We receive a fair amount of questions on how Viira and the Viira Outlook Suite compare with each other, especially in terms of set up and installation. In this article I will try to address some of the most common questions on the differences between the two.

Separate Download Required

The first (and most important) difference is that Viira and the Viira Outlook Suite require a separate download: in order to sync with Outlook you need to download and install the Viira Outlook Suite BlackBerry client. The BlackBerry client is a separate software application from Viira and can be downloaded from the Viira Outlook Suite download page or by pointing your BlackBerry to the Viira Outlook Suite mobile site www.kartamobile.com/bb/outlook.

The important thing to keep in mind is that downloading Viira (currently in version 2.2) will NOT provide sync with the Outlook plugin whereas downloading the VIira Outlook Suite BlackBerry client will.

Near-Identical Feature Sets

The feature sets of both Viira and the Viira Outlook Suite BlackBerry client are at present practically identical to the point where it is not easy to tell them apart. What you can do with one you can do with the other and vice versa.

We will continue to keep it this way and as we introduce new productivity-enhancing features and GTD techniques you will see them appear in both product lines. On occasion we may introduce a feature first in one before making it available in the next update to the other.

Side-By-Side On the Same BlackBerry

Viira and the Viira Outlook Suite have been designed to work without a problem when both are installed on the same BlackBerry. You don’t need to uninstall Viira in order to install the Viira Outlook Suite BlackBerry client and vice versa. We designed it this way in order to make it easier for you to decide which one of our two products works best for you and the way you apply Getting Things Done in your day-to-day life.

If you install both on your BlackBerry you will see each appear with a differently colored launch icon with Viira’s icon displaying the text “Viira 2″ while the BlackBerry client showing “Viira Outlook Suite”.

Viira 2 Data Import from the Viira Outlook Suite

The Viira Outlook Suite provides the ability to do a one-time import of all your GTD data from Viira. If at any point you decide to upgrade to the Viira Outlook Suite you can have your Viira 2 data seemlessly transitioned over to the Viira Outlook Suite. Viira 2 data import requires activation of the full version.

As always, if you have any other questions don’t hesitate to ask it in the comments section of this post or email our technical support at support _at_ kartamobile dot com.

In this week’s update we have added 24 hour time formatting to Viira capabilities. Appointments, both when edited and when displayed in Viira’s Day View will display in 24hr time format for all of you using Viira in countries that traditionally use 24 hour time format (or all of you who have set your device to 24hr mode). For example instead of appearing as “2:00pm-3:00pm” your appointments will now show as “14:00-15:00″.

The 24hr time formatting kicks in automatically when Viira detects that your device is set to display times in 24hr format. Otherwise the familiar 12 hour time format is used as before.

As always, this update is a free upgrade to all buyers of the full version and can be downloaded OTA by pointing you BlackBerry to our BlackBerry site www.kartamobile.com/bb.