comes out with a decent mail app. I do a lot of email, and while I really enjoy the wifi and the browser as compared to the Treo, the mail leave just about everything to be desired for heavy emailers.
  • mithu81, on 07/10/2008, -2/+6anyone know when me.com will be back up? i want my 60 day free trial
  • atomicfox, on 07/10/2008, -14/+11If it can't be remotely wiped/updated/managed by a company's telecom or IT department this will not kill the blackberrys.
    • naffets, on 07/10/2008, -5/+8Indeed, and I'd say an iphone is more likely to get stolen too - subsequently resulting in a leak of corporate info.

      Maybe I'm just thinking negatively....
    • corruptor0612, on 07/10/2008, -4/+16It has full activesync/exchange support including remote wipe.
    • DelMonte, on 07/10/2008, -4/+7The iPhone 2.0 firmware (on both versions of the iPhone) enables remote wipe, and Apple provides tools to allow internal distribution and updates of custom apps on targeted groups of iPhones.

      I'm not saying that this will kill Blackberry, but it's certainly a step to make some inroads in the market currently covered by the BB.
    • petaganayr, on 07/10/2008, -2/+1I agree. But it is tied up to ActiveSync so it can be remotely managed. But I don't think Corporation would switch their current BES to ActiveSync. That cost money.
      • jcostom, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2But not as much money as maintaining those BES licenses, not to mention monthly BB data plan fees from carriers. Take AT&T for instance. I can get the $15/month Medianet unlimited data plan, which even does 3G and use that with a Nokia E71 and the Nokia ActiveSync client (Mail for Exchange), or the $30/month iPhone 3G data plan with ActiveSync, OR the $50/month BB data plan.

        Instant savings of $240 per user per year. More if the company goes with something other than iPhones..

        A couple of additional Exchange installs and you're set. I don't believe ActiveSync requires an additional CAL either, so for large customers, they've likely got a very low cost of entry to go ActiveSync.

        This of course, fails to address the actual cost of the migration or equipment changes, but realize that equipment changes will happen over time anyhow. The savings over 12-24 months in a larger company will likely justify the move.
    • diggmaddy, on 07/10/2008, -2/+4It can!
    • Firehed, on 07/10/2008, -1/+2If. But it can. However as an iPhone owner running 2.0 who's used a blackberry, it's not killing the Blackberry as an email device any time soon. 100% due to the touch keyboard. It's not that big of a problem IMO as all small keyboards suck (and the typo correction is great), but it's still a turnoff to managers.
  • bradleyland, on 07/10/2008, -4/+8OMFG roaming even!!!!???

    /sarcasm
    • bradleyland, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2Clue (for those who have none): Because you are roaming does not mean that your data will always travel through your home carrier.
  • chkdg8, on 07/10/2008, -1/+14Quick everyone, let's just see how much he loves his 'push email': addybaddy@me.com
  • hotcoffeeburns, on 07/10/2008, -19/+40is it possible to suck apple's dick MORE?
    • subliminalurge, on 07/10/2008, -4/+6Sadly, the answer is probably "yes".
  • geekofweek, on 07/10/2008, -7/+12The only problem with this assertion is the fact that BlackBerry supports push on almost all of the popular personal mail services and domains, Gmail, Yahoo!, and Google Apps to name a few. MobileME only supports mac.com or me.com email address for the push email. I have an iPhone and a MobileME account, but I'm not going to switch to a lame me.com email address just to get push mail.
    • belumaves, on 07/10/2008, -2/+4but but but... but it's Apple's email service....

      heathen.
    • chobit, on 07/11/2008, -0/+5Actually, it supports push on anything that supports IMAP rest, as does mail.app
  • rnawky, on 07/10/2008, -9/+2I ***** you not, if I send an email to my blackberry it arrives faster than that. I WISH I had a camera to prove it. ***** wait, I'm going to record it with my webcam.

    Wait damn when I point the webcam at the monitor it gets all ***** up. Oh well I'll still do it.
    • Firehed, on 07/10/2008, -2/+3Because a one-second delay will kill you. You know that push is about avoiding the 15-minute polling interval, right? If it was that damn important that you get it THAT INSTANT, they'd call you. It's a phone, after all.

      Don't get me wrong, I'm not doubting you (I've seen faster push as well), but talk about making a mountain out of a molehill...
      • rnawky, on 07/10/2008, -2/+1I'm just saying that because the article basically says oh wow look how fast the iphone is at doing it, Blackberry is *****. When in reality blackberry is faster so I didn't see the point of this article.
    • PabloMac, on 07/10/2008, -0/+1Totally awesome vocabulary, dude!
  • NatsuMatto, on 07/10/2008, -2/+22Article is flame-bait... AT BEST.

    Do I think iPhones are awesome? Sure, but I went with a BB Curve because AT&T's phone plans are ridiculous, and because my Curve ended up costing -$50. As long as the iPhone is exclusive with AT&T, and as long as Blackberry offers phones for under $100, they're going to stay alive in the consumer market. The BB Thunder looks to be their stab at an iPhone touchscreen device, so I guess we'll see how they stack up.
  • rebotfc, on 07/10/2008, -2/+15Blackberry dead? Talk about hyperbole.

    I love my iPhone but it is a long way from being accepted in Enterprise.
    • iamrot, on 07/10/2008, -6/+2Thats why the article was written.. to show you the new service that is/will/does Enterprise.

      um hello?
    • stam66, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1The Blackberry won't go away overnight - too many peecee users are hooked on the cheepo plasticky devices.
      But the mindspace iPhone gains with this means that as prices drop, many peecee users will eventually switch. And Blackberry will end up another Palm.

      Even now with the new 3G iphone at a lower price, i know so many that are suddenly switching to iPhone. Once demand increases further and IT departments incorporate the iPhone, RIM will either have to come up with a stunning quality product or disappear from the scene. Hence, Dead, yes.
    • lharrod, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1It was also 'hyperbole' when Final Cut Pro came out, when experts were predicting that it would topple Avid, which had a monopoly on video editing software for over a decade. With each version, FCP got better and better. Now, it's the top vid software, and Avid struggles to keep up. It was also hyperbole when the iPod came out, when experts were saying it could overtake the mighty Walkman, which ruled the personal media device market for nearly 20 years. More hyperbole when Apple was the first to drop the floppy drive, and experts were saying this was how all computers would be. When Apple was the first computer to come with a mouse, and folks said it was destined to change the industry. Naysayers said that was hyperbole, too.
  • jubilee123, on 07/10/2008, -11/+14...except you don't look like a douche when using a Blackberry.
    • VitaminH, on 07/10/2008, -3/+8Yes, you do.
    • Billions, on 07/11/2008, -2/+6...You kinda do though. Even more so because you probably had it clipped to your belt.
    • 1nhuman, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1Dude??
    • lharrod, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1Yes, you do. In fact, pretty soon, using a Blackberry will be akin to wearing a Members Only jacket.
  • omyard, on 07/10/2008, -4/+4What the heck is push e-mail? I'm out of the loop.
    • petaganayr, on 07/10/2008, -2/+4push e-mail is an Enterprise technology were your company email gets 'push' directly to your phone. It uses a different protocol instead of http.
    • jsully, on 07/10/2008, -0/+6Rather than having the phone check your e-mail account every 15 minutes and "pull" e-mail down from the server, your server instead "pushes" the e-mail out to you as soon as a new message hits your inbox.
  • pardonator, on 07/10/2008, -2/+3Its not dead, I love my BB and iPhone, the big plus for iPhone over BB is html email and not just plain text
  • vw2005, on 07/10/2008, -14/+17Oh Wow ... an e-mail sent to the iPhone arrives INTO the iPhone.... congratu-fuki-lation! You want us to throw your a party welcoming you into the 21st century??

    I bet Apple users enjoy the smell of their own farts as well ............... (South Park 'Hybrid' episode reference) ...
  • Roniniku, on 07/10/2008, -4/+5Annnnddddddd, this would be if Apple ever actually got the MobileMe service up and running. (15.5 hours beyond launch time so far)
    • PabloMac, on 07/10/2008, -2/+3It has been working for me all day.
  • guchdog, on 07/10/2008, -6/+6Until they get a landscape keyboard I won't even consider trading in my Blackberry, Safari doesn't count. iPhone touch keyboard is crap.
    • Billions, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1The burden is on you, I'm afraid. I get a lot of typing done on the iPhone keyboard. You judging it's usability via, say, a photograph or a few minutes of typing does not make it "crap."
      • guchdog, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1Blackberry is the king of email, there is no question that their keyboard is functional for it's size. It no question that even the most dedicated Apple Fanboy can agree that a landscape keyboard will improve the quality of people typing experience. Your argument carries no water, their are people that can type 20+ words a minute on a cell phone keypad, it still means that using a cell phone keypad to type emails is crap. Most of my friends I know who has one of these struggled at it for a day, even to the point of wanting to throw their precious iPhone, but they did eventually learn to use it. Learning curve for a keyboard, come on now! That is so un-Apple like!
  • nirav72, on 07/10/2008, -2/+2Blackberry might hurt for sales in the consumer market because of iphone push mail. But for corporate or government use, Blackberry will still be the dominant platform. But the iphone 3g is nice though.

    • giveupsin, on 07/10/2008, -2/+0Sen. Ted Kenney has ***** in one hand and a Blackberry in the other. Good luck getting the feds to trade theirs for an iPhone. Especially not after iPhones were shown to get hacked within minutes.
  • neutronlaser, on 07/10/2008, -2/+5Sony Ericsson phones from years ago can get email appearing within seconds via IMAP by almost-push. They work well for me.
    • lupini83, on 07/25/2008, -0/+0amen brother. also i've got my SE using push email from the mobile me service too. it works great!
  • earnjam, on 07/10/2008, -4/+3I think it's interesting that we're approaching 24 hours of downtime of .Mac/MobileMe...
  • rnawky, on 07/10/2008, -3/+7And this is how long it takes to receive an email on my Blackberry

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT5A88PyC5g

    Sorry for the ***** quality, but you can figure out what's happening.
    • neutronlaser, on 07/10/2008, -3/+1With the wallpaper of dreams!
    • teh_techie, on 07/10/2008, -11/+3OH MY GOEDZ!!! A FEW SECONDS FASTER!

      iPhone - you got NUTHIN on my uber-ultra-fast BB!!
    • hectordejesus, on 07/10/2008, -1/+4Whoa... never used a BB before, but was that Facebook app on there? Hmmm... I might have to look into this BB thing a little further.
  • Palaceguard, on 07/10/2008, -4/+7MobileMe and .Mac are still down. Fail
  • mulls, on 07/10/2008, -5/+6The virtual keyboard on the iPhone is nowhere near as effective for writing emails as actual buttons on a Blackerry.

    iPhone & SMS? Check. Twitter? Check. Writing a paragraph long email while driving down on the freeway and steering with your knees? Uncheck.
    • rnawky, on 07/10/2008, -1/+2Hey I've done that before on my Blackberry! Except I used both hands to hold my phone and my forearms to steer.
    • pkulak, on 07/10/2008, -3/+4It's all about what you're used to. I can't type for ***** on those tiny BB keys. I just hit every key next to the one I want. On the iPhone I can type at probably 1/2 of full keyboard speed, which is about as fast as you can go using just two thumbs. I'm sure if I used a BB for a week I'd get fast at it, and you'd also get fast at an iPhone.
  • sfcaptainrob, on 07/10/2008, -3/+8Buried as inaccurate. In no way does this make RIM dead. Does it make the iPhone a stronger competitor to the Blackberry, yes. Doesn't mean it's going to kill RIM and the Blackberry however. There are still a lot of Blackberry faithful out there that wouldn't trade our berry's for an iPhone if you put a gun to our head. For me it's that stupid touch screen keyboard (among other things). Give me real keys any day.
    • CobaltBlue, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1Buried as inaccurate. No one would refuse to trade in a blackberry for an iPhone if someone were actually holding a gun to their head.

      (not really buried)
  • birdman14, on 07/10/2008, -7/+7gizmodo is the FOX news of tech-blogs. ***** THING SUCKS. buried.
  • pkulak, on 07/10/2008, -2/+3I already have .mac and I still can't think of how getting emails 7 minutes earlier is worth completely changing email providers. I don't have much confidence in Apple's spam filtering, especially if it's forwarded mail, since I'm not changing my email address.
  • mcm180, on 07/10/2008, -3/+4that's absurd of them to say .... they finally caught up and do PUSHMAIL which is Blackberry's Forte .. but certainly not the only strength.

    even with them doing push mail .. it's still not a smartphone in my eyes. and still can't do a whole heck of a lot of things...

    blackberry didn't say the iphone is dead .. when we got the 2.0 mpx camera and video recording, and music folders with genres, and album artwork .. or when we could watch youtube on our blackberries ...

    talk about tooting your own lil horn!! jeez.
  • 4u21der, on 07/10/2008, -2/+4Wow, the ignorance of the Author in this "article" is astounding! So many assumptions and severe lack of understanding, Quite sad.
  • giveupsin, on 07/10/2008, -2/+1Any company that allows itself to be sued for having music on its devices is asking to go broke. When AT&T started whoring the iPhones onto us, the first thing they asked was -We can turn off music downloads from iTunes-. I asked if that was a common thing, and the salesguy said every company asks so they say it up front. Funny thing is as soon as managers find out they can't play their music since the features are gone, they say forget it, and stick with what they got. Too funny.
  • Lemon, on 07/10/2008, -4/+6LOL. ***** iPhone hype. Anyone that thinks that the hundreds of thousands of companies that use Blackberrys are rushing out to get iPhones for their staff is on crack. Blackberry is basically designed to be a business email machine. iPhone "can" do it, but it's a consumer device. I work for a phone retailer. The day we sell more consumer Blackberry plans than business plans I'll eat my laptop. iPhone business to iPhone consumer, same deal.

    "Blackberry is dead' - these headlines are amazing.
    • giveupsin, on 07/10/2008, -0/+3Well, our company seriously looked at the iPhones. I mean really. Our IT department went along with it even (granted we don't exactly have a secret police style IT). So companies are actually looking at it. It wasn't until our lawyers said we were stupid because of the music risks, managers dumped the idea because they couldn't listen to music, and the budget report for converting and cancelling contracts ($18,000 worth) that our CEO basically said we were wasting our time and this was BS, so the project stopped and there went the iPhone conversion idea. But hey, what do I know, I just work in the engineering dept and frankly hate it when a phone rings.
    • geogeer, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1Hmmm... that must be why several hundred of the Fortune 500 companies are writing apps for the iPhone... because they don't intend to use it.
  • mntbikeracer1, on 07/10/2008, -1/+6Ha ya because we all know every company uses @me.com. I love my iPhone but some of you tools are taking this way too far. Blackberry will be around for a long time, its like corporate crack cocaine. Every company exec I know has a Blackberry, every. A few have an iPhone as their personal phone and none of them see any sign of that changing.
    • giveupsin, on 07/10/2008, -0/+2Something few realize is that companies do NOT like mixed environments of different technologies of phones. I've read reports where companies with a mix of Treos, smart phones, Blackberries, and iPhones end up costing the company more due to the increased cost of trained support, increased cost of lack of centralize management of all types of devices, not to mention the burden on systems integration that programmers have to contend with on so many different platforms. Seems the experts tend to side with having a single platform, and that's very hard for companies with the range of 3,000 to 10,000 cellular carrying workers under its hat that's already made an investment. Unless iPhones have real compelling million dollar advantages or cost savings, most companies will have a hard time justifying this expense to the stockholders meetings.
      • mntbikeracer1, on 07/11/2008, -1/+2I agree 100% Blackberry is the platform of choice, companies have tech support devoted to their products and users are used to them.
  • atbnet, on 07/10/2008, -0/+6Umm, you know you get BIS (Blackberry Internet Service) which pushes the same ***** included in your data plan, whereas MobileMe you have to pay $99/year extra for. I'm so sick and tired of these ***** Jesus Phone articles and I'm getting an iPhone.
    • kevdude421, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1Here here, I wish more people would read this.
  • Br3ach, on 07/10/2008, -2/+10Why do people act like the iPhone is like the second coming of Jesus or something.

    RIM is an established leader in business smartphones, this will be sort of like Microsoft's Zune trying to kill the iPod.
    • rimantas, on 07/11/2008, -0/+3haha. Watch and see. Remember "no wireless? less space than a nomad? lame".
      Remember "nobody is going to buy iPhone"?
      The history is going to repeat.
    • 5plic3r, on 07/11/2008, -0/+1Ironically, guy's email address was jesus@gizmodo.com.
  • calon9, on 07/11/2008, -1/+4I have a BB and an ipod touch. I love both, and would love to replace them with a single device such as the iphone. One thing holding me back is that with the BB all my current email accounts can be pushed to it (I don't have to pay and sign up for an @me.com email address or forward all my email there).
  • Kanaka, on 07/11/2008, -1/+5Pls lay off the Kool-Aid and snap out of the RDF (Reality Distortion Field). I'm an Apple fan and yes Mobile Me & Enterprise support are great features but they don't spell the end of RIM...not by a long shot. If anything it will boost RIM sales when people start finding out it cant handle the basics (copy/paste anyone),there's a camera whether you like it or not, its more expensive over the 2 yr period. Oh and there's that tactile keyboard...which is dead apparently
  • mrl14, on 07/11/2008, -3/+2A lot of people are going to be trading in their BB for iPhones. Then you're going to get all the people who don't have iPhones or have iPods and a phone looking to combine the 2 buying. What's going to happen is RIM will miss its projections of selling X amount of units because they are all going to Apple. Corporations don't upgrade with every new model RIM releases. The User experience on a BB is poor at best. The iTunes/iPod integration is 100x better and works on ALL systems, not just PCs. RIM will last maybe another 2 years until they phase this stuff out and switch to more advanced smartphones. RIM is now officially playing catch up (Thunder)
    • osko2052, on 07/11/2008, -1/+3Not true. Many people have bought ipods and sold them to buy a Blackberry. I guess you have never owned a Blackberry.
    • McShr3dd3r, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2I guess you don't work for a company that uses BlackBerrys. They do upgrade them, and frequently in fact.

  • bashturd, on 07/11/2008, -1/+8Buried. The blackberry is not dead. the iphone has a fatal flaw, It is only available on ***** at&t. Until they open up to other carriers it can't kill *****. God I'll be glad when all this iphone crap blows over.
  • PensiveGoat, on 07/11/2008, -0/+7RIM's revenue last quarter was double their revenue from the same quarter in 2007 ... I would say they are far from dead.
  • jo21, on 07/11/2008, -0/+7i am getting sick of this news.
    blackberry is not dead.

    unless tomorrow i see blackberry leaving the marked saying it was because mobileme this news is *****.
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