Must-know guide for moving from BlackBerry to iPhone

Posted on by Rushang

This guide helps you move email, calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes from BlackBerry to an iOS device like iPhone or iPad

Email

iPhone’s email app supports the most popular email accounts – Exchange, IMAP, POP3, iCloud, Yahoo!, AOL, Hotmail, and Google/Gmail.  If you use an email service not listed above and need to find incoming/outgoing server details to set up IMAP, do a Google search for your service’s name followed by “IMAP settings”.

Contacts, calendar, tasks, and notes

You can use one free app to move all of this data.  CompanionLink has software that will sync your complete Outlook data with categories with iPhone.

Step 1: Use BlackBerry Desktop Software to backup your BlackBerry data to Microsoft Outlook.

Step 2: Download a free 14-day trial of CompanionLink for Outlook to your PC. Configure it to sync Outlook to iPhone using the CL Secure Hosted Wireless service. It’s completely free during the 14-day trial period. You will be prompted to buy if you wish to continue synchronizing after the trial expires. Licenses start at $14.95.

Step 3: Click the Sync button in CompanionLink and watch your Outlook data move to your iPhone.

Get it right the first time by hiring a professional to do it for you

CompanionLink offers a $49 service where a migration expert will log into your PC and move your data to your iPhone.  The service is called RunStart.

If you have any questions about moving to the iPhone platform, email us at sales@companionlink.com.

Will BlackBerry OS 10 follow Android and iPhone into the Cloud?

Posted on by Rushang

RIM announced January 30, 2013 as their much-anticipated launch event date for BlackBerry OS 10.  RIM claims the new system is “unlike any smartphone on the market today.”  We hope this is a sign that unlike Android and iPhone, RIM is going to continue offering users a secure, connected, and cloud-free way to synchronize their business relationships, agenda, tasks, and notes from PC to BlackBerry.  In the past, BlackBerry devices have shipped with BlackBerry Desktop Software to manage connected sync over USB between Microsoft Outlook and BlackBerry.  No BES, BIS or Microsoft Exchange servers required.

CompanionLink aims to support synchronization between BlackBerry OS 10 and popular business systems such as Sage ACT!, Salesforce.com, Goldmine, Lotus Notes, Palm Desktop, GroupWise, Zoho CRM, SugarCRM and Highrise.

Microsoft Outlook contacts and calendar on Surface Tablet

Posted on by Rushang

CompanionLink supports two-way sync of Outlook with Microsoft Surface. The Surface ships with Windows RT which delivers the core Windows 8 OS without the ability to run full-blown PC applications. Consequently, the Surface does not run Microsoft Office Outlook. Instead, Microsoft wants you to run their cloud-based Mail app, which is linked to your new “Microsoft Account”.

CompanionLink has a way to synchronize your PC Outlook contacts and calendar to your Microsoft Account, which will sync with your Surface Tablet’s Mail app.  For just $14.95, you can have your Outlook data on your Surface.

Disable Outlook Calendar alarms when syncing to Android or iPhone

Posted on by Rushang

If your Calendar Events in Outlook have alarms, and you don’t want these alarms to drive you crazy on your phone, you can disable them.  There are two ways to disable Calendar alarms.

1. In the DejaOffice app, go to Settings > Alarm Settings.  Uncheck the box next to DejaOffice Alarms.

2. In CompanionLink, go to Advanced Settings > Calendar. Uncheck the box for syncing alarms.

Either option will ensure your Outlook Calendar alarms don’t ring on your phone.

ACT! versions that work on Windows 8

Posted on by Rushang

This account is our QA team’s experience and is not in any way a definitive guide.  We offer it as it may assist others to set expectations with the new Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise operating systems.  Windows 8 RT for Surface is a tablet OS and is not presumed to run the ACT! application.  We will confirm this when our Surface device arrives.

Testing Environment

ACT! 2013 was tested on a new PC: Athlon II X4 645 3.1GHz 64-bit , 4GB DDR3 RAM, Windows 8 Pro 64-bit.

All other tests: Intel Xeon E5520 2.27GHz 64-bit, 2GB RAM, Windows 8 Pro running in VMWare 5.0.0.812388

ACT! versions that work on Windows 8 without issues

  • ACT! 6
  • ACT! 2009 and 2010 – works fine, but you are shown an error message during installation. “This program has compatibility issues (Microsoft SQL Server 2005)”. When running ACT! and upgrading a database we noted the message:  “Exceptions occurred while executing the database Schema Update Script”. Database seemed to successfully update.
  • ACT! 2011
  • ACT! 2012
  • ACT! 2013

ACT! versions that do not work with Windows 8
ACT! 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 – these do not install correctly on Windows 8. An error message is generated that reads “This app cannot run on your PC”.

CompanionLink works with all versions of ACT! 3.0 and higher.

CompanionLink supports mobile sync on Windows 8

Posted on by Rushang

CompanionLink fully supports data synchronization on the new Windows 8 operating system and Metro UI.  CompanionLink will sync Android, iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini, and Google web-based accounts to Windows 8.

All CompanionLink version 5 products have built-in support for Windows 8.  CompanionLink install as a Tile in Metro UI.  Customers with older versions CompanionLink can upgrade to version 5 at a discount in order for complete support for Windows 8 and future Microsoft service packs.

CompanionLink installs as a Tile in Windows 8 Metro UI

CompanionLink installs as Tile in Metro UI

The full line of desktop products that we support in previous Windows versions are also supported in Windows 8:

  • Microsoft Outlook, including the new Outlook 2013
  • Microsoft Outlook Business Contact Manager
  • Palm Desktop
  • ACT!
  • Lotus Notes
  • GroupWise
  • GoldMine
  • Time & Chaos

 

Salesforce CRM Accounts sync to mobile devices and Google

Posted on by Rushang

CompanionLink has always synchronized Salesforce CRM Contacts and Accounts to mobile devices, Outlook, or any Google or Gmail account.  Accounts show up on the device as a Contact record with the organization/company field mapped to the Account name in Salesforce CRM.

In CompanionLink Professional 5 build 5044 and later, we have expanded field-mapping options when synchronizing Accounts. We introduced a new tab in CompanionLink called Account Field Mapping that allows you to map any/all of your Salesforce CRM Account fields with your choice contact fields on the mobile device.

Map Salesforce CRM Accounts to your mobile device

Must-know guide for moving from BlackBerry to Android

Posted on by Rushang

Business professionals cannot afford to lose data during a move to Android.  This guide helps you reliably move email, business relationships, calendar agenda, to-do lists, notes, and text messages from BlackBerry to any Android phone or tablet.

Email

Android’s email app supports Exchange, IMAP, POP3, and Google/Gmail accounts.  This lets you to set up virtually any email service.  Here is a basic guide to set up email on Android.  If you need incoming/outgoing server details about your specific email service, do a Google search for your service’s name followed by “IMAP settings”.

Here are settings for some popular email services:
Yahoo! – https://mobile.yahoo.com/mail/android (click on the IMAP tab)
AOL – https://email.about.com/od/accessingaolmail/f/AOL_Mail_IMAP_Settings.htm
Hotmail – https://windows.microsoft.com/is-IS/hotmail/mobile?t1=t4

Contacts, calendar, tasks, and notes

You can use one free app to move all of this data.  CompanionLink has software that will sync Outlook with Android.

Step 1: Use BlackBerry Desktop Software to backup your BlackBerry data to Microsoft Outlook.

Step 2: Download a free 14-day trial of CompanionLink for Outlook to your PC. Configure it to sync Outlook to Android using the DejaCloud service. Here is how your setup should look when configured correctly.  (If you want to continue synchronizing Android with Outlook after the 14-day trial is over, you can buy a license for $14.95.)

Step 3: Click the Sync button in CompanionLink and watch your Outlook data move to your Android.

Text messages

David Hope has developed a free tool that moves SMS text messages from BlackBerry to Android.  The tool is available at https://hope.mx/blackberry2droid.

Get it right the first time by hiring a professional to do it for you

CompanionLink offers a $49 service where a migration expert will log into your PC and move your data from BlackBerry to Android.  The service is called RunStart and has been used by hundreds of business professionals to safely move their data to Android without data corruption or data loss.

If you have any questions about moving to the Android platform, email us at sales@companionlink.com.

S3 Mini means business (and competition for iPhone 5)

Posted on by Rushang

Samsung UK just announced the Galaxy S III Mini.  The specs pose the device as direct competition to iPhone 5.  Both devices have a 4″ display, and this is perhaps Samsung’s way of telling Apple and the world that if you want the “mini” experience, the choice you have is iPhone 5 and S3 Mini.  If you want an upgraded experience from “mini”, Samsung offers a slew of devices like the S3, Nexus, and others.

S3 Mini ships with Jelly Bean (Android 4.1), a dual-core CPU, and the TouchWiz interface.  It also includes all the great features people have come to enjoy with Samsung – S Voice, Smart Stay, Direct Call, and S Beam.

A lot of business users will be enticed by the smaller, more compact form factor of the S3 Mini.  It’s small enough to put in your shirt pocket or operate with one hand.  For big travelers, this could be key.

CompanionLink will support USB and Cloud sync to S3 Mini with Outlook, ACT!, Palm Desktop, Lotus Notes, GroupWise, Highrise, Salesforce CRM, Zoho CRM, and SugarCRM.

Update: Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple) in a recent interview said Apple became arrogant with the assumption that one size fits all.  Wozniak said people have different needs, and the iPhone 5 doesn’t offer people options by shipping with only one screen size.  This favorably positions Samsung’s Galaxy devices because they come in different sizes for different people.  The S3 Mini has the same 4″ screen size as the iPhone 5, allowing people to operate their device with one hand.  The Galaxy S3 device has a 4.8″ screen, which gives people more real estate on their screen.  The Galaxy Note 2 has a 5.5″ screen size for those wanting even more.

Samsung adds Galaxy Express and Rugby Pro to Android line-up

Posted on by Rushang

AT&T announced they will carry the Samsung Galaxy Express and Samsung Rugby Pro devices this winter holiday season. The Galaxy Express is a mass-market device that will run Ice Cream Sandwich. The Rugby Pro is a military-grade Android device that is waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof. It sports Push-to-talk, a 4-inch screen, and full device encryption.  (Anyone with more clarity on what “full device encryption” means, please send an email to us at social@companionlink.com.)

CompanionLink will offer sync for both the Galaxy Express and the Rubgy Pro.