Subject: CCEX Alert: Choosing a Smart Phone to work with your orginization

CCEX has noticed a recent increase in the popularity of Smart Phones amongst our clients.  As such, we want to make our clients aware that these devices are not always plug-and-play.  In order to fully utilize these new devices, specific server components and network infrastructure are required.

We highly recommend that our clients consult CCEX before purchasing new smart phones, as we can make specific recommendations base on your current infrastructure.  We also recommend that your organization standardize on one type of device and not mix and match different technologies.

Below, we have provided a very brief overview of some of the devices available.

Blackberry is one of the first and most popular smart phones available, but many organizations do not realize that to take advantage of most of the Blackberry’s features, a (BES) Blackberry Enterprise Server is required.  We have heard many users voice their frustration on using a blackberry without a BES server as many of the syncing features are disabled without it.

Windows Mobile Devices including the Treo 700wx, Motorola Q, and Samsung Blackjack, are some of our favorites.  These devices synchronize seamlessly as long as your organization is running an Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2007 mail server.  If you are still running Exchange 2000 or Exchange 5.5, you will need to upgrade.

The newly released Apple iPhone has been in the media quite a bit lately.  This device is said to do it all: Play music and video, browse the internet, read e-mail, etc.  This phone does a good job of syncing with personal e-mail accounts such Gmail, hotmail, MAC mail, etc.  However, the iPhone does not synchronize well with corporate e-mail servers, and therefore we do not recommend this device.

Alert by: Jeffrey Pena (Senior Network Engineer)