Service Survey... answer if you can.. (957)

[SteveSG]

What service provider for your 957 are you using?
When someone sends an email with an attachment to your BlackBerry, what happens?

I have Cingular.

When someone emails me with an attachment, I get the message sans attachment and a notification that the attachment has been stripped, as well as a message with instructions on how to download the attachment, although what those instructions tell you to do results in a bounced email (and Cingular explains the bounced email thusly: "you can't download attachments, so why are you trying?") I hate them with a passion.

If you are like me, how do you view attachments? For me the only solution is forwarding messages with attachment notifications to other services, since they can't be downloaded for third party app viewing.

[JimBobJoeRay]

If you use the BlackBerry attachment handler that was just released Cingular would be completely unable to distinguish between attachments and emails. It basically takes the attachment and splits it into 2k bits which it then emails one at a time. Cingular wouldn't have any way to know that it was an attachment.

[SteveSG]

Do you have a link for this handler?

Gotta imagine that would be sort of clunky.. 2k at a time would mean lots of little bits for larger attachments. Does it also handle long email messages over 2k that way?

[JimBobJoeRay]

Actually the reason it sends 2k at a time is that that is the maximum packet size on the wireless network. It's like when you get a large email and you have to select "more", it keeps coming down in 2k chunks, if you select "more all" it all comes down, but in 2k chunks. You can't exceed that 2k limit.

[SteveSG]

?

I don't get "MORE ALL" I get "MESSAGE TRUNCATED" and that's it. No options or anything.

Again do you have a link to the attachment handler?

[JimBobJoeRay]

When you get the "message truncated" error, click in on your trackwheel, and from the submenu that pops up select "more>

The link for attachment viewing is
http://blackberry.net/products/service/attachments/index.shtml

[SteveSG]

That's the thing, I click on the trackwheel, and no such option exists:

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Also, thanks for the link. Unfortunately that requires BES, something I do not have the means to pay for.

[JimBobJoeRay]

Sorry I didn't realize you were not on a BES
That would explain why the more function is not there either... Unfortunately with the Internet Edition, the BlackBerry is basically limited to straight email, and PDA functions...

[SteveSG]

I have the Enterprise Edition, just no BES.

I did not know that was a BES function :)

Yeah, this thing appears to be pretty limited.. but the cost of BES is obviously prohibitive to a one user environment.

Any comparative software packages/services for less of a price?

Thank you very much, you've been extremely helpful, I cannot tell you how much this has helped.

[SteveSG]

Is the User Profiles / Forward Messages Over options area limited to those with BES as well?

[JimBobJoeRay]

don't mention it.
Intrezzo might work for your attachment viewing, I am not really sure how that works.

[Physical_Layer]

SteveSG, are you sure you are on BlackBerry? Cingular also sells a service called "express messaging" or something like that, and it uses the RIM 957/950 hardware, BUT it is NOT BLACKBERRY. It's a look-alike without all the same functionality. It costs pretty much the same, and you might think it was BlackBerry because people associate the hardware to the service.

Motient does the same thing. They sell BlackBerry but also a homegrown version called E-link targetted at POP3 users.

I suspect you are not on BlackBerry.

[SteveSG]

interesting... the box says hndh xpress mail, it is a 957 branded with the blackberry name, but cingular only supports OS 2.1 of their own software, not 2.5.

it came with a blackberry manual, cd, and the instructions for setting up the service has blackberry all over it.

but this would explain a lot... what functionality would i be missing besides the ability to download attachments?

[tamon77]

I have an Internet Edition 957 through Aether Systems. You can buy attachment software from them, but I use the free Itrezzo software to open attachments. So far it has worked great and it's free. I just downloaded the file from their website and configured it on my 957. Because I don't have an exhange version of a Blackberry, I can't use some of the advanced functions such as corporate address searches. However, I have opened many Word attachments which is what I really need it for. It has really come in handy.