Well you guys asked for it so we finally ran a showdown between the two great BlackBerry HTML Email Viewers. Feel free to tell us how right or wrong we are in the comments. Personally we think that if you need the PIM integration they by all means go out and get BBsmart Email Viewer but if you do not need them then Empower is the solid choice for less than half the price. Read on for the specifics and the current leader. Keep in mind the developers are changing these programs regularly so this may change soon. |
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Vs. |
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Price |
$9.99 |
Empower |
$24.99 |
Integration |
Integrated into native BlackBerry Email Viewer |
Empower |
Separate from native Email Viewer |
Speed |
Program size is very small and loads faster but does not have image cache to speed up opening a previously opened email |
Tie |
Program has a noticeable lag when loading an email. Program is about 8 times as large as Empower but currently has more features which makes up for the larger size |
Hotkey Support |
Most major hotkeys are now supported in the application. |
Tie |
Most major hotkeys are now supported. |
Attachment Support |
Includes support of attachment viewing in email viewer |
BBsmart |
Includes support of attachment viewing in email viewer. Also added support of BeamBerry and Repligo attachment services |
Image Support |
Image support works around 90% of the time. There is no nag screen while images download |
Empower |
Image support is iffy. There is an image cache so images do load quicker when you reopen an email. Nag screen shows how many images are left to download |
PIM Integration |
PIM integration is not even close to BBsmart. There is no ability to add a email to address book or to select specific email addresses in the header. |
BBsmart |
PIM functionality is amazing. You can create a task or calendar entry from an email. You can also copy the text of the email into the notes field of the task or calendar entry. Unlike Empower you can add email addresses from the header to your address book |
Email Header Support |
There is currently the option to show the full header or not. There is also a hotkey to switch between full and abridged. You cannot select text or copy and paste from the email. |
BBsmart |
There is currently the option to show the full header or not. There is also a hotkey to switch between full and abridged. Thankfully you can see the full details of the header and select them. you can also make selections and copy and paste text from the email |
Font/Color Support |
Application has a full featured font and color support. They do not currently have support for native BlackBerry fonts. They also have quite a few picture backgrounds to play around with |
Tie |
Font and Color support are full featured. BBsmart uses the native BlackBerry Fonts. You can also customize the size of the fonts. You can also change the color of the fonts. |
Updates |
Program is updated every few days with many new features. They are a bit sketchy when it comes to notifying users about the updates. |
Empower |
Program updates from a menu option. They flout this as autoupdate but it does not do this automatically. Program is not updated as often |
Device Support |
Device support is available for 4.0, 4.1, and 4.2 devices with support for suretype keyboards |
Tie |
Device support is available for 4.0 and 4.2 devices with support for suretype keyboards |
Default Viewer settings |
Ability to set Empower as the default viewer with custom settings such as only for incoming email, pin messages, sent mail, or composing emails |
Empower |
Ability to set the email viewer as the default or not. No custom settings. |
9 |
Vs. |
7 |
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Winner: Empower |
1 comment on this postSubmit your comment!
Ben Not Registered
Posted: July 22, 2008 at 5:01 AM EST
Nice comparison.