Can I access DEA and Domino Mail, Calendar and other WML applications on my RIM Blackberry device? Yes, as long as the device has a browser that supports WAP 1.1. GoAmerica.com's browser is common on RIM devices and works with DEA.

Here's where the project goes horribly wrong.

The installation was very simple and straightforward, but actually getting the device to work properly was not. I tried off and on for several weeks to get the BlackBerry device working with the Domino Everyplace Access server. First of all, the documentation wasn't very good for trying to set this up properly to work with a mail file. I was familiar with Mobile Services for Domino, though, so I configured my mail file in a similar way, such as granting the Domino Everyplace Access server Manager access to my mail file and setting my HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) password on the DEA server. But when I encountered problems and tried to find troubleshooting information in the DEA administrator's guide database, all I saw was a note to someone saying to insert the troubleshooting information later.

I tested DEA with various simulators/emulators as well as two physical devices, the BlackBerry 957 Enterprise Edition and the Mitsubishi T250 wireless phone. The first thing I discovered with the BlackBerry was that coverage in my first floor office near the window wasn't sufficient, so I had to go outside for testing. The next thing I discovered was that it wasn't particularly fast. But then, what did I expect? It's a paging network that's trying to do Web browsing. My boss noticed and commented on the speed when I first showed him the device. Even with full coverage, it was much too slow for my taste, especially when compared to the speed of my wireless phone.

Once I logged on and got a response from the server, the problems really began. I could see the main menu, shown in Figure A. I even retrieve a list of my recent email and calendar events, but when I tried to open them I got a "Device Error 264" which actually caused the device to reset itself in my hand.

FIGURE A

Here's a screenshot of the BlackBerry accessing the Domino Everyplace Access server using a simulator. Click picture for a larger image.

It would be like your Web browser on your computer experiencing an error and then deciding to totally restart your computer all by itself. I tried this several times and experienced the same error each time. After many hours on Notes.net and a lot of time on the phone with Go.America and RIM, I still couldn't solve this problem, and I was left wondering exactly where the problem lay, with Lotus, RIM, or Go.America.

My Mitsubishi T250 phone (the one I got free at Lotusphere two years ago) worked a little better, but it still had problems, such as not being able to open messages that were sent by anyone other than Notes users unless I used an agent to set the Form field to "Memo." I also had trouble creating new calendar events. Admittedly, Lotus has only stated partial support for this phone since it's not fully WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) 1.1 compatible.