Android and Exchange Support?

A friend of mine uses a Hero and I had no trouble setting her up with MS Exchange support. Are you sure the owner doesn't need to update the firmware?

[Edit] Ah, it's the Magic. Ignore me. :o
 
paradigm said:
Nah, won't be cooking ROMs just for a personal mobile phone of an employee.

At least this has confirmed my thoughts that android is nothing but a toy and still isn't serious enough to be a business platform.

I'll stick with WinMo, BlackBerry and iPhone.
Click to expand...

Narrow minded, stubborn, inaccurate. Surely you can understand the point that the Magic is not representative as it has an OS that is not up to date, and had some features stripped from it.

The Magic is the equivalent of Windows 3.1 The first decent update of a new operating system. And missing features because it was still developing. If you want to see if Android is any use in a business context then you have to look at the newer phones. Writing them off because the older one doesn't work is stupid.
 
Last edited:
It's also my job to roll out mobile devices and I'm in the middle of reviewing out standard devices and looking at moving away from WinMo - it's clunky, slow and staff hate it.

Android is slick, supports Exchange and there's a plethora of devices available.

It really is extremely narrow minded to judge an entire platform based on a single device that someone else showed you - some WinMo devices are a complete mess, doesnt mean the OS is poor
 
paradigm said:
I'll be the first to admit that Android is just one of those things I've never had to use, to be honest I just don't see the point, if I want a more relaxed mobile computing platform I'll use WinMo as I have a million apps in a back catalogue from years of WinMo ownership, and if I want something "swish" I'll just stick to my company provided iPhone.

However, one of the finance guys at work has obtained what I think is an HTC Magic (vodafone branded, white thing), and has come to me to see if he can sync his work emails, calendar and contacts to it. From a network and security perspective I have no objections to this, but from what I can tell from playing with the device, it only supports POP3 and IMAP. Surely this can't be right, as if so that is utterly crap for something that is supposed to be a SMART phone.

Is there something I'm missing here, something obvious? Is it a case of Vodafone firmware being locked down? Or am I actually right in my earlier diagnosis?

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Not read anything past the 3rd post as things were getting ugly but ...

Have you considered K-9 I don't know if it works on 1.5 but it has Exchange support. Check the market.
 
Sigh... so many people weighing with options without knowing the facts...
Okay, Android got native support for Exchange in 1.6 upwards. However there are also 3rd party apps that you can add that will add Exchange support.

However none of them, or even the stock Android support for Exchange is up to the same level as Windows Mobile, like it or not. I had a chance to chat with some BDM's at MS about the Windows Mobile range (inc Windows Phone 7). Exchange is actually quite complicated and there are varying levels of support. Its only WM that supports virtually 100% of the functionality required for full exchange sync. No other device comes close. The next best device is the iPhone, which supports circa 40% of the available functionality. Android is sitting somewhere around the 30% mark. Sync'ing email/calender is not all Exchange is about. As a heavy Exchange users, I can tell you know that no other platform (apart from the iPhone) lets me move messages into folders to organise. No other platform lets my IT depart set secruity and installation polices for my device. Its actually possible for them to set white/black lists of apps for example. A lot of it is over kill for most people, but the bottom line is WM has flawless Exchange and some of the best Office support going, full stop. Nothing competes, at all. Windows Mobile maybe a rubbish OS in otherways, but for the business in the whole MS/Exchange ecosystem its still unbeatable. Why do you think loads of handset manufacturers have roadmaps which feature WM devices? Squarely aimed at the corporate, most other consumers will pass them buy with zero interest.

Windows Phone 7 will support Exchange, but again nowhere near the level of WM, thats on the cards to be ready mid-end 2011.

Before anyone mentions BlackBerry, that requires additional software to be installed to be used properly on Exchange systems....
 
Lol, I have a Touch HD sat next to me right now. The one thing I would never refer to WinMo as is a relaxed mobile computing OS!!

it's about the least intuitive thing I have ever owned, i'm just glad I have computer science degrees coming out of my ears and that HTC skinned it, otherwise configuring it would be a total nightmare!!

As has been said, Android is a brilliant mobile OS and tbh, get used to supporting it as people upgrade to the current glut of HTC and Sony handsets.
 
Sync'ing email/calender is not all Exchange is about. As a heavy Exchange users, I can tell you know that no other platform (apart from the iPhone) lets me move messages into folders to organise.

[/QUOTE]

I'm sorry but, If I have read your post correctly, this bit seems wrong.

On my Desire I can Long press a message, select "Move To" and move the message to a folder on my exchange account. I have just noticed though that I am missing some folders, but I have a lot of folders and it might be a restriction i've not removed.

edit.
Quick Google results in: the missing folders are an "Android Issue" and they are working on it. There are some issues with exchange support if you have messages transferred to a folder by a rule (doesn't show as unread as it's not syncd automatically)... and there are security concerns with messages stored on the phone not being able to be wiped remotely.

I can move message to folders that show up though :)
 
Last edited:
aztechnology said:
Sync'ing email/calender is not all Exchange is about. As a heavy Exchange users, I can tell you know that no other platform (apart from the iPhone) lets me move messages into folders to organise.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but, If I have read your post correctly, this bit seems wrong.

On my Desire I can Long press a message, select "Move To" and move the message to a folder on my exchange account. I have just noticed though that I am missing some folders, but I have a lot of folders and it might be a restriction i've not removed.

edit.
Quick Google results in: the missing folders are an "Android Issue" and they are working on it. There are some issues with exchange support if you have messages transferred to a folder by a rule (doesn't show as unread as it's not syncd automatically)... and there are security concerns with messages stored on the phone not being able to be wiped remotely.

I can move message to folders that show up though :)[/QUOTE]

mmm I can't get the Desire I'm looking at to do that, nor the Legend....interesting. I can get it to work fine with IMAP folders though.
 
Concerning exhange servers, my HTC touch worked perfectly before christmas then we had our exoserver go down and it was replaced with a newer model since then weve never been able to get it to work again despite the IT support company saying everything is in place for it to work, our cert file is valid till 2014 so im not sure if its that or if there just giving us bull, i get an error code saying it cannot reach the exchange server......

Hoping if i get a desire they get it sorted before then..
 
Last edited:
mmm I can't get the Desire I'm looking at to do that, nor the Legend....interesting. I can get it to work fine with IMAP folders though.[/QUOTE]

Must be something on the exchange end? I have no control over that side of the pair, and have no idea what is / isn't configurable.

All I can say is that "it works for me"... ;)
 
i still think its amazing they havnt fixed the fact that you cant set a numeric password!! most large companies force this as a security setting on their exchange servers
 
aztechnology said:
mmm I can't get the Desire I'm looking at to do that, nor the Legend....interesting. I can get it to work fine with IMAP folders though.
Click to expand...

Must be something on the exchange end? I have no control over that side of the pair, and have no idea what is / isn't configurable.

All I can say is that "it works for me"... ;)[/QUOTE]
Okay I stand corrected, had a play with a retail unit and the option is definitely there. I stand corrected. Better eat some humble pie. Makes me want the next HTC device more now.
 
paradigm said:
Nah, won't be cooking ROMs just for a personal mobile phone of an employee.

At least this has confirmed my thoughts that android is nothing but a toy and still isn't serious enough to be a business platform.

I'll stick with WinMo, BlackBerry and iPhone.
Click to expand...
I was under the impression the iPhone OS didn't have native exchange support until quite late on :confused: how is that different?
 
I was told last night that the only thing iPhone OS offers over WinMo/Android for exchange support is that you can have two exchange accounts (although I think it's not actually the case yet, so I can't see Android/WinPhone staying too far behind if they don't get there first
 
Abraham said:
I was told last night that the only thing iPhone OS offers over WinMo/Android for exchange support is that you can have two exchange accounts (although I think it's not actually the case yet, so I can't see Android/WinPhone staying too far behind if they don't get there first
Click to expand...

This is true, but WM 6.5 won't get multiple Exchange, thats being reserved for Windows Phone 7.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom