In the unlikely event that your BlackBerry refuses to load one day and simply displays an error message on the screen reading "Error 302 - Reload User Software", all is not lost. You can re-load the software from your PC using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager application.

The BDM can be downloaded free of charge from the BlackBerry web site here - http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/desktop/

Install the software before connecting your device to the PC via the USB cable if you have not done so already. The main dashboard will be displayed:

Whilst a BlackBerry handheld activated with a corporate BES server will receive contact and calendar data over the air from either an Exchange or a Domino server, devices used with the BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) can only receive emails over the air, and must synchronise contact and calendar information locally with your PC via the BlackBerry Desktop Manager software, available for download free from the BlackBerry web site- http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/desktop/

The BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) is RIM's consumer-oriented platform which provides push-based email delivery from your own POP or IMAP-based account to your handheld, without the need for your own BlackBerry server deployed somewhere. It does not offer the device management functionality of the corporate product, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), but then you don't necessarily need it as a consumer.

In order to use the BIS service you will obviously need a BlackBerry device, and also have the BIS tariff enabled on your SIM card by your mobile operator.

RIM will soon be releasing a version of the BlackBerry Desktop Manager software for the Mac platform, although a version has already surfaced on the web, which was used to create this post.

In order to use your BlackBerry as a modem with your PC to connect to the Internet via your cellular provider, you will need to have data service enabled on the SIM card in the BlackBerry device in addition to BlackBerry service.

The BlackBerry Desktop Manager software, available for free download from the BlackBerry web site (https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=A8BAA56554F96369AB93E...), includes an IP modem configuration wizard that is configured with the required connection settings for a wide variety of popular global cellular provider.

New to version 5.0 of the BlackBerry Device Software is the built-in diagnostic utility which enables you to quickly check that the device is registered with the network operator, with the RIM infrastructure and also with your corporate BES server (if you're using BES service as opposed to BIS service).

The Blackberry Unite software is a free application aimed at the connected family or small office. Installed on a Windows XP or Windows Vista-based PC, it enables up to 5 users to share Contact and Calendar information from their Blackberry handheld devices, as well as providing access to any files held on that PC. Users can also transfer videos, photos and movie files from their Blackberry handhelds to the Unite PC.

As mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) have ever more features packed into them, the options for receiving email while on the move are correspondingly wide. But which solution is right for your customer, and how do you sell them?
In this article I will look at

• The key companies in the mobile email space
• The technologies behind email
• The email products available today
• The email marketplace and where these products fit within it
• The commercials involved in deploying an email solution