Verizon's RemoSync brings Direct Push email to select handsets
Hankerin' for some bona fide push email on your VZW handset, are you? If this is indeed the case, look no further than RemoSync, the latest Get It Now application that enables a handful of the carrier's handsets to get their Exchange-hosted email pushed directly to them. More specifically, those who purchase the app will be able to read, compose, reply, delete, forward, etc. emails, download Outlook contacts and view those immensely annoying calendar events. The pricing structure is quite curious, though. First off, it'll cost you $9.99 per month, and while a data plan isn't required per se, those without one will be charged $1.99 per megabyte (or "airtime") when using RemoSync. For a list of compatible mobiles, tap the read link and give that scroll wheel a few turns.
[Via PhoneScoop]
[Via PhoneScoop]
























Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
D @ Jun 10th 2008 12:28PM
This is kind of a sad.
This is a good feature, that works on a lot of phones that would have otherwise never seen anything resembling push email or any kind of useful contacts/calendar synchronization.
But once again, Verizon is taking a good feature and charging an arm and a leg for it.
I wonder how they do their pricing research? I bet at something like $4/month this thing would probably sell like hotcakes, but $10/month just seems...offensive.
cwcanty @ Jun 10th 2008 2:27PM
hows it offensive? It gives you the same connectivity as a blackberry. and its still cheaper the unlm BB service ($30). Thats how they got the $10 price point. $5 is definitely not enough, because the prolly didn't want to canibalize any of their BB revenue. At $5 people may have given up their BB's and returned to a regular phone.
There's a reason why verizon is very financially stable. You can't just give stuff away, and be a reputable company (take a look at whats going on over at sprint....) And ATT does the same damn thing.
Miles @ Jun 10th 2008 3:02PM
That's great it costs more so its good for you! Do you work for VZW?
D @ Jun 10th 2008 5:21PM
I guess it offends me because it's one more step away from "openness"...which they claim to be trying to achieve.
There are a number of solutions to do this for free already. This is like VZ Navigator on a smartphone that already has GPS and Google Maps -- a useless feature with equal or better free alternatives...except for Verizon crippling the phone, locking down features, and using their own proprietary stuff that you have to pay more for.
Sure, this will work on not-so-smart phones, but the price point for most of those phones isn't far enough below a low end PDA phone to warrant $10/mo -- at least, so it seems to me without actually doing all the math.
And I disagree about losing Blackberry customers to this. For sheer device functionality, I can't picture anyone who has used a Blackberry being willing to go back a Razr or something. The interfaces just don't cut it.
Plus businesses, who have built IT and security infrastructures around RIM's offerings, most definitely won't give them up for this.
cwcanty @ Jun 10th 2008 3:34PM
No I don't, but i do have a background in business and respect it when it company is successful and knows how to make money. I have verizon service and I have never felt nickel and dimed as some others have felt. People on tech blogs and websites always think everything is to expensive and want no regulation of anything.
thats just not realistic, and I truly believe that $10 is an affordable and fair price for this service. If you think it's too much, then don't buy it.
M @ Jun 10th 2008 4:28PM
I'm going to have to agree with cwcanty on this one.
I have a smartphone (PN-820) on verizon and wish the dataplan was more affordable (last i checked it was around $40/mo.), but that is just a gripe. I receive excellent, reliable service, with no "mysterious" billing problems that I had with Sprint and Cingular (Sprint was the worse of the 2).
I get exactly what I pay for and there is no funny business. That in itself makes the few extra dollars/month worth it. I know that if I chose this feature it would work and if it didn't they would fix the problem or refund my money asap.
Essentially it's that I've found a carrier that knows how to run a business and take care of their customers at the same time. I'm not a fanboy, just a happy customer. As an example, I went over my minutes a few months ago; because I pay my bill on time every month and haven't had to call in asking for more minutes before, they were nice about it and told me that they would preemptively refund the overage charges - simple as that. That certainly wasn't the case with sprint.
So ok, you think $10 is too much to charge for this, but for push email on a non-PDA phone I think it's reasonable.
cwcanty @ Jun 10th 2008 5:33PM
@D
Verizon never claimed that openness was related to vznavigator, its related to using other non verizon cdma phones. All companies have to make money so they can improve their offerings to customers and stay in business. If they start giving stuff away, then they lose revenue and then ultimately people lose jobs. Want an example--take a look at the thousands of jobs sprint has cut in the past year, then look at their financial status and how their business is trending.
If you want to show a company that something is too expensive. You have two options.
1. Leave
2. Dont buy the service.
D @ Jun 10th 2008 5:58PM
"Any Apps" ring a bell?
Regardless, I expect the "small and medium sized businesses" that this is targeted at won't partake either. Just doesn't seem worth it to me, but only time will tell.
Lucky for Verizon though, I bet this /will/ be a big hit with suburban teens whose parents spend way too much money on them already anyway, and who just HAVE to get all their email as soon as possible (I work with high schools and have seen a scary number of kids with blackberries for this exact reason).
drew @ Jun 11th 2008 12:03AM
@D
Not really sure how many 'suburban teens' have exchange email...
Secondly, Verizon shares some of the profit from Remosync (I'm sure), but it is not a 'Verizon' application, it is a 3rd party.
miles @ Jun 11th 2008 1:00AM
Its not as simple to Leave with fewer and fewer options for users!
D @ Jun 11th 2008 10:36AM
You can rent an exchange server account for as low as $5/mo for personal email from various providers, and many do. :-)