BlackBerry® PlayBook™

[interfaSys]

Every other smartphone OS can use consumer oriented VPN services and OpenVPN, either out of the box or by installing 3rd party software. Blackberry and QNX are the only exception. The only support connections to pricey hardware your own or rent yourself.

This leaves blackberry users exposed to the kind of problems described in this oldish article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/apr/25/wifi-security-flaw-smartphones-risk

[Xandrex]

I agree with you but currently the native VPN from RIM is called BES and you can access it through the BlackBerry Bridge.

[interfaSys]

...which, if I'm not mistakent, is only available to large corporations (BES standard) or one man bands running their office on Microsoft software (BES express).

I can't see a regular consumer installing exchange + bes express and configuring routing properly at his home, so that he can safely surf the web from his favourite hotspots.

VPN access is not just a feature for entreprises. More and more people use it to just surf the web and they want to use the same services that they can already use on their laptop.

Maybe RIM should offer a public VPN service with endpoints located in various geographical locations .

[miguel_c]

BES via Brigde?

Nope... that is not "BES" you simple have access to The Blackberry Device, the device will use BES of course but in the Playbook we only have access to the Browser, email, Calendar and BBM.

BES allow a lot more, one of the main features is "MDS" , In my BB Bold I can use several apps trough MDS, for example Rove IT Mobile admin, which is a great APP, and yes its availeble for the Playbook too since OS 2.0.

But since Brigde is not really BES I can not use Mobile Admin unless I'm connecting to the companies Wi-Fi.

So the reallity is that Brigde is nice, but Its not BES.

So this is not just something the "public" users want's Companies want this too, I'm sure mainy more Enterprise users agree with me, and I hope RIM will invest in this, its not that hard... has said, QNX already supports this!

[dablitz]

Openvpn has an android client. unfortunately the client cannot be supposrted on the 2.0 OS for the playbook as it requires busybox to work.

[Xandrex]

---

miguel_c wrote:

BES allow a lot more, one of the main features is "MDS" , In my BB Bold I can use several apps trough MDS, for example Rove IT Mobile admin, which is a great APP, and yes its availeble for the Playbook too since OS 2.0.

---

hello miguel_c,

are you sure that MDS is not available through the Bridge ? I can access the local intranet of my company through the BES.

I think you can find move information on the Rove forums where they have a beta version:

http://forum.roveit.com/~roveitco/forum/showthread.php?7922-Rove-Mobile-Admin-PlayBook-Client-Beta-i...

[miguel_c]

Sorry for the late late rely to this, no MDS is not available trough Bridge. 

Accessing and intranet *web page* over bridge is not MDS.

"BlackBerry MDS Connection Service
Services push requests from intranet applications"

Intranet Applications! not just a page in a browser, you're not really getting that page trough MDS directly, you're getting it trough bridge allows you to access the Smart-phone data (email, calendars, BlackBerry Messenger, files and  browser) in you're Playbook.

For example this app I referred allows you to connect to the server via: BES-MDS, Internet(TCP/IP), BIS and WI-FI, and also they have a web version for tasks that *do not* include RDP, SSH or VNC, Bridge those let me use a part of the service in the browser (slowly).

If the Playbook had OpenVPN support I could connect trough TCP/IP, adn use other apps the same way like a ssh client, under a secure vpn connection.

It seems the Playbook could be activated in BES trough Mobile Fusion, but I'm still unclear if this costs some money... (I have BES Express)

Anyway OpenVPN would allow users to connect to different private networks if needed, so it does seem like something worth supporting!

[the-KiKi]

Through the discussion, I saw that some of us say that RIM doesn't care about retail market and consumer or small/medium enterprise.

They don't want to change their view considering they could forget about the reality and impose their view to the planet ....

No USB Host connecting USB devises (card reader)
No simple VPN support like affordable OpenVPN solution
Preventing Internet mail access (your own provider) in // of the BES enablement (your enterprise)
.....

 
Some other larger companies did the same mistake and the market proved to them they were wrong.

But I see large companies like mine removing all budgets for Blackberry support, BES, Express BES and moving to Android devices. I can imagine smaller companies not being able to fund the RIM infrastructure.

More than that, people will not have in their pocket 2 devices, one for personal use, one for Business;
Mobile enablement for business will move all to the same target device, your personal one.....and you don't want only business support on it.

So the approach and the mindset is wrong definitely wrong... and people will select there devise and see if they can support the business on it.


What will remain to RIM if they loose Enterprises having missed the consumer market?

Nothing except selling the division to Microsoft that will rejuvenate these products to a consumer market.
But if we follow the news, it is what happens trying to sell the devices division!    

My next phone/tablet will probaly not be a RIM device! 

Really sad about that even not angry just disappointed having believed in RIM as I love these devises (Torch 9800 + Playbook) but I have to stay realistic.

They had and have a wonderful system, strong power and great design, .... 

 .....    but what is the most beautiful house/place is it is for you a prison.