[bbgurl171]

Came across this article yesterday... (http://www.pcworld.ca/news/article/1...323108/pg0.htm) Apparently Thomson is switching from BB to Good. Wondering if anyone had any comments on this? Do you think this is something that we are going to see happening more often? Anyone else here thought of or thinking of switching to Good?

[robber]

If I am RIM I am far more worried about Microsoft's push email product than Good. Even though the article states teh move was not due to the lawsuit I guarantee the door got opened to exploring alternatives as a direct result.

One thing that is not mentioned often is that fact that blackberry is a combination of a piece of hardware and a service that are both engineered and designed to work together. Good is a piece of software that is designed for certain OSs but the devices themselves are not designed to run good. So when using treo for instance there have been circumstances where my data connection got lost and good simply sat there doing nothing. This never happens on a blackberrry- you never have to "check and see" if it is working. It just always is.

The other thing is that the Blackberry is completely idiot proof and is extrememly stable and secure. Palm and MS offer more features but at a huge expense in simplicity and reliability.

It think that it is going to be a tough transition for many of those new users.

There is always a silver lining to these types of announcements. Hopefully RIM will get into gear with better hardware and support for things like HTML embedded emails and other more advanced formats.

[Jase88]

I'd hate to be working with Thompson's IT department...sheesh. That would suck:

"why does my device hang several times a day?"
"My battery life is crap compared by my BB!"
"This Treo sounds like crap!"

I'd rather buy my staff laptops. In the end it would likely be cheaper (when factoring in the cost of additional support).

[juwaack68]

Must be some executive with 'The Sky Is Falling' mentality.

[robber]

Originally Posted by Jase88

I'd hate to be working with Thompson's IT department...sheesh. That would suck:

"why does my device hang several times a day?"
"My battery life is crap compared by my BB!"
"This Treo sounds like crap!"

I'd rather buy my staff laptops. In the end it would likely be cheaper (when factoring in the cost of additional support).

They replaced and end to end solution with a piece of software. Now the IT department is going to need to be versed on various pieces of hardware all running different OSs.

[juwaack68]

Originally Posted by robber

They replaced and end to end solution with a piece of software. Now the IT department is going to need to be versed on various pieces of hardware all running different OSs.

Exactly. And unless they standardize at least the hardware that will be used, their IT dept is going to be jumping ship in droves. I'd be looking already if I worked there.

[radimus]

Wirelessly posted (BB 7100: BlackBerry7100/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Well, if they would rather replace a system designed for security from the ground up with a "secure" add-on for inherently insecure PDA's then more power to them.

[juwaack68]

Originally Posted by radimus

Wirelessly posted (BB 7100: BlackBerry7100/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Well, if they would rather replace a system designed for security from the ground up with a "secure" add-on for inherently insecure PDA's then more power to them.

Yes, but they will probably be able to play .wav files and download all kinds of cool ringtones.

[Soapm]

Originally Posted by juwaack68

Yes, but they will probably be able to play .wav files and download all kinds of cool ringtones.

Don't forget the camera...

[radimus]

And lots of great games too.

I suspect the first time someone manages to pull an exploit on a Goodlink or MSFP device through either a man-in-the-middle attack or some hole in the app itself it will massively set back their adoption rates. People tolerated the security problems with Microsoft PC OS's because they needed to use the apps that run on Windows and third-parties came out with solutions to work around a lot of them. As long as the main interest is in remote email, there is little reason for someone using MSFP or Goodlink to ditch them for RIM is security becomes a concern. If there is a mission critical app that only runs on PocketPC's then a security problem might be tolerated as long as it's patched in a reasonable amount of time.

However, I think RIM does need to respond to this and the best response is either start cranking out devices with hardware capabilities to match Treo's and PPC's (the 8700 is a nice start in that direction), or flesh out Blackberry Connect so people who must use PPC's and such for remote work have a reason to stick with RIM. Both would probably be the best route.

[Good_Guy]

Even though everytime the Good vs BB thread comes up, I get flamed unmercifully, I would like to point out that Good's security is as "bullet proof" as Blackberry. BB and Good are the only two solutions that are FIPS 140-2 certified (MSFT claims, but I haven't seen their cert yet). Not getting into the hardware battles of Treo vs BB or the OS battles of WM vs Palm vs BB. Just pointing out that when comparing GoodLink to BB, security is even.

Grabbing my asbestos suit...why do I do this to myself...

[southwestcomm]

Nice to see you again Good_Guy.
My only issue with selling Good - we are a former Nexel dealer now selling both - is that Good Mobile Defense and Good Access cost extra. The same functionality is included with a BES. Think they will be included with Good eventually?

[Berry One]

Apparently Thomson is switching from BB to Good. Wondering if anyone had any comments on this?

Gartner does:

Sales of BlackBerry devices increased by more than 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2006 compared with the same period last year, according to new data from Gartner. RIM sold 930,000 of its mobile email devices between January and March this year, helping the overall market for PDAs to grow 6.6 per cent to 3.7 million units. The BlackBerry currently commands 20.7 per cent of the worldwide PDA market.

The BlackBerry 71xx models were also counted as smartphones so were not factored into RIMxxx8217;s final numbers. Sales figures for the Blackberry 71xx series were 517,000.

Do you think this is something that we are going to see happening more often?

Define 'more often.' RIM will be losing customers to Good, and Good will be losing customers to RIM. This is business.

The net gain is what important.

Anyone else here thought of or thinking of switching to Good?

Do they offer free copy of GoodLink server, available for downloads? One you can use to assess feasibility of switching to or jumping on GoodLink.

[Good_Guy]

Originally Posted by southwestcomm

Nice to see you again Good_Guy.
My only issue with selling Good - we are a former Nexel dealer now selling both - is that Good Mobile Defense and Good Access cost extra. The same functionality is included with a BES. Think they will be included with Good eventually?

My gut tells me eventually Good Mobile Intranet will be included, but we haven't announced anything, internally or externally. Customers don't seem to be balking at a one-time $59 license cost, though.

GMD, on the otherhand, will probably not be included as it does not require GoodLink. I would disagree with the statement that the same functionality is included with BES as with GMD. Primary reason is, there are things that are included with GMD that BES doesn't need, ie, disabling camera, IR, and BT and remote erase of the SD card and the ability to encrypt ALL databases on the handheld, not just GL. There are more features, but this isn't the place to go into that.

[Good_Guy]

Originally Posted by Berry One

Gartner does:

Do they offer free copy of GoodLink server, available for downloads? One you can use to assess feasibility of switching to or jumping on GoodLink.

Yes.

[roofus]

Originally Posted by Good_Guy

Even though everytime the Good vs BB thread comes up, I get flamed unmercifully, I would like to point out that Good's security is as "bullet proof" as Blackberry. BB and Good are the only two solutions that are FIPS 140-2 certified (MSFT claims, but I haven't seen their cert yet). Not getting into the hardware battles of Treo vs BB or the OS battles of WM vs Palm vs BB. Just pointing out that when comparing GoodLink to BB, security is even.

Grabbing my asbestos suit...why do I do this to myself...

There now - that didn't hurt a bit - did it?

[Berry One]

Originally Posted by Good_Guy

Yes.

That is great news for anyone who wants to run BES and GoodLink side by side for evaluation.

So, I would assume one could download, free of charge, latest version of GoodLink server with GMD, and can use it free of charge forever as long as that person has one device which is supported by the GoodLink.

How about URL?

[Good_Guy]

Berry, yes, you can download GL and GMD for trial. I would rather not provide the URL here as I have been accused of using this forum as a sales platform for a competing product, which has never been my intention. If you would like the URL, PM me and I will provide it.

[strobate]

Hmm. So far as I can tell, the Good trial is for 30 days only, not indefinite. In other words, it's a trial, not like BlackBerry's giving away of one license.

[bbcruiser]

I thought this was quite funny. In the local newspaper of RTP, North Carolina. There are pictures of Good Employees playing hockey with Blackberry devices. What a great way to smash-mouth your competitor.