Posts tagged activesync

App Review: TouchDown by NitroDesk


Main task view

Main task view

On the one year anniversary of the release of their Exchange application TouchDown, NitroDesk remains the de facto choice when it comes to superior functionality, quality, and ease of use.  TouchDown is rife with a treasure trove of features that work across all areas of Outlook, it’s almost as if you were using the full-blown program itself.

Do you use SSL?  Do you use Exchange 2007, 2003 or ActivesSync?  Don’t know?  No worries.  Set-up with TouchDown can only be described in one way: Simple as pie.  Enter in your Outlook User ID, Domain name, password, and server address and the “Quick Configuration” will help detect the rest of the information that you need to get connected.  The whole process takes less than 5 minutes.

As you can see, the application has a very user friendly UI that is beautifully put together.  On the main screen you have options running down the left side to access the main areas of TouchDown.  Along the bottom you can see when the last update was performed, and occupying the main portion of the screen is a box that gives you an “at-a-glance” view of what outstanding items are contained in your mail, calendar, or tasks.

From the main screen of TouchDown, the menu button will bring up extra features that allow you manually refresh, run a diagnostic operation log, and to clear a queue of any items that are pending sending, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Verizon to Charge $15 for Exchange Access on the Droid? [UPDATE]




verizon_droid_bgr001Verizon, a name that is synonymous with the phrase “nickel and dime,” is at it again.  Wired has picked up on the reports that Verizon will charge Droid owners $15 for access to Microsoft Exchange’s ActiveSync. That $15 will be charged on top of the required $30 per month data plan.  So yeah, now you’re talking about $45 for data on top of your talk time.  Pretty steep stuff if you ask us.

As it stands, there are three options available to Droid owners:

  • $30/mo in addition to voice plan to add data
  • $45/mo in addition to voice plan to add data plus Exchange support
  • $50/mo for a data-only

How does Verizon justify this?  They claim the Droid is primarily a consumer phone and corporate e-mail usage rates apply to other smart phones… like BlackBerries.  Meh, kinda.  BlackBerry handsets that need to connect to the BlackBerry Enterprise Systems (BES) for corporate email pay a premium.  This is slightly different than the BlackBerry Internet System (BIS) which many average consumers use.

So you still want Exchange support but don’t like paying through the nose for software?  Alternatives like NitroDesk’s TouchDown app seem like a downright steal with the one-time $9.99 charge.  You could always pick up a different handset too.  Owners of the HTC Hero, MyTouch 3G, and Samsung Moment all have access to ActiveSync free of charge.

Source: Mashable Read the rest of this entry »



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