Discussion on:

Palm Treo 700w and Good Mobile Messaging provide excellent mobile e-mail solution

The 700W integrates perfectly with Exchange out of the box. No need for Good. You must be running Exchange 2003 SP2, but that is it. It even works with 2003 SP1 (but not as good, no pun intended).

Using Exchange Active Sync the 700w keeps a connection alive to the exchange server using Http and port 80. Some exchange servers may require a tweak to get the IIS correct, but after that it is painless. In fact, I get messages on my 700w before they show up in my Outlook.

We have been using Good for some time. Recently I started a "job swap" where they gave me a Treo 700 W w/out Good and it rocks! I too receive messages on my Treo before they hit my desktop! When I get back to my regular job, I will be pushing to get rid of Good as we upgrade Treos.

Cbrown9064,

Thanks for the comment. Because I wanted to test the Treo 700w using my normal e-mail flow, I used the Good solution that we have in place. I'm going to try and test a Motorola Q in the coming week and will try to test it using ActiveSync.

We have also implemented a Motorola Q for one of our staff and it is working quite well! Nice to have options on handsets!

Ads far as Enterprise Digital Terminals are concerned, this is about as lightweight as you can get.

People who work from concret to carpet need REAL tools, not flimsy blackberries, Palms etc.

Symbol, MC70, now there's a mobile computer that is VoIP ready too. Integrates with literally everything seamlessly. offers better wireless network abilities than cheapo end user toys too.


http://www.symbol.com/MC70/

Anything else is just as toy.

cbrown9064, can you explain how to use the exchange server with the activesynch, I have been trying to set it up and can't get it.

There are synchronization options available in the Goodlink software that are not available using the Exchange 2003 SP2 ActiveSync capabilities. Activesync is limited to synchronizing folders in the user's own mailbox. You cannot, for example, synchronize public folders with Activesync, which you can do with Goodlink. I'd be willing to bet that Microsoft will remedy this someday but right now Activesync is still more limited than some other options.

Also, with Activesync, in order to secure your communications, you need to install an SSL certificate on your OWA server and configure it properly to encrypt the communications. With Goodlink, the encryption is built into the software and does not require any special configuration. I've also found Goodlink a lot more stable, both on the user and server end, and I think easier to configure than Activesync.

Frankly I am disappointed with Palm's embrace of Windows Mobile, Pocket PC or whatever it is called. The Palm OS is not as power hungry as the MS alternative, and by moving to the enemy's camp it has just joined the general mediocrity. Very sad.

I notice that many Smart Phone manufacturers are smart enough to move to Linux, which is why I chose a Palm LifeDrive and the Bluetooth feature to link to my Motorola V620. Linux desktop synchronisation is excellent for Evolution - the Lookout equivalent, and for an emulation of the Palm Desktop soiftware jPilot does an acceptable job. Hopefully Palm will see the light and drop this experimental idiocy and develop a robust Linux OS adaptation for their devices, something which would synchronise nicely with a Linux desktop would be nice, and reading and writing in Open Document format would be even better. There is some great Linux software for connecting to MS Exchange server so why not get a properly secured environment as well.

Activesysnc also does not sync Sent Items. You have to make sure to send a message to yourself and then move that to Sent Items in order to track messages sent from the phone. Also, many providers charge extra for SMS text messages which Activesync uses for notifications to the phone that messages are pending - in a busy environment this can be a surprising amount. With some of the cell providers SMS does not fall under unlimited text messaging or unlimited data plans.

With Exchange SP2 and a Windows Mobile 5 device you have the option to sync Sent items. The As items arrive option does not use SMS. For older devices it still uses SMS if you use the always up to date option. From what I understand this will not be available in a future release.

Activesynd doesnt sync Sent Itmes eh:

on your mobile
go to 'messaging'
'tools' 'manage Folders'
now tag the ones you want sync'd. including "sent items"

have fun. dont pay for 3rd party lol

Hi Folks,

I've got a Treo700w w/ WinMobile 1.10. I'm running Exchange 2003SP2. My carrier is Verizon.

I told Exchange to use "Direct Push over HTTP(S) [in ExchangeSysMgr: GlobalSettings>MobileServices r/c and pick Properties]. I do not have "Enable up-to-date notifications..." checked because as per previous post, this DOES use SMS msgs to tell your phone to "phone home" and pick up the mail (and take out the garbage too?) which does cost money on my cell carrier.

On the phone I went to ActiveSync>Menu>ServerOptions. I entered the IP address of my server; I did not use the FQDN and I did not use SSL (I'm not concerned about the security at this point). There USED TO BE a page where I could say how to handle the sync and where I could enter my SMS address, but it seems like, once I did all this and forced a sync, Exchange told my phone to use DirectPush and not AUTD so now it doesnt need SMS, so I dont see this page any more.

I get my mails, calendar changes, contact changes, and tasks (which before I could only get by syncing w/ my PC and OL2007) quickly. I get my SENT ITEMS within 10 secs of sending, whether I send from the Treo or from my PC.

I don't get what all the bitching is about. I can do everything I want to do. Now, I don't use Public Folders so, for some, that may be a reason to use the 3rd party app mentioned. But for general Outlook messaging, this works perfectly, and it's free and it doesn't cost any SMS fees.

When you're talking or writing about this subject it's important to be clear as to whether you're using AUTD (Always Up To Date, the SMS system) or DirectPush because they're different.

BTW, I used a free Cert Authority (see https://cert.startcom.org/?lang=en) and will switch over to i (so I can use SSL) as soon as our domain gets moved to another DNS host and I can assign a FQDN instead of the IP address. This is because the certificate needs to refer to the FQDN which is, at present, wrong. The instructions I used for all this are here:
https://cert.startcom.org/?app=127 You can dowload the cert directly to your phone w/Aiyeee! then use Settings>System>Certificates to import it.

I have used both. Most of the setups for WIndows Mobile 5 have been done directly on the phone. So far these have been quicker and worked first time. Newer versions of Good (v4.9) no allow you to have multiple devices on a single account. The Good management tools are better than what is currently available with Exchange ActiveSync. We have had issues with memory utilization and stability of the phone with Good installed.

I agree with you curlergirl, the Goodlink application is more robust than the activesync for exchange. I was at a Microsoft seminar (momentum) when the Microsoft instructor\rep tried to do a demonstration and was having issues pulling up the Global address book. It is just not as stable as goodlink. I also tried to setup activesync and there are just entirely too many obstacles and I still was unable to get it to work because I later found that I would need to lower my security on my OWA which I am not able to do. I run a single server, not a front and backend. So it's really not worth the headache.

I told my users that if they want not need this ability, then they'd pay for it on their own and the license is a one time by of $99. If they are in need of it, we are certainly able to expense it, its far better than the microsoft solution. Also, the Windows Mobile, is too cumbersome, I like the Palm OS, it's simple and gets to the point.

Using Exchange 2003 SP2 and Active Sync on a pilot of Motorola Q. So far, can only 'see' the user's personal contact list on the Q, the Exchange GAL is not available, not even for just looking up an address (the way Blackberry works).

Makes the Q unusable for us until we can access the Exchange GAL. Verizon was no help, except to blame MSFT. Anyone know how to get to the Exchange GAL with the Q phone?

King, I do know it works, I have seen it work and yes you will get very limited support from any phone provider. Sad to say your best bet is to put in a call to Microsoft and pay the fee, at least they are obligated to fix your problem. Verizon, Cingular and the rest, only rely on documentation that they have and they will even go the the length of forwarding it to you but overall, they will not waste the time and rightfully they shouldn't. It's a Microsoft issue.

Try the microsoft white papers, I downloaded one, if you want me to send it to you just email me a dwilliams@wba-arch.com. It's pretty good but I still couldn't make use of it because of the current network setup that we have with a single Exchange server.

You mentioned an IIS tweak on the Exchange box, could you expand on that one? I am currently using Exchange Active Sync but i still wait up to 5 minutes (which is what my treo is set at for syncing) before seeing an email message on my Treo.
Thanks.

I have been using Active Sync with push email on the Moto Q (new ROM), Cingular 2125, Cingular 8125, and HTC Tytn (Soon to be the Cingular 8525). I prefer the Cingular devices manufactured by HTC.

There are no limitations with Syncronizing sent items and I have a provider with automated provisioning for my clients.

I prefer HTC's devices to any other windows smartphone or pocket PC phone. HTC is providing far superior devices to Palm and Motorola and serves international markets that are much more advanced than the U.S.

www.andrewssolutions.com

I've been sampling a Verizon 700W for the past few weeks. For the most part I like it, but it has one near-fatal flaw, confirmed in a conference call with Verizon and Palm support: It doesn't have enough memory, so if you leave the default MS apps running, the phone will eventually lock up, requiring a hard restart (but you don't have to remove the battery -- just use the stylus to press the reset button in the battery compartment). Oddly enough, I'm now trying a Samsung I730 which hasn't missed a lick. But I'm simply forwarding calls from the 700W, and it hasn't missed a lick since that started either. So I guess it's a case of the 700W phone working fine as long as I don't use it!

We tried Goodlink, but we decided it wasn't worth the trouble. We're using Activesync with Exchange 2003 SP1. This works fine as long as we doesn't try to sync as messages arrive; we set the sync interval to five minutes. We'll eventually upgrade to SP2 which allows push, but Activesync won't be the driver for that upgrade.

We've been talking with Sprint also, and they told us that the 700WX has more memory than the 700W, which should obviate the lockup problem that we've experienced (and the vendor has acknowledged).

I have found out the hard way that you cannot active sync distribution groups from your outlook contacts. Seems you can only sync individual contacts. I am running server 2k3 sp2 and have had no other problems other than the lockups when too many apps are running at the same time.

Sry for flame but; for bombing my inbox everyday with articles, you could do a bit more research before completely ignoring the existence of Activesync.

Why not look at OpenHand for your mobile email and live shared calendars it never need to sync
www.openhand-mobile.com

My company has been using GoodLink for more than 3-4 years. I got the 700w w/ GL in March 06. GL is still faster than our BES and Blackberry Devices which works fine if you're only looking at emails. I liked my older Samsung i700 in screen size, and plan to try out the Samsung i830 and see how that works out. Downside to the 700w with GL is that it takes up a lot of memory and a soft reset every 2-3 days is common, limited games can be installed on the device and you can't manage memory similar to the old i700, camera isn't great but video plays using vlc on a computer, playing wav and mp3s using an SD card works fine, no skipping or buffering. What people don't realize is that email is instantaneous with GL, you don't do a sync like Active Sync or Intellisync/SyncLogic. GL is the way to go, it's like having BB but with the perks of having a pocket pc/mini office.