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You don't necessarily have to buy a BlackBerry to leverage Research In Motion's (RIM) wireless push e-mail and data access solutions. Select devices - like Nokia's E62 & 9300 as well as Palm's Treo 650 (in some markets) - enable enterprises and end-users to deliver BlackBerry-like functionality through the mob-e-mail leader's BlackBerry Connect program.

One of the most recent of these devices, Samsung's t719, just started shipping today from T-Mobile—the very same carrier that first delivered the hot new and sleek BlackBerry Pearl, which is RIM's inaugural handheld with a camera (picture and video) and audio player.

Like Pearl, the t719 is more phone than PDA-like than a traditional QWERTY keyboard-based BlackBerry. It too features a SureType keyboard/keypad hybrid. For text entry, each key supports two letters, while predictive text software helps users accurately input text. The software's word database encompasses tens of thousands of words plus the user's address book. As with a word processor's spell-checker, you can add more words to it as well.

Unlike any previous device capable of accessing the BlackBerry service, the t719 is a small flip phone, at 3.78 x 2.05 x 0.72 inches and 3.53 ounces. Additional features for the EDGE-enabled, quad-band GSM t719 include a 2.12-inch, 262K-color 176 x 220 screen, as well as a voice recognition, a speakerphone, 1.3 megapixel camera for picture and video, and a media player.

Samsung rates the battery for up to 3 hours talk and 5 days standby time.

T-Mobile is selling the t719 for $199.99 after a $50 discount a $50 mail-in rebate.

BlackBerry Connect enables third-party handsets, like the Samsung t719, to support RIM's wireless "push” solutions. For corporate customers, BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) software tightly integrates with Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Domino and works with existing enterprise systems to enable secure access to e-mail and other corporate data.

This includes the automatic delivery to and synchronization of messages with the t719's inbox, calendar synchronization, attachment viewing, Triple DES encryption, Remote Address Lookup of corporate directory, and centralized device management, which includes support for IT policies such as over-the-air device disablement and password device lock.

Individuals and small businesses can use BlackBerry Connect to access ISP e-mail accounts through the hosted BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS).

During the summer RIM introduced a Hosted BlackBerry Enterprise Server for the almost half of small and medium-sized businesses that are already outsourcing their e-mail systems. This edition of BES delivers all the features of a traditional behind-the-corporate-firewall installation.

Making More Connections
Enabling its BlackBerry services to work other vendor’s devices is an increasingly important part of RIM's business model, that may become even more essential in the future. Through BlackBerry Connect RIM gives its customers more flexibility in choosing which devices to support in the enterprise.

The company isn't just in the hardware business after all. Although it has shipped what is said to now be close to 6 million handhelds and 70 percent of its revenue comes from BlackBerrys, about 20 percent of RIM’s earnings are from the service itself—mostly to its own hardware but also to some other competitor’s smartphones.

In addition to Palm, Nokia and Samsung are two other well-known BlackBerry Connect licensees. And, according to RIM Chairman & co-CEO Jim Balsillie last month, the Canadian company's has been swamped with appeals by additional hardware vendors to BlackBerry Connect. They want to get into the enterprise, and one way to do that is to become compatible with the most popular corporate mobile e-mail system around.

"We're flooded. We're absolutely flooded," Balsillie said at the RBC Capital Markets' North American Technology Conference in San Francisco. "It's a dilemma," he added. "We want to support all the devices, but in the process of supporting so many, you may not keep all as current as they want to be."

Currently, at least 20 mobile devices are in the BlackBerry Connect program with another 20 or so expected to be added by the close of 2006.