REDIRECTING MESSAGES TO THE BLACKBERRY
| The first thing to look at when setting up your device is to decide how emails will get to your device. As you may expect, some piece of software must be there to cause your messages to be sent from wherever they are to your handheld. This process is referred to as "redirecting your messages." There are three ways to accomplish the redirection of messages:
Generally there is only one right way for you, but choosing the right method can be difficult if you are not familiar with why there are three ways and what the differences are. BLACKBERRY ENTERPRISE SERVERThe BlackBerry Enterprise Server is a server component that is purchased separately from your handheld. It provides tight integration between BlackBerry handhelds and your corporate email server. It is installed on a server at your corporate offices and allows the Information Technologies staff additional management control features over your handheld, and can provide additional services because of the tight integration. Redirection of your email is done by the server. Companies that want to give BlackBerry handhelds to many employees often have a BlackBerry Enterprise Server installed. It only works with Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes Email servers, and users have to use either Microsoft Outlook or the Lotus Notes Client to access their email. If you use a company-provided BlackBerry then this is the option you should use, but you will likely also receive additional instructions from your IT staff. If you are unsure whether your company has a BlackBerry Enterprise Server installed, ask your IT staff. note Your handheld can be used with both a BlackBerry Web Client and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. If you want to do this, configure the Desktop Manager to use the BlackBerry Enterprise Server first, then use the BlackBerry Web Client to configure your handheld to use that also. BLACKBERRY WEB CLIENTAnother common choice is the BlackBerry Web Client. The Web Client is basically a BlackBerry Enterprise Server that is run by an ISP or your wireless provider. You will typically be given an email address from that provider to be used with your BlackBerry, and that address will most likely be different than the email address that you use on your desktop PC currently. DESKTOP REDIRECTORIf you use Microsoft Outlook as your email client and do not have a BlackBerry Enterprise Server or Microsoft Exchange server, then the BlackBerry Desktop Redirector is your redirection method. Unlike the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which does redirection at an email server, the Desktop Redirector does it at your desktop PC. The Desktop Redirector is a separate program that runs on your desktop PC and integrates with Microsoft Outlook to redirect email messages that the email client retrieves. Because the Desktop Redirector runs on your desktop PC, the desktop PC must be on and connected to the Internet for you to receive emails on your handheld. If your desktop PC is a laptop that you take with you, then this method will not work and you need to look at setting up a dedicated system to run the Desktop Redirector or consider installing a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Setting up a dedicated system usually means setting up an old PC or purchasing an inexpensive PC to run the Desktop Redirector on. The nice thing about using Desktop Redirector is that you can configure Outlook to retrieve messages from multiple providers using the POP3 protocol and have all of them delivered to your handheld. When you reply, however, only one reply address will be used. If you want to get email from your account at AOL or Yahoo!, you must use the Desktop Redirector, even if you have access to a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. |
