What Pocket PC works with Business Contact Mgr?

[Dennis]

We are looking for Pocket PC's that can use the Microsoft Business Contact
for PocketPc. I installed it on my Motorola Q and it has windows mobile 5.0
and this software is only compatible with what I read Windows 2003 mobile.
Well, I would like to know if anyone out there uses Microsoft Business
Contact for Pocket PC and if they can read make changes to the Business
History for a Business Contact. What I have been able to do is download a
free trial of Chupura and Sync Microsoft Business Contact information to my
Motorola Q. But we need to see the Business History of a Contact on our Hand
Held devices. So we are expolring what device and how much the devices are???

 

[Vinit [MSFT]]

Hi Dennis
We are going to be out with Pocket PC version for Business Contact Manager
for Outlook 2007 in a week. We are still working on Smartphone version of it
and you could expect it to be out in a month or so.
Thanks
Vinit

 

[Dennis]

Thanks for the update Vinit! I will anticipate the update for the
Smartphone. But can you verify for me that if I get a Pocekt Pc with Windows
Mobile 5.0 that the Microsoft Business Contact add in will work! The
documentation in Microsoft just states Pocket Pc with "Microsoft Windows
Mobile 2003 Software for Pocket PC Second Edition, Microsoft Windows Mobile
2003 Software for Pocket PC, or Microsoft Windows Mobile 2002". Please let
me know!!!

 

[Dennis]

I forgot to ask you had stated Microsoft Outlook 2007, will this Smartphone
update be available for Outlook 2003? We do not have Software Assurance to
move to Outlook 2007, so we are going to implement this with Outlook 2003...
Please let me know

 

[Vinit [MSFT]]

Hi Dennis
The Pocket PC version which we are releasing soon would be compatible with
both Outlook 2003 and 2007. Unfortunately the smartphone version would only
be tested against Outlook 2007.
I hope this helps
Vinit

 

[Dennis]

So, just to clarify right now there is not a plug in for Microsoft Outlook
2003 Business Contact for Pocket Pc? What about BCMV2PPC.EXE
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...-C310-4599-81D1-558CF385ED88&displaylang=en)?
I thought this was the plug in for Microsoft 2003 BCM for Pocket PC? So, as
it is Right now we are using Microsoft Outlook 2003 BCM can I get a PocketPC
with Mobile 5.0 and install this BCMV2PPC.EXE and sync my Business Contact
with it? That is what I need to know! We will be moving to Outlook 2007
down the road in about two years but now we must implement BCM in 2003!
Please let me know if I am extremely confused here! Before I spend 400.00 on
a pocket pc to sync my Business Contacts!

 

[Vinit [MSFT]]

Hi Dennis
BCMV2PPC.EXE would only work with Windows Mobile 2003 PPC Devices.
BCMV3PPC.EXE that we are going to release with in a week would work with
Windows Mobile 2005 devices and Both Outlook 2003 and 2007. So you can go
ahead and get a windows mobile 5.0 device.
Thanks

 

[Dennis]

Thanks VINIT! I will then go ahead purchase the Pocket PC and await the
update for Mobile 5.0! This is the information that I have been looking for
all week!

 

[mrtimpeterson via OfficeKB.com]

Vinit,

Will this new Pocket PC release within a week enable full dialing capability
for ALL contacts that are synched to it? In other words, will both Outlook
and BCM contact information synch into the same place on the handheld device
so that one can do a quick lookup to dial and also view their caller ID, etc?

-THP

 

[Vinit [MSFT]]

Hi
Unfortunately not for this release. we'll surely have all these features for
our next release.

Thanks
Vinit

 

[mrtimpeterson via OfficeKB.com]

Vinit,

Thank you for your timely reply with your info. My comments to follow are
not meant for you personally.

I am absolutely incredulous that these phone related features will not be
supported in this release because the main reason for someone to synch their
BCM data to a handheld device is NOT just to look at it but to actually (when
mobile) be able to conveniently DO something with it...ie: Call someone, etc.
Sales of non phone featured PDA's have been dropping like a rock for the past
5 years. A vast majority of every WM 5 device today is phone feature capable
and these numbers are growing. Does no one on the MS BCM design team
recognize this? What an embarrassing disconnect for the vast Redmond
bureacracy! They are apparently releasing a late 1990's sync solution for
standard PDA use. It is one thing with BCM to require an entirely new and
separate Business Contacts folder and now in mid 2007 MS STILL does not
effectively support your sync of this separate contact data onto their very
own WM OS devices!

For anyone reading my rant here I will recommend loudly and clear that you
continue to use either the Pocket Mirror Professional sync solution at
www.chapura.com or the Companion link sync solution at www.companionlink.com.
These remain the only viable conduits that enable you to actually relate to
your data. Otherwise you are restricted to having your BCM contact data
stored in a "separate" area on the handheld without the ability to dial from
it, etc. This is a stupid and poorly thought out release almost beyond
worthless!

-THP

Hi
Unfortunately not for this release. we'll surely have all these features for
our next release.

Thanks
Vinit

Vinit,

[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]

 

[Susan]

I couldn't agree more. As a 2003 Office user, I have been debating about
purchasing 2007 w/bcm to sync to my Treo. Thanks for saving me the expense
and major frustration. Hard to believe microsoft develpment team didn't
consult prospective end users before making such a huge error. Are we
missing something? Please tell us we misunderstood Vinit?!
--
microsoftuser

Vinit,

Thank you for your timely reply with your info. My comments to follow are
not meant for you personally.

I am absolutely incredulous that these phone related features will not be
supported in this release because the main reason for someone to synch their
BCM data to a handheld device is NOT just to look at it but to actually (when
mobile) be able to conveniently DO something with it...ie: Call someone, etc.
Sales of non phone featured PDA's have been dropping like a rock for the past
5 years. A vast majority of every WM 5 device today is phone feature capable
and these numbers are growing. Does no one on the MS BCM design team
recognize this? What an embarrassing disconnect for the vast Redmond
bureacracy! They are apparently releasing a late 1990's sync solution for
standard PDA use. It is one thing with BCM to require an entirely new and
separate Business Contacts folder and now in mid 2007 MS STILL does not
effectively support your sync of this separate contact data onto their very
own WM OS devices!

For anyone reading my rant here I will recommend loudly and clear that you
continue to use either the Pocket Mirror Professional sync solution at
www.chapura.com or the Companion link sync solution at www.companionlink.com.
These remain the only viable conduits that enable you to actually relate to
your data. Otherwise you are restricted to having your BCM contact data
stored in a "separate" area on the handheld without the ability to dial from
it, etc. This is a stupid and poorly thought out release almost beyond
worthless!

-THP

Hi
Unfortunately not for this release. we'll surely have all these features for
our next release.

Thanks
Vinit

Vinit,

[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]

update for Mobile 5.0! This is the information that I have been looking for
all week!

 

[Ed]

I too cannot believe that a company that has a business division telling us
what great colllaboration tools they have are so myopic to miss this. You
can tell that they don't use their own product. And i'm sure the outsourced
programmers don't have a clue about being a mobile user.

I have a WM 5.0 phone and ALL of my BUSINESS contacts are in BCM. The
Outlook contacts are everyone else.

When i setup the sync in vista (nice app), i couldn't believe that there was
no filtering!!

I would like to only load those contacts that are members of a category
(like PhoneSync). I also need to have my BCM contacts in there at my
fingertips, and to dial them.

Please, someone wake up and fix this.

Thx,
Ed

I couldn't agree more. As a 2003 Office user, I have been debating about
purchasing 2007 w/bcm to sync to my Treo. Thanks for saving me the expense
and major frustration. Hard to believe microsoft develpment team didn't
consult prospective end users before making such a huge error. Are we
missing something? Please tell us we misunderstood Vinit?!
--
microsoftuser

Vinit,

Thank you for your timely reply with your info. My comments to follow are
not meant for you personally.

I am absolutely incredulous that these phone related features will not be
supported in this release because the main reason for someone to synch their
BCM data to a handheld device is NOT just to look at it but to actually (when
mobile) be able to conveniently DO something with it...ie: Call someone, etc.
Sales of non phone featured PDA's have been dropping like a rock for the past
5 years. A vast majority of every WM 5 device today is phone feature capable
and these numbers are growing. Does no one on the MS BCM design team
recognize this? What an embarrassing disconnect for the vast Redmond
bureacracy! They are apparently releasing a late 1990's sync solution for
standard PDA use. It is one thing with BCM to require an entirely new and
separate Business Contacts folder and now in mid 2007 MS STILL does not
effectively support your sync of this separate contact data onto their very
own WM OS devices!

For anyone reading my rant here I will recommend loudly and clear that you
continue to use either the Pocket Mirror Professional sync solution at
www.chapura.com or the Companion link sync solution at www.companionlink.com.
These remain the only viable conduits that enable you to actually relate to
your data. Otherwise you are restricted to having your BCM contact data
stored in a "separate" area on the handheld without the ability to dial from
it, etc. This is a stupid and poorly thought out release almost beyond
worthless!

-THP

Hi
Unfortunately not for this release. we'll surely have all these features for
our next release.

Thanks
Vinit

Vinit,

[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
update for Mobile 5.0! This is the information that I have been looking for
all week!

 

[John]

I agree. Hindsight is 20/20. Microsoft is doing a great job on
getting Windows Mobile out on a variety of devices. I can say that WM
devices have been very useful for our company. But the lack of
support for BCM sync is a major problem that has forced us to hold off
on using WM devices companywide.

I hope that the BCM for PPC and SmartPhone are coming soon.

 

[Bret [MS]]

We have already released a version that works with Pocket PC devices based
on the platforms prior to Windows Mobile 5.0.

We will be releasing a version for the Pocket PC platform that is compatible
with Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0 very soon and I will announce this in this
discussion group when it happens. This version, along with the previous
release, allows you to dial a telephone number from the Business Contact
summary view by tapping the appropriate area (e.g. Call Work). Tapping
other areas of the summary view are also "live" and will react to tapping
them.

We are working on a version that will be compatible on the Smart Phone
platform that will work with Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0 devices as well.
There is no exact release date for this yet, but we are aiming for a time
within the next 3 months or so.

Planning for releases over the longer term has not been published yet.

To sort through the naming confusion that exists with these devices:

Pocket PC platform = devices with a touch screen that a stylus can be used
with
Smart Phone platform = devices that do not have a touch screen.

see link here for more info on versions:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/help/OSversions.mspx

Thanks,
Bret [MS]

 

[mrtimpeterson via OfficeKB.com]

Thanks for the info Bret.

To re-summarize my request (and echo that of many others). Please enable
future releases of BCM mobile sync solutions to have the EXACT same
funtionality as currently exists for the native Outlook Contact items. This
would include the following:

-Quick dial look-up from a list view on the hand held device.
-Caller ID and the Photo of the Contact to appear on the Screen.
-Button driven navigation (vs. stylus).
-All Contacts located within only ONE location on the handheld.

People are really starting to love the fully featured sync-ability of all the
Outlook Contact data fields with their phone centric device and find it so
lame that BCM lags behind this. This hindrance needlessly prevents more
people from adopting BCM as a viable platform.

Enough said. Hopefully such improvements will come much sooner rather than
later.

-THP

We have already released a version that works with Pocket PC devices based
on the platforms prior to Windows Mobile 5.0.

We will be releasing a version for the Pocket PC platform that is compatible
with Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0 very soon and I will announce this in this
discussion group when it happens. This version, along with the previous
release, allows you to dial a telephone number from the Business Contact
summary view by tapping the appropriate area (e.g. Call Work). Tapping
other areas of the summary view are also "live" and will react to tapping
them.

We are working on a version that will be compatible on the Smart Phone
platform that will work with Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0 devices as well.
There is no exact release date for this yet, but we are aiming for a time
within the next 3 months or so.

Planning for releases over the longer term has not been published yet.

To sort through the naming confusion that exists with these devices:

Pocket PC platform = devices with a touch screen that a stylus can be used
with
Smart Phone platform = devices that do not have a touch screen.

see link here for more info on versions:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/help/OSversions.mspx

Thanks,
Bret [MS]

I agree. Hindsight is 20/20. Microsoft is doing a great job on
getting Windows Mobile out on a variety of devices. I can say that WM

[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]

I hope that the BCM for PPC and SmartPhone are coming soon.

 

[Prilosec]

I look at this group now and then to see what, if any, progress BCM has
made. In theory, this sounds like a great program. In practice, however, it
does not work for me. One of my key problems has been the inability to sync
with a PocketPC. I have a WM5 phone, and although I have a way to copy over
contacts from BCM (chapura), I can't do anything with them on the phone.
Making a phone call from a contact is very basic. I also want to create
other "activities" for a contact, such as record a meeting, etc. I have been
using a Palm unit for many years and used "PocketJournal" to do this. It
worked very well on 2 different PDAs and a Treo 650. I moved to WM5 and now
that is no longer an option, so I found PocketInformant with Journalsync.
This works in a similar way.
I have 10 years of Outlook journal entries in contact history that,
apparently, there is no way to port into BCM. THis is a fatal flaw for me,
and is a primary reason I deleted BCM from my computers on the last 2 office
installations (2003 and 2007). The only real benefit of BCM for me is
grouping contacts into an account, which is nice. Creating all the extra
databases wipes out any advantage, however.
A good feature of PocketInformant for WM is that it uses your same contacts
database. It groups by company, filters, journals, etc very much like
desktop Outlook does. There is no good way to share journal or "activity"
data using the straight Outlook Journal (like you supposedly can with OL2007
BCM) feature, but at least it is fully functional on a WM5 unit and the
desktop unit.
Anyway, I have tried to use BCM a couple of times and given up as it is way
too clunky, creates tons of extra data and does not work with a mobile unit
at all (2 way). If this new version for WM5 and 6 works fully (2 way,
creating activities on mobile) I might take another look. Finding a way to
import activites from the current Journal (without one by one copying) would
be a big plus, too.

Thanks for the info Bret.

To re-summarize my request (and echo that of many others). Please enable
future releases of BCM mobile sync solutions to have the EXACT same
funtionality as currently exists for the native Outlook Contact items.
This
would include the following:

-Quick dial look-up from a list view on the hand held device.
-Caller ID and the Photo of the Contact to appear on the Screen.
-Button driven navigation (vs. stylus).
-All Contacts located within only ONE location on the handheld.

People are really starting to love the fully featured sync-ability of all
the
Outlook Contact data fields with their phone centric device and find it so
lame that BCM lags behind this. This hindrance needlessly prevents more
people from adopting BCM as a viable platform.

Enough said. Hopefully such improvements will come much sooner rather
than
later.

-THP

We have already released a version that works with Pocket PC devices based
on the platforms prior to Windows Mobile 5.0.

We will be releasing a version for the Pocket PC platform that is
compatible
with Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0 very soon and I will announce this in this
discussion group when it happens. This version, along with the previous
release, allows you to dial a telephone number from the Business Contact
summary view by tapping the appropriate area (e.g. Call Work). Tapping
other areas of the summary view are also "live" and will react to tapping
them.

We are working on a version that will be compatible on the Smart Phone
platform that will work with Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0 devices as well.
There is no exact release date for this yet, but we are aiming for a time
within the next 3 months or so.

Planning for releases over the longer term has not been published yet.

To sort through the naming confusion that exists with these devices:

Pocket PC platform = devices with a touch screen that a stylus can be used
with
Smart Phone platform = devices that do not have a touch screen.

see link here for more info on versions:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/help/OSversions.mspx

Thanks,
Bret [MS]

I agree. Hindsight is 20/20. Microsoft is doing a great job on
getting Windows Mobile out on a variety of devices. I can say that WM

[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]

I hope that the BCM for PPC and SmartPhone are coming soon.