Exchange ActiveSync Push Email Solutions Available Now
Jason Langridge's WebLog - MR Mobile! : Push Email - There are no delays
Mr. Mobile, Jason Langridge, blogged recently about the reported "delays" to market of Windows Mobile 5 push email solutions that work with Exchange Server 2003.
His point is that the Windows Mobile world is different than the Windows desktop world in terms of delivering software to the marketplace. Microsoft has indeed delivered updates to Windows Mobile 5 device manufacturers that allow for email to be pushed to the device. This additional functionality is often referred to as the Messaging and Security Feature Pack for Windows Mobile 5, but is not generally available to the public. Device manufactueres and wireless carriers work together to provide these updates to customers and the testing, certification for networks and training of carrier reps can take months. This is rather typical for the wireless space.
While Windows Mobile 5 is reported to make it much easier to update the software on the phones, these types of updates typically require reflashing of devices and tend to be complex sets of instructions which if done incorrectly, can render the phone useless. So it is understandable that carriers take their time bringing them to market. I think this reality is what causes some device launches to be delayed. Carriers and manufacturers alike would sometimes rather delay a launch and get the latest software on the device to avoid reflashing the OS.
While the world waits for Windows Mobile 5 with push email to be released in new devices or as software updates for existing Windows Mobile 5 devices, independent software manufacturers are able to provide solutions to customers.
For example, Palm Inc has its own Exchange ActiveSync client for the Treo 650 as part of its VersaMail application. To date, they have not made any updates in order to support push email, but they can offer this type of upgrade independent of Microsoft's release schedule.
For Symbian devices like the Sony Ericsson P900 series and the Nokia Series 80 devices like the 9300 and 9500, solutions exist today that allow for push email. DataViz RoadSync version 2.0 can be installed directly to these phones and provide push email today as long as you are connecting to an Exchange 2003 server with the Service Pack 2 installed. RoadSync 2 is currently in public preview mode, but will be released soon. It supports push Email, Calendar and Contact synchronization via Exchange ActiveSync.
