by Al Sacco

RIM: BlackBerry Desktop Support for Outlook 2010 Coming in August

News
Jul 09, 2010
MobileSmall and Medium BusinessSmartphones

RIM plans in the coming months to finally release new versions of its BlackBerry Desktop Manager software that support 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Outlook 2010.

BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry Desktop Manager software doesn’t currently support Microsoft Outlook 2010, which means many corporate smartphone users are unable to sync e-mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, etc. between Outlook 2010 and their BlackBerrys via the application.

BlackBerry Desktop Manager and Microsoft Outlook 2010
BlackBerry Desktop Manager and Microsoft Outlook 2010

This is obviously less than ideal for organizations and individuals that use Outlook 2010, but RIM says a fix is en route. Specifically, a Desktop Manager update with support for Outlook 2010 32-bit is expected in August, according to RIM. And support for Outlook 64-bit is also on the horizon, though details are murky at this point; RIM says only that Desktop Manager will support Outlook 2010 64-bit “in 2011.”

From a post in RIM’s BlackBerry Technical Solution Center:

“Currently, BlackBerry Desktop Manager 5.0.1 does not support Microsoft Outlook 2010 64-bit version for mailbox connectivity and synchronization of organizer data such as Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Memos. The next release of BlackBerry Desktop Manager provides support for Microsoft Outlook 2010 32-bit version only. This release is targeted for August 2010. Support for Microsoft Outlook 2010 64-bit version will be available in 2011.

It’s unfortunate that RIM’s Desktop Manager didn’t support Outlook 2010 when it was initially released, but at least BlackBerry administrators and users who’ve been struggling because of the lack of support now have a rough timeframe for when to expect relief.

Read more about RIM’s BlackBerry Desktop Manager software on the company’s website. And check out my Desktop Manager tips and tricks for loading and removing BlackBerry applications and Internet tethering.

AS

Via BerryReview

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