Upgrading Phones in at work. Do i go with Lumia?!

[ttsoldier]

So we're going to get some free upgrades for our cell phones at work here. Right now everyone is using a blackberry curve 9320/9300/8520/9700.. Few managers have the iPhone 4s. And well, my L920

As the I.T administrator, it's my task to choose these phones. Now certain managers have already requested specific phones ( Samsung Note 2, Bold 9900, Bold 9790 ). I am not going to tell them no. That's what they want, that's what they will get.

My question however is what do I do about the rest of staff? The ones who have no choice and have to take what they get. We don't have many options where I'm from so I'm looking at 3 options.

The lumia 610 ( That's all we have available from this carrier with respect to the lumia)
The Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini
BlackBerry Bold 9780 / 9790.

Certain employees, due to the nature of their job will have to get a blackberry. Come on. Lets be real.Those things are tough. They are always out in the yard, hands are always dirty, lots of manual labour. Touch screen is not the way to go for them.

But for the office staff. What then? Maybe I should just get everyone "higher end" BlackBerries. They all know the system and are accustomed to it. Switching to android is going to have my phone ringing 24/7 ( as if it does not ring enough) . Questions about how to do this, how to do that. Damn, I may have to do a presentation on the stupid OS. The lumia 610, well... That's just my preference because I love Windows Phone. But will they? Sure, it's easy enough for them to pick up and use. But then what? There are a good few features that Windows Phone is missing that BlackBerry has. Features that I took for granted.

What if they are not as tolerant about these features ( well, lack thereof) as I am?? What if some of them hate me because they can't get in touch with their beloved BBM contacts ( BBM is like the biggest things in this country.... ).

These phones are going to be used for work purposes. Lack of apps/games/whatever is irrelevant. Email? Good. Office? Great! Whatever else they can't find in the app store, too bad. They have been doing without those apps before with the BlackBerry.

I really would not like to make the wrong decision. I was trying to keep everyone to one platform and make my job easier. But it seems It's going to be a toss up.

 

[Bobert_123]

Please no one get mad at me, but I say get some BB10 devices. IMO they're better in a work environment...

 

[jdhooghe]

Second on BB10

 

[Microsoftjunkie]

I wouldn't force anything on anyone, but if windows phone fulfill their jobs and can be easier on you, why not? It will be a great way for wps to get more exposure.

 

[a5cent]

I say get some BB10 devices. IMO they're better in a work environment...

Firstly, he listed his hardware options and BB10 wasn't one of them.

Secondly, BB was better for business back in the day. Today they are coasting on reputation. The competition has largely caught up.

OP, I think you are correct not to give office workers android devices. If the 620 was an option instead of the WP7 based 610 I would say there is a discussion to be had, but WP7 just isn't enterprise ready. Go with the old BB's.

 

[ttsoldier]

Firstly, he listed his hardware options and BB10 wasn't one of them.

Secondly, BB was better for business back in the day. Today they are coasting on reputation. The competition has largely caught up.

OP, I think you are correct not to give office workers android devices. If the 620 was an option instead of the WP7 based 610 I would say there is a discussion to be had, but WP7 just isn't enterprise ready. Go with the old BB's.

Define "enterprise ready". I use Google Apps for business for email. Honestly, that is ALL my users use their phones for. Answering calls and responding to emails. Which is why I considered the 610. They need nothing more. No enterprise apps, nothing. Emails and calls. Full stop. And a reliable phone. The lower end BB's we were using (curves) gave us a lot of trouble. Due to the limited memory and the numerous numbers of emails my users receive, the devices could not handle it.

Hence I was looking at the BB 9790/9900. (Maybe the 9780 for users that don't require as much. It IS an upgrade from the curve series)

BB10 is not an option right now. And if it was, I doubt we would be able to get all free! The lower the model of the phone, the more we can get free... 610 would be considered a lower end model, but a solid one. Not so? I've never used one so I can't say...

 

[jdhooghe]

Windows Phone 8 PDF support is laughable. Can WP8 even handle PDF attachments yet in email?

 

[ttsoldier]

Windows Phone 8 PDF support is laughable. Can WP8 even handle PDF attachments yet in email?

Can 7.5?

 

[a5cent]

Define "enterprise ready".

Central management & encryption are two examples. There are a lot of Nokia and MS documents on the web explaining why WP8 is better suited to the enterprise.

 

[ttsoldier]

Central management & encryption are two examples. There are a lot of Nokia and MS documents on the web explaining why WP8 is better suited to the enterprise.

These aren't features that I need. As I explained above, emails and calls.

 

[Kebero]

QWERTY BlackBerry phones. Nothing beats that keyboard for hammering out emails.

 

[ttsoldier]

The thing about is is that the reason we are doing this whole upgrade thing is because we are looking to cut down on our cell phone bill. 100's of thousands of dollars a year in phone bills is ridiculous. Our carrier was offering us a new package that would help significantly reduce the cost. BlackBerries are not applicable to this package. This is why the S3 minis and lumia 610s are options.

Some users WILL get blackberries. As mentioned earlier they are in the yard and touch screen will not be ideal. They are in the minority though.

Since the whole reason I'm doing this is to cut cost, it really boils down to the S3 MINI vs the Lumia 610 for the office staff...

Thoughts?

 

[Microsoftjunkie]

The thing about is is that the reason we are doing this whole upgrade thing is because we are looking to cut down on our cell phone bill. 100's of thousands of dollars a year in phone bills is ridiculous. Our carrier was offering us a new package that would help significantly reduce the cost. BlackBerries are not applicable to this package. This is why the S3 minis and lumia 610s are options.

Some users WILL get blackberries. As mentioned earlier they are in the yard and touch screen will not be ideal. They are in the minority though.

Since the whole reason I'm doing this is to cut cost, it really boils down to the S3 MINI vs the Lumia 610 for the office staff...

Thoughts?

Then Lumia all the way, they're cheaper too. No brainer: more cost effective and less expensive

 

[ttsoldier]

Then Lumia all the way, they're cheaper too. No brainer: more cost effective and less expensive

Well the phones are free regardless of what I choose. It's the user experience I'm concerned about. Switching everyone from BlackBerry to WP or Android.

 

[dkp23]

The notion of bb being better for corp is dying. We don't live in the mid 2000s anymore. If bb was the best option, then you wouldn't see more companies going byod. Other platforms are full capable to work in a corp setting.

My company wants to move away from the dying bb platform. My boss wants bb10 to be successful but the fact that we would need to invest and install another bes since it is not backwards compatible or forward compatible is going to deter us from going bb10 in the end unless our carrier funds it. Through in the fact the new bb 10 will be priced the same as iPhone is absurd.

If I was a corp id go ios or android cuz of the app development.

If pricing is key factor, once wp8 gets vpn go wp8 since cheapest option.

Simply if government agencies are dropping bb for iPhones,clearly the thought of bb still being the premiere platform for corporate and security is dying.

 

[fatclue_98]

You mention hammering out tons of emails. Do they need attachments? If so, WP is not a good choice. If your company relies on Windows Live services, calendars don't sync on BB OS6/7. I think your best bet is the 9780 across the board and some serious cases for the field monkeys. I have animals in the field and believe it or not, touchscreens fare better because you don't have the issue of grease, dirt and other stuff getting into the buttons and jamming s**t up.

 

[ttsoldier]

You mention hammering out tons of emails. Do they need attachments? If so, WP is not a good choice. If your company relies on Windows Live services, calendars don't sync on BB OS6/7. I think your best bet is the 9780 across the board and some serious cases for the field monkeys. I have animals in the field and believe it or not, touchscreens fare better because you don't have the issue of grease, dirt and other stuff getting into the buttons and jamming s**t up.

Not really that many attachments. Going BB 9780 across the board is not really an option. The Plans we are getting are not applicable to BlackBerries. The plans are what I am going for as it would cut or phone bill in like 1/6th for the year!! The phones are free.

This is why I basically have to choose any other smart phone other than a blackberry. S3 mini and Lumia 610 are my only real options.

 

[dkp23]

I'd go 610 since the os is much simpler to use and easy to configure.

If cheap iPhone is an option is go that route first.

 

[ttsoldier]

I'd go 610 since the os is much simpler to use and easy to configure.

If cheap iPhone is an option is go that route first.

Well the carrier just made it easy for me. Giving me 20 610's, 10 s3 minis and 10 bold 9790s. As well as some s3s and galaxy notes. I really wish we had higher lumias to choose from though

 

[a5cent]

You probably will see some disappointed people, as they will lose access to BBM, but since that was now not your decision you should be fine. It should also be much easier to upgrade to higher end WP devices down the road. Good luck!