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A Blackberry is a small handheld device (Slightly larger than a mobile phone) that allows you to receive e-mails wirelessly on the move and also synchronise automatically with Microsoft Outlook to allow you access to your Calendar, tasks and notes. The devices are also fully functioning mobile phones and even allow you to access the internet while on the move (Tariff Dependent) .
With a Blackberry device there is no need to 'dial up' or connect your device to a computer; instead e-mails are 'pushed' to the handheld using a combination of a central server hosted by Computing Service, an external server hosted by Vodafone and GPRS. All this means that as soon as a new e-mail arrives in your inbox on your desktop PC, it will automatically arrive on your Blackberry at the same time. Likewise, changes made to your calendar, notes or tasks will be reflected almost immediately on your Blackberry device as well.
If you are away from your desk frequently and receive time sensitive e-mails or need access to your calendar on the go then a Blackberry could be the device for you. Please note that although some of the devices come with full 'qwerty' keyboards, you are not going to want to tap out long e-mails on them. They are only really for receiving e-mail, checking your calendar and maybe the odd reply. Having said that; some of the devices support 'Bluetooth' technology which allows you to connect external wireless devices such as larger keyboards and hands-free kits.
Any BlackBerryTM device is supported by the service.
Initial Costs
You will need a Blackberry device and a contract. Vodafone's latest corporate price list will give you an idea of costs - http://www2.essex.ac.uk/purchasing/restricted/suppliers.shtm
Scroll down to Vodafone, then across to 'Price List'
Open the file and find the section for Blackberrys
Computing Service will also add a one time charge of £100 per new device to cover the cost of server software, access licence and the initial time involved in setting the devices up.
Connected devices come complete with a new contract (minimum 24 months), SIM and mobile number. Upgrade devices are where you upgrade your existing mobile number to a Blackberry and Hardware only are for when devices are damaged or lost.
On-going charges
The tariff is £19 per month for data + £2.50 per month for voice = £21.50 per user. This includes 6Mb of UK data usage and, as the data is condensed, should be more than enough for most Blackberry users. Usage of more than 6Mb is charged at £1 per Mb in the UK and £8.75* per Mb for international roaming. (Please note the costs listed here were correct as of September 2007, and should only be taken as a guide price. Please contact CPU for an up to date listing.)
Call costs are charged as per our government saver voice tariff (copy available from CPU).
* As the price for data can vary from country to country, we recommend contacting Vodafone's customer services on 08700 746 464. They will be able to provide a more up to date indication of roaming charges in the country you are planning to visit.
Please note that all tariff charges are subject to change and are set by Vodafone.
All listed prices are +VAT.
Have a look at the Vodafone corporate price list - Central Purchasing Unit. Scroll down to Vodafone and then click the link for "Price List". Once chosen, fill in a non-stock requisition form and send it to CPU. Please contact CPU with any queries.
Once the device has arrived, you will need to send an e-mail to bbsetup with the following details -
Your username to configure the device
PIN number of the device. This can be found on the side of the box.
Charge code (10 Characters) for the
£100 one time fee. (see Initial Costs above)
The Blackberry can then be taken to the Computing Service Help Desk (4SW.5.4), for the attention of Darin Cruickshanks.
All enquiries about accounts etc should be directed to CPU.
Can I upgrade my existing personal mobile or University mobile to a Blackberry?
I'm worried about losing the Blackberry as there may be sensitive e-mails on it.
Please see our supported devices section for more information but in general if you think you may send a lot of e-mails from the device then go for a handheld with a full 'qwerty' keyboard. There are devices available with Bluetooth for connecting external keyboards wirelessly etc and Quad band if you do a lot of travelling.
Yes, you can. The handsets are bought SIM free and your existing SIM is upgraded automatically over-the-air.
Yes, but you may need to enable international roaming with Vodafone by calling this number - 08700 746 464. Tri band Blackberrys will work in Europe, Asia Pacific and some parts of America but for full coverage go for a quad band enabled device.
Yes - simple attachments such as .doc, .xls, .txt, .pdf and .jpg are supported but because of the small screen size this functionality is limited.
Yes, some do models do, see Vodafones web pages.
No, this does not appear to be currently supported although this may change in the future.
We recommend that the first thing you do with your device is password protect it but if you did happen to lose it we can disable and/or wipe it clean over the air. A quick call to Vodafone would then render the SIM useless as well.
Yes (tariff dependent), most pages will be displayed although they will be very small! Pages with active content may not display correctly.
First, don't panic! Call our help desk on Ext.2345 and give them your Blackberry mobile number, username and details of where you lost the device. We can then send out a signal that will wipe the device back to factory default settings.
1. I'm not receiving any new e-mails on my Blackberry
This could be caused by a number of things but check that you have a GPRS signal on your device. When you switch your Blackberry on you may have noticed that it goes through a number of stages as follows - SOS, GSM, gprs and finally GPRS. If your device is not getting to the GPRS stage then this is the problem and you will need to call our help desk on Ext.2345. If your device has a little aerial symbol with the word OFF next to it then this means that wireless functionality is switched off. To switch it back on, select the 'turn wireless on' icon from the main screen. If you're still having problems, contact our help desk.
2. I've forgotten my password for my Blackberry
Not a problem, bring your Blackberry to our help desk and once we establish that you are who you say you are, we can send a temporary password to your Blackberry over-the-air.
* If all else fails, carefully remove the battery from the back of the handset, wait 5 seconds and then put it back in. This will force the device to reboot and should clear most problems. Once the device has rebooted you may need to turn the wireless back on by selecting 'turn wireless on' from the main screen.
The Blackberry devices are pretty secure and all data is transmitted using 'Triple DES Encryption'. However, we recommend that you set a password on your device and keep the device with you at all times. In the event that you do lose your device then you can let our help desk know on Ext.2345 and we can wipe the devices back to factory defaults over-the-air.
From the main screen, navigate using the scroll wheel to 'settings' and click the wheel
Scroll down the menu to 'security' and click the wheel
Click the wheel twice, select 'Enabled' and then click the wheel again
Now press the 'back' button (below the scroll wheel), select 'save' and click the wheel again
Enter your new password (at least 4 characters) and click the scroll wheel, then enter it again to confirm
The person responsible for the content of this page is Darin Cruickshanks (e-mail: darin).