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Hi all.. we're looking to implement some kind of PDA devices for management. We keep going back and forth between BlackBerrys & Windows Mobile Devices. I'm wondering if anyone has had to do that for their nonprofit & if you have any recommendations. This is one of those projects that is due yesterday.. :-)
Better late than never? We have used both Blackberry and Windows Mobile Devices. I don't prefer one over another although my System Administrator finds the Blackberry method to be a little more work since he has to administer an extra Blackberry server.
The biggest differences: with Blackberry you need to run a separate server as a go between from RIM and your e-mail server. You also pay a one time user license for access to the Blackberry. With Windows Mobile Devices you can link directly to your MS Exchange server (if that's is your e-mail client) saving the extra server maintenance and license costs. Some claim however that Windows Mobile Devices cost a little more that Blackberries (not sure that's true anymore). Some would also argue that getting support from Microsoft might be more difficult than having Blackberry as an intermediary.
I personally like my Blackberry but haven't used a WMD. WMD? - hey is this what the President was looking for in Iraq? No wonder he couldn't find them. He was looking in bomb shelters rather than on peoples belts!
We did end up going with the WMD - we've had them for a few weeks now. I've had a couple complaints because people seem to see BBs as the "cadillac" of PDAs. But.... this was sooooo easy to set up - user name, pswd, domain & that's it. With the BB, we would have had to configure one of our terminal servers to become the BB server & that just sounded like too much hassle to me. I don't think the device was anymore than a BB. $200 for a Moto Q with a $50 rebate. Hopefully everyone stays happy!
We haven't implemented here but I am personally on a WMD and can't fathom switching to a Blackberry. The WMD environment is to me at least much more open, which I see as a good thing. My favorite place for PDA info and help is PDAPhoneHome.com
Or feel free to follow up with me if you have any questions.
Mobile devices? 
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