Nokia pushes out big Mail for Exchange update
Despite having an entire line of handsets devoted to enterprise users — and even dubbed “Enterprise series” — many view Nokia’s offerings as unfit for business use. While this notion may some merit despite wide adoption in several regions, recent updates to Nokia’s in-house Exchange sync solution have definitely gone a great length to make Eseries devices more viable enterprise contenders. Mail for Exchange (MfE) provides push email, PIM sync and plenty more goodies you would expect from any mobile Exchange client. With this latest update to version 2.9.158, MfE also features the following:
- Access Point Groups/Destinations — Mail for Exchange can now actively switch between WiFi and GPRS connections automatically if your phone supports Destinations. This feature is only available on S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2 and S60 5th Edition phones.
- Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, are disabled by default on new installs. This is to prevent users
from inadvertently losing Calendar, Contacts and Task data. - When editing your Out of Office (OoO) message on the the device, Mail for Exchange retrieves the current OoO message from the server when the setting/tab is accessed and OoO is set to “Yes”, instead of periodically as in previous versions. This may cause a short delay and requires connectivity with the server.
- Much better battery life in adverse network conditions. If the Mail for Exchange client can’t
maintain a connection to the Exchange Server, it automatically switches to polling every 15
minutes. The client will switch back to Always on at the next scheduled period. - Mail for Exchange setting tabs are no longer dynamically displayed, instead all tabs are
always displayed. - Manage your device by name instead of IMEI via Outlook Web Access (OWA) email client (if
account allows). Users of OWA can perform device management features on their phone
clients such as wiping the device. The phone model name is now visible in the status field.
This is helpful for users who are synchronizing several phones. - Pictures in contacts are now synchronized.
The biggie here of course, is Access Point Group support. Prior to Feature Pack 2, S60 was a disaster when it came to data connectivity as it required each application to specify a single means of connectivity (Access Point) to be initiated each time information was to be transmitted. FP2 doesn’t solve the problem entirely but it does allow users to create Access Point Groups that can include a variety of cellular data and Wi-Fi Access Points in a single entry. Applications such as the new version of Mail for Exchange still need to be set to initiate the Group but at least now apps configured to connect via Wi-Fi aren’t dead in the water the instant you get too far from your router. Of course handsets using older versions of S60 such as the E71 are out of luck unfortunately — yet another reason to get excited about the E71x, which reportedly sports FP2.
[Via Symbian-Guru]
Still not able to search exchange contacts like BES
Sounds like this is the update i have been waiting for! I had to turn the WiFi off on my E71 to keep it from messing with my Nokia Email, now i know why?
@ Jeeverz
You can search exchange contacts using the standalone app “Contacts Directory” or opening it from the option menu in a compose email screen.
Let’s hope this will be applied to the unlocked e71.
I personally won’t buy one until it is.
B l a c k b e r r y !!
Smartconnect made by Birdstep allows access point groups for all s60 FP1 phones – the e71 included.
Why are we still concerning ourselves with this, when the google apps do everything exchange does. For Free. Have your IT department forward your mail and stop feeding the Microsoft monster.
@Pythagoras The new build described above has already been released and can be installed on any E71. Hit the read link to snag it.
Ok, english is my first language, I have a college degree, and I still have no idea what this phrase means,
“While this notion may some merit despite wide adoption in several regions,”
There’s at least one word missing in there somewhere, I think I know what it is and where it should go. Lets see how long it takes for a correction to go up.
Did the update address the subfolder issue?
LOL Joe Curve, Blackberry DOESN’T EVEN HAVE EXCHANGE SUPPORT LOL!!!!!!!!! You have to install BES ON THE EXCHANGE SERVER to get the same functionality. Not to mention it isn’t free, uses a crap load more of the server’s resources (from what I hear), and is a bitch to install.
so it kind of like blackberry,but its not?….
Has anyone got the contacts pictures to work? I don’t see them showing up in contacts or in the email.
You meant to say, it is exchange. Which about all smartphones support, except for blackberry.
Boy Genius,
Does this update fix the issues about Exchange folders not showing up on Nokia devices? I almost bought an e71 at Best Buy until I read something about this issue. No email folders means it really is not an Exchange sync tool, it is a half-baked inbox sync tool.
Not exchange related, but did they also fix it so you can view Office 2007 docs without paying $70 for a third-party app?
Dave
You can subscribe to additional folders via it’s IMAP client if needed. Assuming your Exchange server is allowing for IMAP connections.
MFE is definitely not the best mobile exchange client, for that Windows Mobile can’t be beat. It does cover most of the basics though, tasks, contacts, calendar, and email. Sadly no HTML email on e71 with exchange 2k3. MS DirectPush works great too btw with excellent battery life.
This is weak. When are they going to actually add real new features?
Does this finally include ability to view attendees wthin meetings?
I love Nokia and the Eseries, but for enteprises I do recomment Blackberry and iPhone devices.
@ Carlos
Enterprise solutions from iPhone? hahah now I really know that you dont know what youre talking about.
The best S60 application for Exchange support is definitely Roadsync 4.
It works like a charm, with folder views; the only downside is the price.
purchased a new nokia E71 and enabled nokia exchange. it is connecting to the server but the mails are not downloading . help !