link to the little known app for BlackBerry for Quickbooks

It exists! Here's the link for your BlackBerry: http://sbm.intuit.com/qbm/install/bb

You need to sign up for Intuit's Quickbook Connect service, which you can do from the Online Services drop down menu in QuickBooks (2009 and newer).

Intuit's fake BlackBerry "app" for QuickBooks

Intuit has been making some progress bringing QuickBooks, their business level accounting package, into the new century for small business by creating some online services that link to the desktop software program. For example, the online document repository is nice, though I can't discern how you extract your documents if you decide to discontinue the service. And they have a partial online version of the desktop application--QuickBooks Connect--that allows other users to have access to key vendor and customer functionality. Very nice interface and as far as I can tell, good functionality.

When I opened QuickBooks recently I fell prey to their come-on about upgrading to their 2011 package, in part because of a suggestion that they had an app for BlackBerry. Talk about deceptive advertising! First, they imply that you need the 2011 version of the desktop program to run their new mobile applications (in fact, 2009 will work). Then they suggest that they actually have a BlackBerry application. But no. It's just a BlackBerry browser version of their QuickBooks Connect service. QuickBooks has such a monopoly, I suppose they can get away with it. I know there are lots of online accounting packages but I haven't been able to find one that is at the level of QuickBooks. They're either too simplistic or much too expensive and complex for my needs.

CORRECTION: Intuit sent me an e-mail for the link to the QuickBooks BlackBerry application, the real deal. It IS actually an app. Now it would be nice if one could find this link on the QuickBooks website somewhere ... or through a search engine ... and it would be nice if when you sign up for the Connect service, the link that one gets to got you to this app instead of to a link to use for your BlackBerry browser!

iPad is like a BMW 7 Series: fat and excessive

A year ago or so I had a week with a friend's big, fat BMW. It was actually a 645i not a 7 series, but same point: I found it so fat and luxurious I actually felt nauseous when sitting down in the thing each the morning. I'm not trying to pull a Cayce Pollard here. I'm not thinking I've got some preternatural sensitivity. I really did find the steering wheel so meaty in my hands--which are not small themselves--and the sensation of being trapped inside the bathtub like interior of that car so constricting that it brought back childhood memories of delirium, when I had a fever of 104F and the world felt like the inside of a Dali painting. Also, there's such excess in a high end BMW, a level of perfection so far above where normal mortals live. Every stitch is in place. The leather is thick and heavy with wealth. All the switches click with a sublime feel that makes me think only of large quantities of delicious butter and steak and the morning after feeling of way too much expensive red wine. Nauseousness.

This afternoon I spent my first 15 minutes with an iPad and felt exactly the same way.

If you know me, you know I love technology. I just purchased a LiveScribe pen for example and am tickled with it. I have a BlackBerry filled with way too many apps. I use Twitter. I have to have the latest software version and am always trying new stuff. I buy almost all my books in electronic format. But I was surprised at how completely unsuited I am for the iPad. Here's why:

1. I do love keyboards. I love that tactile give of the keys. Hitting the glass of a virtual keyboard for even a short length of time makes my fingertips hurt.

2. The iPad is heavy. Really heavy. Let me say that more strongly: it feels like a brick, like you could use it in an exercise routine. My Kindle and the iPod touch in contrast are magically light, almost weightless. Holding the iPad made me feel again like I was in a childhood delirium.

3. I don't play games. My laptop is fine for the occasional movie. So all that functionality is wasted on me.

4. I find Flipboard frightening. That's the app that pulls content from everywhere and creates your own magazine. I am not a strong person. I am too easily seduced. Flipboard feels like being trapped in a doctor's office with an infinite number of the latest magazines and no appointment in sight. Get me out of here! But no, even though the door is unlocked I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!

It makes sense that the iPad is devouring netbooks and consumer level cheap notebooks. It's the same price and incomparably more beautiful. It's like a taste of BMW for the price of a used Honda Super Cub. But the only use I've got for it is to show someone a presentation across the conference room table. For the most part, as Cory Doctorow says, it's just a consumption device.

BlackBerry device primer (for @rabble and others

A few people has asked me for a BlackBerry device primer. Here it is. Not exhaustive but will help if you choose if you're buying one of these devices. Unlike Apple, there are subtle variations among seemingly identical BlackBerrys depending upon the country and carrier. More details at the BlackBerry site.

Basically, there are four form factors. All of them have the same software functionality--though some are now shipping with the 5.0 operating system rather than 4.x, depending upon carriers. The first two form factors are aimed more at consumers, the second two more at corporate, though those lines are blurry.

Pearl. This is the smallest BlackBerry. In both flip-phone (two almost identical variants) and bar-phone (four variants) it features the smallest screen and a SureType keyboard that has two letters per key. The keyboard works surprisingly well, once you learn to trust it. Some versions have Wifi. Some have GPS. All current ones have cameras.

Curve. This is the second smallest. It's often the cheapest and doesn't seem to be as well made as other full-keyboard BlackBerrys. Keyboard has smaller keys with gaps between them. Newest model has a trackpad instead of a trackball. GPS. Wifi. No 3G. Three variants currently listed on the BlackBerry site.

Bold and Tour. The original Bold was the largest of the current BlackBerrys. This has been replaced by one that is very similar to the Tour but not identical. Bold is GPS (in the U.S. that means AT&T and T-Mobile); Tour is CDMA (in the U.S. that means Verizon and Sprint). Tour2 (which might be renamed as a Bold for CDMA) will close the gap between the two by switching to a trackpad and including WiFi. All are 3G. These devices are the corporate workhorses of the BlackBerry line and are very well made.

Storm. This is a CDMA model and is the only BlackBerry without a physical keyboard. The Storm2 improved the SurePress "clickable" touchscreen and features surprisingly good typing feel. This is the only BlackBerry with a screen the size of an iPhone or Android phone. WiFi and 3G. Like the Bold and Tour, high quality manufacturing is evident.

Android is to Google Apps and GMail as BlackBerry is to Microsoft Exchange

Forget the whole question of whether Android and BlackBerry can compete with the iPhone around apps. For the business user who primarily uses their smartphone for Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, the question is how easy it is to sync between phone and laptop. Unless RIM (BlackBerry) extricates itself from near monogamy with Microsoft and Microsoft Exchange servers, there's going to be a clear divide: if you have made the switch to Google Apps for Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, you're eventually going to make the switch to Android as well. IF you have a corporate IT department of some sort or use a hosted BlackBerry Enterprise Server, connecting your BlackBerry with your Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks is quite easy. But if you're using Google for these applications, there is no easy and complete solution. Instead, you have to cobble together various components, including Google's sync tool and the special GMail application for BlackBerry. But if you switch to Android, setup and sync with your main business productivity applications couldn't be simpler. Hopefully BlackBerrys will soon be able to sync better with GMail. But if not, any ascendancy of Google Apps is going to eat away at BlackBerry sales. (Same point made by Fred Wilson, AVC.)

I can get a new phone through Verizon in a few months . . . about the same time Google's Nexus One will launch with Verizon . . .

History of the BlackBerry from Engadget

well written history of the BlackBerry from Engadget: LINK

Primer on smartphones for sole proprietors or small workplaces

Several people have asked me in recent days to recommend a first-time smartphone. Common threads that you've asked for are:

1. a work phone for sole proprietors or people who work in a small workplace 
2. a phone that doesn't rely upon enterprise tools like a BlackBerry Enterprise Server or Microsoft Exchange Server and therefore the ability to provision all features on your own
3. a focus on the core business functionality of a smartphone, to keep in sync with your desktop or laptop's mail, contacts, calendar, and not games and other consumer functions.

(Photo from Time magazine article, from L to R: iPhone, Motorola/Google Droid, and BlackBerry LINK.)

In this quick and decidedly not exhaustive review--that will be subject to corrections--I'll briefly summarize the four main types of smartphone prevalent in the United States with respect to their ability to deliver core business functionality. But to jump to the conclusion: I'd go for an iPhone on ATT, a Google Android device, specifically the Motorola Droid (or later ones with 2.0 software) if you're on Verizon, OR a BlackBerry, particularly on Verizon, if you need the best voice quality possible and lean towards the "phone" part of smartphone rather than the "smart".

Dell is utterly bizarre

Dell has a gorgeous new laptop . . . almost out. Pictures are on various blogs. The thing is thinner than a MacBook Air and has an intriguing and showy way of folding open. So, you'd think there'd be mention of the product on Dell's website? You'd think, but no!

Who are the people running these companies?

Another example: everyone knows the new BlackBerry Storm2 is launching. Vodaphone has it on their website. It will obviously launch with Verizon in the United States. The Verizon CEO wanders around Manhattan showing off the phone to random people. So, you'd think there'd be mention of the product on Verizon's website? You'd think, but no! Pictures are in obscure place on its website but are impossible to find.

Who are the children running these companies?? Do they really think they are capable of going up against an adult company like Apple? It boggles the mind . . .

annoying lack of attention to detail at "other than Apple"

It is really annoying when companies I like can't live up to the attention to detail that is exemplified by Apple. Case in point: BlackBerry's comparison tables. Look at the difference in the way that the dimensions are displayed. OK. This is utterly insignificant and more than merely bordering on obsessive-compulsive. Guilty. But I just can't imagine Apple allowing these little errors to occur on their site.

BlackBerry Tour

BlackBerry Bold 9700

Size and Weight

Length	112mm (4.4”)	4.29"/109mm
Width	62mm (2.4”)	2.36"/60mm
Depth	14.2mm (0.6”)	0.56"/14.10mm
Weight	130g (including battery)	4.27oz/122g

UPDATE: HEY. They fixed it. :)

more on the "e-mail dying" meme

There appears to be a bit more content of late in the "e-mail is dying" meme.* Probably this is driven by the Google Wage phenomena which purports to be e-mail as if had been invented today rather than last century. A shift from e-mail being yesterday to other communication tools--Facebook, Twitter and Wave, foremost--is said to be catalyzed by the always on capability of the Internet and handheld devices. The argument goes that the asynchronous nature of e-mail is now outdated, an artifact of a time when the desktop reigned as the hub of our electronic world. Today the desktop is more of a periphery, with the handheld becoming the personal communication device that we live with 24/7. My own BlackBerry barely leaves my body. It charges each night on my nightstand (in the new BlackBerry "bedside" mode). These always on and attached-to-the-body devices allow instant response. As declared in a WSJ article titled Why Email No Longer Rules, "Why wait for a response to an email when you get a quicker answer over instant messaging?"

GMail application for BlackBerry vs. GMail IMAP on BlackBerry

My previous post was about how to set up GMail on your BlackBerry so that it uses the IMAP protocol. This post summarizes the difference between (1) the GMail application for BlackBerry that you can download to your BlackBerry via m.google.com/go on your BB Browser and (2) using the native BlackBerry mail program with IMAP.

Google GMail application

+ full sync with GMail, including archive, delete, read, unread

+ full search of GMail

+ threaded e-mail just like in the Web application

+ ability to star e-mails

- limited when BlackBerry is offline

- can be slow to get e-mail

- text only, not HTML e-mail

- flashing indicator light is limited to whether you have ANY new mail and once you open the application, light will go off regardless of whether there is read e-mail

BlackBerry native e-mail application with GMail IMAP

+ HTML e-mail

+ gets e-mail more quickly and consistently (I can't tell if it's as fast as true "push")

+ some aspects of two-way sync work (see below for exceptions)

+ can hold more e-mails when BlackBerry is offline

- some aspects of two-way sync do not work

- marking as "read" on the Web won't mark as "read" on the BlackBerry, which is really annoying; it does work from the BlackBerry down to the Web

- no threaded messages

- Yahoo IMAP mail is supposed to have true, unadulterated two-way sync with the BlackBerry, but you'll have to test that for yourself (LINK to Yahoo for information).

A decent post on the subject at BBGeeks: LINK

I've returned to using just the GMail application. The lack of true two-way sync on read messages is really a killer for me.

Update: according to Berry Review LINK via BBGeeks LINK true two-way sync with GMail will be coming soon. Who knows if this is for real.

How to set up GMail IMAP on a BlackBerry

DISCLAIMER: See post that follows this one. GMail IMAP on BlackBerry has real limitations and only Yahoo really seems to work.


This post explains how to set up GMail IMAP on a BlackBerry. The instructions on the Google site will never help you get it set up correctly. If you don't want to preamble and background, skip down to the "Instructions" section.

Although a BlackBerry may be the best mobile device for e-mail, this assessment should probably be made only if you're running it off of a BES, BlackBerry Enterprise Server. With BES you'll get full two way sync with you desktop e-mail. Without BES, your stuck with BIS, BlackBerry Internet Service, the consumer version of BlackBerry e-mail. Although it uses the same application on the device, the interaction with mail servers is not as seamless as with BES. The touted advantage of a BlackBerry is that mail is "pushed" to you. Your device doesn't have to "reach" out to the mail server and pull the mail down. The result is that mail reaches you more quickly and without as much work on the part of the mobile device. If you delete an item on your desktop machine, it will still show up on your BlackBerry. In recent years, other mobile systems have launched push e-mail as well. Google recently announced two-way sync with push e-mail service between GMail and the iPhone and Windows Mobile devices. But it left off any special push e-mail with GMail for BlackBerry. With BES, you can get push e-mail for most any e-mail service, but it's not a two way sync.

If you want two way sync between GMail and BlackBerry and you're only running BES, you are left with two choices. First, you can use a special GMail application that you can download to from your BlackBerry browser using the address m.google.com/go. It works extremely well but doesn't allow you to change the frequency with which it gets your e-mail. Best I can figure is it's more than every five minutes but less than every minute. You can manually force it to grab your mail. It's a really good application. The only other drawback is that it does not render HTML e-mail. You'll probably want to have it set up on your device regardless because it allows you to see threaded conversations and search and find every one of the many GMail messages you undoubtedly have stored in your GMail archive.

The second choice is to set up GMail IMAP. IMAP is a mail protocol that allows two-way sync between a mail server and a device, whether a desktop or a mobile device. This way, if you delete an item on your desktop, it will also be deleted on the server and therefore also on your mobile device. However, it doesn't actually work as well as you'd think.

INSTRUCTIONS

Google's instructions (LINK) are incomplete. They say the following:

To integrate Gmail with the BlackBerry's email client, just follow these steps:

-- On your BlackBerry device, navigate to your home screen

-- Select the icon that lets you set up email (this can be called BlackBerry Set-up, E-mail settings, or Personal Email Set-up)

-- Follow the setup instructions provided on your device

Unfortunately, that won't work! The key is to put in your e-mail address and NOT put in your password. Here are instructions that work:

1. When you get to the BlackBerry Set-up screen, either on your BlackBerry or via the BIS setup screen on your computer (LINK).

2. Put in your e-mail address but NOT your password.

3. Click "Next" and you'll come to an "Additional Information Required" screen.

4. Select "I will provide the settings to add this email account."

5. You'll find a choice to indicate if this is your Work or Personal e-mail account. Select either.

6. At the next screen, select "I will provide the settings to add this email account."

7. Finally, you'll get to a screen titled "Set Up An Existing Email Account". Here you can put in your username and password. For Email server use "imap.gmail.com".

Unfortunately . . . see post that follows this one. GMail IMAP on BlackBerry has real limitations and only Yahoo really seems to work.

BoyGenius, Beejive have launched a great Twitter app for BlackBerry @tweet_genius

The BoyGenius Report ("BGR") and Beejive have launched a new version of the BGR Twitter application for BlackBerry, Tweet Genius. For the next two weeks it's only available for those who paid for the Beta version, which I did. For that reason, I can tell you it's the best third party application (best application period?) that I've used on a BlackBerry. Makes the Twitter experience easily as good, if not better than on a desktop computer. Quite a remarkable achievement. How can it make Twitter even better than on a PC and Mac? The interface is simply easier to read and navigate than anything produced by Twitter, Seesmic, Twirl, Tweetdeck, Hootsuite--any of those. And using it on a mobile means you can grab read Twitter in those spare moments waiting at a bus, on the train, waiting for an appointment instead of wasting time at your desk.

My only complaint is that I wish it allowed the marketing of favorites for later review, particularly valuable when someone tweets a link to an article you think want to read but don't have time to at that moment.

BlackBerry Internet Service 2.8, sadly without GMail sync

BlackBerry has just launched the latest version of "BIS", their BlackBerry Internet Service for those using BlackBerrys without a corporate BES or BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

BIS is the service that delivers e-mail through the phone carriers to your device. BIS 2.8 is their latest upgrade to this service. To take advantage of the new features you do have to be running a Version 5.0 variant of the BlackBerry software on your device--and this is not currently available at most carriers and for most devices. The biggest feature BIS 2.8 adds is 2-way sync for Google Contacts. But sadly, there is no indication that 2-way GMail sync is part of this upgrade. If you're just on a BIS account, you can get your GMail onto your BlackBerry in two ways. First, you can get it pushed to your device to show up in your BlackBerry's native mail program. But this is not a two-way sync. For example, if you mark a mail item as read on your BlackBerry, it will still show-up as unread on your desktop computer. This doesn't change with BIS 2.8. The second way to get GMail on your BlackBerry is through the GMail application. While this works well and produces full 2-way sync, it side-steps your native BlackBerry mail application and mail does not show up instantly but only whenever you manually force a connection or when the program chooses to check for new mail. Again, no change with BIS 2.8.

It would be very nice if the functionality of the new Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server (LINK) made its way over to the consumer, BIS side. Hoped this would happen with 2.8 but it appears not. BoyGenius on 2.8 LINK and the BlackBerry manual for 2.8 PDF LINK.

Salesforce Mobile Lite: great value for non-profits (free!)

If you are part of a non-profit, you should know that you can get ten seats of the "Professional" level of the Salesforce CRM application for free. Just yesterday they launched "Mobile Lite", a free version of their application for Blackberry and iPhone that gives you mobile access to all your data stored in Salesforce--contacts, organizations, tasks etc. Although you can only edit tasks from your mobile (versus being able to edit everything in the for-fee version) it's a wonderful application on both platforms and a great boon to non-profits. (It's also a great boon to anyone who's paying for Professional level Salesforce and above, because this Mobile Lite application is free for them too.)

Lenovo Android Phone

Being a Lenovo fanboy, this is the phone I want: the TBA Lenovo Android offering. More on this BoyGenius scoop: LINK. Just might be able to get me away from BlackBerrys.

Dangers in the smartphone market?

This isn't anything new--it's 3rd quarter news--but was recently posted on the WSJ in a short article about where the fourth quarter could be headed.

Tech companies sold 36.5 million smartphones—devices that can connect to the Internet and perform other tasks in addition to making calls—in July, August and September, according to researchers at Gartner. That’s 11.5% more than the same period in 2007, which is the slowest growth rate Gartner has ever recorded. Nokia sold 15.4 million of its devices, Research In Motion sold 5.8 million BlackBerrys, and Apple sold 4.7 million iPhones. Nokia’s sales for the quarter shrank 3%, RIM’s grew 81.7% and Apple, which introduced a new iPhone around the start of the quarter, saw its sales grow a staggering 327.5%. LINK

Main point: seemingly dramatic growth in 3Q (for RIM and Apple at least) but actually the slowest growth ever recorded in the sector. As the recession knocks these numbers back for the fourth quarter of 2008 and first quarter of next year, I wonder whether corporate buys are going to decrease more than consumer buys? If so, it will probably hurt RIM relatively more than Apple. I also wonder about the opportunity in the developing world, because it seems to me that's got to be one big growth opportunity for smartphones--low income consumers and small businesses for whom smartphones ARE the computer and on-ramp to the Internet. Nokia certainly has their developing world strategy dialed in--that's been their strong suit for a long time. Is this a mitigating factor in a recession and will this allow Nokia to keep pace or exceed Apple and RIM in future quarters? I wonder how good RIM's developing world strategy is? What's Apple's strategy? The iPhone is certainly the best portable device alternative to a laptop. I would think this would be the device of choice for anyone in the world who has no computer. Can Nokia match this with their latest high-end product offerings? Does RIM even care to be competitive with consumers in places like India, Russia, Brazil and Turkey?

Relevant to this discussion--for which I am not dialed in enough to have anything more than questions--is Lenovo's sales strategy which de-emphasizes growth opportunities in the U.S. and European markets and focusses on developing countries: see recent Fortune magazine article on this approach: LINK. What relevance does this have for the smartphone market?

See also this WSJ article on mobile phone usage in poorer nations: LINK.

Aside: at least in Munich, at the opening of the Apple store, what recession???? Take a look at this shot of panorama of the opening: LINK. Dramatic crowds as always! RIM, Nokia, Microsoft aren't worried when this happens over and over and over again?

More on Jawbone

I've written before about how wonderful the original Jawbone bluetooth headset is (LINK) . . . and about the challenges of their latest model.

The old Jawbone worked perfectly for me (available from Amazon here: LINK). The metal ear-loops could be molded so the device stuck to my face (although the device was a pain to put on my ear).

The new Jawbone (Amazon LINK) at least for me, was almost unusable. The ear-loops can't be bent and simply didn't work for me. The device would fall right off my ear. However . . . if you want to spend the money, a custom molded earpiece is BRILLIANT. Avery Sound (LINK) send you two little globs of goo which you mix together an then press into your ear. Wait 15 minutes. It firms up (doesn't harden!). You pull it out of your ear, ship it back to them, they clean-it up, drill the sound hold and the hole to attach it to your earpiece, and ship it back. Voila. The Jawbone again becomes the best bluetooth earpiece, with greatly increased sound quality and sound volume because of the custom earpiece. Looks fine in the ear, but out of the ear looks pretty odd as the picture below shows.

Tasks, Task Management, GMail, BlackBerry, iPhone

There's a wonderful product that others have certainly discovered but about which I just became aware: Remember the Milk. If you like traditional task management systems (like in Outlook) but want integration instead with GMail and your BlackBerry or iPhone, this is The One. Free version for the Web. Pro version for $25 a year provides the mobile-sync. Take a look: LINK. And if your life is superfractured among multiple platforms, seems to work perfectly back to Outlook (via your BlackBerry) if you're on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. So, GMail <> Outlook task sync is the result. Why would you do that? I don't know. But it works.

WSJ BlackBerry Mobile Reader

A few days ago I downloaded the Wall St. Journal's Mobile Reader for BlackBerry (LINK). It's a wonderful application! Allows full access to the WSJ in a format that I find even more accessible than the standard WSJ online Web version on a computer. That seems strange, that reading a newspaper is easier on the little window of a BlackBerry. But being able to quickly scan the headlines and dive deeper into the articles is something I'm more likely to do while looking at my BlackBerry in a few spare moments while I'm waiting for something than when I'm at my desk, on my computer. And "more likely" is equivalent to "easier". 

Downside is that I'm now subjected to the WSJ's ghastly editorials . . .