Ever since Lotusphere 2006, I’ve been excited to get my hands on GOOD’s mobile Notes/Domino software. I took some time last year to evaluate alternatives and found iAnywhere to be decent, but somewhat of a hassel(hoff) to set up as well as a big drain on your battery. The demo I saw of GOOD at Lotusphere was awesome. Key features included:
- Real-time sync of email (like Blackberry/BES)
- Zero configuration (by client)
- Improved battery life
- GREAT UI
They said it was scheduled to be released “soon.” So I waited.
… and waited.
… and waited.
… and waited some more.
I’ve finally got my hands on one of the first copies of the software and rushed to the server room to install it. Here’s my review of it and what you need to know if you’re thinking about this type of software…
Pros:
Consistent interface across devices.
I tested this on a Cingular/HTC 8125, Treo 650 and a Nokia E61 (European spec of what will come to the US soon). The interface was almost identical on all of them … which is great for support and training.
EASY easy easy install.
Installation couldn’t be easier. The server install is very simple (but takes some time to run through the installer … most of which you don’t need to be there for). Install to the client is also easy. Just define a user, choose the device type and send them an email. They point their device to a website, download the software and enter a key sent to them in the email which configures everything on the device. — This is an Administrator’s dream!
In short, you set up a Domino server in your LocalDomainServers group, install Good to it and let the software use that server as a conduit to facilitate all of the email/calendar/contact sync’ing that happens. – There’s no need for additional (person) IDs or a courier or that type of thing.
Easy to use
The software is very intuitive. They have great help files on the device and lots of shortcuts to help you do simple tasks when you’re using it (for example, the “D” key deletes emails … how smart and handy! ).
Fast!
The sales rep I worked with told me that he often gets an alert on his phone
Battery Life = Great!
I’m amazed at how much longer all 3 devices stayed on with this software. Even though its “always on” pulling/sending email, its much thinner traffic than iAnywhere’s replication process, which drains most of your battery in less than 8-12 hours.
Pulls your personal address book … sort of
The software does pull your personal NAB information (Good sales people didn’t have a clear answer for that one … I assume because its still new to them on the Domino side). But it pulls it from the behind-the-scenes list that powers iNotes/DWA on the web. So you have to use the “Synchronize Address Book” menu option in your email to get your contacts in there (or updated). A simple agent to run that program every hour or so would be a good idea for you to consider … just to keep everything n*sync.
Cons:
Pulls your personal address book … sort of
(Read that section above)
Also, it doesn’t pull groups/categories for your personal contacts. Which kinda sucks.
Caller ID doesn’t work … until you lookup a person
All of your contact names are pulled into the phone, but none of the details (when it first loads). The first time you access a person and press “more info” it does a quick lookup to the server and pulls TONS of information on them. Its only then that your phone will connect the number calling with the name of the person (and that seems hit-or-miss).
Can’t Accept/Decline Meetings
No clue why … just doesn’t work.
Contacts – Returns to last entry
Let’s say you want to call someone. Here’s the process:
1. Go to “contacts”
2. Click in the “find” area
3. Type the name of the person (type-ahead works great here)
4. Click to the person’s name and then click “more” to get their details
5. Wait
6. Scroll to the phone number and then click it to call
Kind of a pain. What’s worse is that when you’re done and you want to call another person, the system returns walks you through those same steps, but in reverse. You have to cancel out of the person record, delete the type-ahead, etc. just to start over instead of returning you to the base contact list in a “ready to go” state.
The Good Launcher can be hard to find
Everything happens from the Good launcher. Its part of the magic of having a consistent UI across all platforms. However, on the Nokia device, this launcher is hard to find and takes many menu steps. The Treo was much easier, as it tied some of the button functionality on the phone to the Good software. The Windows Mobile (8125) was … well “windows” about the whole thing.
Calendar & Mail icons (on the Nokia) point to the phone’s apps, not Good’s
The Nokia device has a great calendar and email interface. It does a great job of showing your calendar agenda on the front screen and its easy to navigate. The problem is that none of that works with the Good software, Good’s stuff is totally seperate.
That’s fine, except it means a few extra clicks to get to it (the mail button does take you to Good’s mail app) and there’s no agenda on the front page.
All in all, Good’s software is very good. But there are a few anoyances in how it integrates with devices (and how the whole contact functionality works) that are really a pain. I don’t know that it should prevent you from looking at it for your company … but if you already have iAnywhere installed (like we do), you should probably wait until the next version of Good before you jump ship.
It should be noted that Lotus Advisor disagrees with me, calling Good their Editor’s Choice for 2006.
Oh, and the Nokia E61 is a great looking device, but a horrible choice for use with Good … it doesn’t support iAnywhere. So really, its kinda useless at the moment.
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