Austin Lane

Just about everywhere you go you’ll see people busily texting, talking, or playing, on cool electronic devices. Collectively known as Smart Phones, they promise to deliver the electronic world to your finger tips. But do they really live up to the promise?

Regardless of the brand, model, or service provider, if you spend some time with the proud owner of one of these devices you’ll discover the experience is somewhat less than ideal. Various “problems” or “glitches” rise to the surface. These range from easily scratched displays to less-than-stellar performance.

Not all devices are created equal, nor are all providers. Walk into any mobile phone store and ask the clerk if the device will let you access e-mail. The answer will almost always be “Yes!”. The clerk will be correct. However, the real question should be “will it access MY e-mail?” Your Outlook mail is not necessarily the same as your friend’s Outlook mail. Does it use Microsoft Exchange, or perhaps a POP3 account? Will it automatically receive and update mail and calendars wirelessly? Do you have to manually synchronize the device with your computer? Who knows the answers to these very important questions?

Your Austin Lane Technologies technical support staff is in the best position to provide the best advice for YOUR satisfaction. Before you spend hundreds of dollars on a device that may not meet your expectations, give us a call. As your technical services partner we are able to provide you with information relevant to your real-world environment.

Here’s just one example of a device that works very well, but perhaps not for you: Blackberry. This is quoted  from their web site:  “Add up to 10 supported personal and work1 email addresses on your BlackBerry smartphone.”.  Farther down the page you’ll find this note: “1Integrating corporate email accounts requires BlackBerry Mail Connector or the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution”. Also from their information site: “Messages are delivered automatically to your smartphone and you can be notified as soon as they arrive.2 “. And the note? “2Reconciliation works from smartphone to source and is dependent on email provider, implementation and protocols”.

That brings us back to the original question – can I receive e-mail on this device? Yes, but maybe not YOUR current e-mail or calendar. Blackberry, Palm, iPhone, or other device… so many choices… so many functions. Which one is right for YOU? Call Austin Lane Technologies and utilize the expertise of our technical staff BEFORE you spend the bucks!

This entry was posted on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 5:33 pm and is filed under Email, IT Services, Internet, Mobile Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.