iphone/microsoft exchange/outlook questions

schwank · July 22, 2007 6:29PM

Hi, My wife is interested in an iPhone, but uses an exchange/outlook. What kind of support is there now? How does it work? how reliable is it?

My understanding is when you sync via iTunes it can pull in contacts, calender and email. Is this correct? Is there a "push" service for exchange email and is it reliable (anyone out there use it yet?) any info would be great, our verizon contract ends in a month, and I'd really really really like to go buy 2 new iphones......

thanks

thelonius · July 22, 2007 8:25PM

There are a couple threads here alreasy that go into the exchange issues quite a bit. But to sum things up a bit..

You can connect to echange mail through imap. For most companies imap is as good as saying there is no exchange support. Mainly because imap doesn't allow the company to remotely enforce security on your phone, like requiring a PW and it doesn't allow your company to remotely delete your imbox in the even the phone is lost or the employee is fired.

Another point is the syncing on the iPhone. syncing every 15 minutes is the best the iPhone can do and for many business types that isn't enough.

Another is iTunes. It probably isn't an issue for most but if her company blocks itunes as mine does it causes a whole other set of issues with using the phone for work.

brussell · July 22, 2007 8:52PM

I just want to add that you can only connect to exchange through imap if you company's exchange administrators have set it to allow it (mine haven't).

outsider · July 23, 2007 7:24AM

This company called Visto Mobile will have an Exchange client by September. They were mentioned by Apple a while back.

More info:

http://www.visto.com/news/releases/07.06.28_iphone.asp

http://arstechnica.com/journals/appl...nge-for-iphone

dotcomcto · July 23, 2007 1:07PM

It's been mentioned that Apple is working on Blackberry-style integration, but this is probably a few months out (at least). Frankly, I'm not sure I want full email integration like that until Apple deals with being able to delete multiple emails at once. The one-at-a-time delete is fine for my personal account, but would be a major headache with corporate email. I get TONS of system alerts, audits, etc. I could create rules to move them to other folders, but that tends to mask issues.

Just my 2 cents...

--DotComCTO

karl kuehn · July 23, 2007 3:52PM

Note that Blackberry uses a non-ip connection (very similar to an SMS) to tell the phone that it has a message. That is how they keep the battery life good. Trying to hold open a TCP/IP connection to provide IMAP-IDLE support (the IMAP version of "push") is very expensive on the battery (because it can't shut down the radio). I don't know how Apple can get around this problem without having heavy support from AT&T and possibly the hardware vendors.

schwank · July 24, 2007 7:30AM

Thanks for the info guys, this was exactly the information I was looking for. Im a mac guy at heart, and dont completely understand how all the exchange support needs to work.

If Apple/ATT get reliable exchange support in the next couple months they'll sell a couple more iPhones. if they dont Ill end up staying on verizon and a simple phone, and my wife will end up with a Q or somehting.....

I know my wife gets a company discount on verizon phones, and apple wont do that either...

outsider · July 24, 2007 8:29AM

Just a warning. The Q is a piece of Qrap. I work with people who have gone through 3 of them in their first year. YMMV though.

dotcomcto · July 24, 2007 11:02PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karl Kuehn

Note that Blackberry uses a non-ip connection (very similar to an SMS) to tell the phone that it has a message. That is how they keep the battery life good. Trying to hold open a TCP/IP connection to provide IMAP-IDLE support (the IMAP version of "push") is very expensive on the battery (because it can't shut down the radio). I don't know how Apple can get around this problem without having heavy support from AT&T and possibly the hardware vendors.

I would expect that Apple would use Exchange ActiveSync for corporate integration. This works similarly to Blackberry Enterprise Server. It is very efficient and only wakes up a device when there is new data to sync. The battery drain will be less than syncing every 15 mins.

--DotComCTO

(from my iPhone)

karl kuehn · July 25, 2007 8:01AM

DotComCTO: I don't think you know how this works. Unless you are sending the wake-up calls through either the cell control channel or on the same band as sms's (the two can be the same band in some setups, and are much slower but use much less power), then you need to maintain an open tcp/ip or udp link. Both of those require that a radio be not just in receive mode but active (otherwise the cell towers close the connection). The same thing can be achieved right now using IMAP-IDLE (iPhone does not support, because of battery drain).

The Blackberry is a nice solution to this problem, but does require that you setup a special agreement with the carrier that allows Blackberry's servers to talk give notifications to the device outside the data band.

There is no magic software fix for this. The iPhone already has the hardware, but the issue is on the carrier's protocol side.

abilstein · July 25, 2007 9:03PM

My company outsources their Outlook to Mailstreet. Mailstreet supports iMAP so I get my exchange mail just fine. It's not push, it just checks for mail at set intervals. I'm not a heavy Exchange user away from my desk, so this is sufficient for me. I haven't tried to sync any other Outlook data with hit.

forefun · September 27, 2007 2:11PM

Mailstreet tells you right up front that the email portion works, but you cannot sync your calendar, contacts, or tasks yet, but that "there are unconfirmed reports" that Apple will have a solution for the Wireless ActiveSync very soon. From all I have read so far, the latest firmware upgrade 1.1.1 does not include this yet. So for those of us Mac users using Blackberry's, there may be help shortly.

karl kuehn · October 31, 2010 2:36PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zlatan24

Only the day before yesterday I decided my trouble with Exchange emails and it would be naturally that this application to use this applcation for resolving situation here - repair edb file.

Why are your responding to a nearly-three-year-old thread (bad form there) with a horribly written (really... the English is nearly incomprehensible) advertisement (another bad point there) for a product that would not solve any of the problems outlined here (yet another bad point) and (for the bonus bad point) would not even run on MacOS X in the first place?

iphone/microsoft exchange/outlook questions

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