Documents To Go for BlackBerry arrives, but you can’t install it just yet
Software vendor DataViz has finally thrown the covers off the long-anticipated Documents To Go for BlackBerry (DTG) Microsoft-Office compatible suite.
DTG Standard Edition will be bundled free with BlackBerry Device Software 4.5. DTG Premium Edition, which offers additional functionalities, will be sold for a onetime fee of $69.99, and requires the following system requirements. You can also check out the differences between DTG Standard and DTG Professional here.
Before you pop the champagne though, do note that it is not possible to actually download and install it right now. The underlying reason is a little more complex, if you would let me explain in a moment.
Attachment handling on the BlackBerry
First of all, you must understand that the BlackBerry operating system was created with the idea of intuitive and ubiquitous access to one’s emails. As such, not only must access to emails be snappy, the usable life of the device on a single battery charge is of utmost importance as well.
As such, not only did RIM engineers design the data stack of the BlackBerry OS to be ultra-efficient, the processing of email attachments were all delegated to the server-side as well. By pushing handling of attachments to the server, processor (and battery)-intensive processing of large documents were eliminated, as with the need to even download them in the first place.
As such, no file attachments were actually downloaded into a BlackBerry Smartphone for DTG to work with. Rather than be inundated with support calls from irate users, DataViz and RIM opted to incorporate DTG into a compatible version of the BlackBerry OS. Even the free 30-days trial of DTG-Professional edition require a valid registration key before you are allowed to download it.
So where is this compatible version of the BlackBerry OS? Long answer: It should be out soon, as it has already been released to the various carriers at WES 2008. Unfortunately, all carriers will want to test out new firmware revisions first before releasing it, and the time required to test can vary greatly. Short answer: No idea as to the exact date.
Upgrading
Essentially, what is needed is a BlackBerry device software with a version of 4.5 or higher.
You can check out the latest device software released by the various carriers at this BlackBerryForums page.
If all this talk of operating system version is putting your head into a tizzy, then you might want to just wait for the BlackBerry Bold. This new BlackBerry Smartphone will be launched with DTG Standard edition already on-board.
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I’ve got new BB8320 with latest version as the website showed (www.blackberry.com) but i didn’t find any Dataviz Document To Go in my BB
Only OS 4.5 and above have Documents To Go. Is that the version that you managed to download?
I upgraded to OS 8330/4.5.0.77 and have document to go word to go and slideshow to go but not excel to go. Is there anything I can do to get excel to go? also how do I get my music to play thru my bluetooth?
Thanks
Excel support to follow in 4.6 is what I am hearing
Simply upgrade your Documents To Go from within the application and you’re find it magically appear after the upgrade.
I have DTG Standard on one Blackberry Curve but not on th eother and boith have 4.5 of the OS. Anyone have any thoughts as to why it does not show on the other BB?
Tahnsk,
Jim
Dear Jim,
That sounds strange. Could you post the exact operating system version of the version which doesn’t have DTG here? Alternatively, you can try to upgrade to the latest firmware version?
Hear from you…
Regards,
Paul Mah.
I have 4.5.0.110 (Platform 2.7.0.90). I have the same OS on another BB Curve and the DTG are there adn took an upgrade to get teh spreadsheet app with no trouble.
@James:
The original release of Documents To Go for OS 4.5 didn’t have Sheet To Go included on the device, but it was made available as a free update. The first thing you’ll want to do (if you haven’t already) is open Word To Go, go to the menu and choose ‘Check For Updates’. For reference, the most up to date version right now is 1.006.
If you’ve already tried this, here’s a web page that might help you. There are some cases where BlackBerry Desktop Manager downgrades the version of Documents To Go (and thus the Sheet To Go update is lost). Take a look here and try the steps:
http://support.dataviz.com/support.srch?docid=14193
Hope it helps!
Jason
DataViz, Inc.
Thanks a ton dude…..
That stuff helped me with my issues and within the post the related posts also helped me a lot.
You were like a Perfect Tourist Guide for me. Thanks a Ton!!!
hi, when i got my 8900 last month i had all the documents to go, then i tried the option to upgrade them but the internet got disconnected before the upgrade could be completed and now i cant access any of these applications. i tried to delete it and reinstall but dont know where to reinstall from and now having problems opening certain attachments.
help please
this is the message i now get when i try to use it. what is the meaning of this error message? “uncaught exception:net.rim.device.api.i18n.MissingResourceException”
Nicoleen, I’m thinking that were having the same problem. I was trying to load a webpage on my Browser and it turned out to be larger than my 8330 could load. Now I get warnings of an extremely low memory. I need to figure out what’s going on. In part with that happening, I tried upgradng my DTG and it gave me an error message. Now I am not able to find the icons but its shown in my application lists. I know that I should download the set again but I don’t know how to find where the DTG software is.