For a Smartphone, Pocket Outlook is not so Smart

[Mike Temporale]

I spent a good chunk of time yesterday backing up, flashing, and then reloading applications on my C500. Once I had everything installed and configured, I quickly created a backup, so I can return to a freshly configured phone at any time. :mrgreen: Overall, I'm glad I took the time to reset and rebuild because my phone has been in need of a fresh start for a while.

One thing that really started to irritate me during the configuration stage, was when I was setting up my email accounts. Screen after screen I found myself entering the same information over and over again. When you are setting up a new email account with the desktop version of Outlook, it attempts to guess at certain information. You enter your email address - [email protected] and it will guess that your username is "Mike". That may not be right, but it's a good start. A simple thing like this in Pocket Outlook would save me pounding on the keypad at least 5 times (more if I'm not using T9). In a similar fashion, once I've entered the incoming mail server, why not take a guess that the outgoing mail server is the same? This is the case for most people, and if by chance it isn't, the name is usually only a couple characters different.

Unfortunately, this type of thing is common in many Smartphone applications, and there is no reason for it. It's not like it requires a lot of code or processing power. Just a little more thought and understanding from the developer and we can start to enjoy smarter Smartphones! :D

[Jerry Raia]

This has always made me nuts. If it can't make guesses how about letting me set up email from the desktop like I can with exchange! :evil:

[Jason Dunn]

110% agreed - I've mentioned this to Microsoft PM's before, many times, but they just don't seem to think it's important. :-( It should also guess at the mail servers - if my email address is [email protected], odds are pretty good the POP/IMAP and SMTP server are both going to be mail.blahblah.com.

[Janak Parekh]

110% agreed - I've mentioned this to Microsoft PM's before, many times, but they just don't seem to think it's important. :-(
Well, because you don't need to do it for Exchange. :| Server ActiveSync was a snap to set up, even on a WM2003 First Edition Smartphone.

--janak

[Jason Dunn]

Well, because you don't need to do it for Exchange.

Yeah, although you still need to punch in your Exchange settings (unless the host is set up for over the air config).

[Mike Temporale]

This has always made me nuts. If it can't make guesses how about letting me set up email from the desktop like I can with exchange! :evil:

Another good idea, why not ask the user which of the accounts they would like to see setup in Pocket Outlook from the accounts listed on their desktop. All the information is right there in Outlook!

[Mike Temporale]

because you don't need to do it for Exchange

Yes, true. But not everyone is running Exchange. ;)

[Jerry Raia]

Well, because you don't need to do it for Exchange.

Yeah, although you still need to punch in your Exchange settings (unless the host is set up for over the air config).

Yes but I can enter all the data on the desktop and it transfers over. I dont have to type in long domain names over and over on the phone keypad. The same capability should exist to set up any email account.

[bleeman]

because you don't need to do it for Exchange

Yes, true. But not everyone is running Exchange. ;)

What you need to do Mike is setup Small Business Server 2003 at your home. At $599US retail it's pretty reasonable considering all you get (Windows Server 2003, Exchange 2003, Sharepoint Services, 5 User CAL's). I'm just running it on a little 1.12ghz Celeron with 1GB RAM and a 20GB HD for the O/S and 40GB HD for Data. As Janak said, with it, I just plug my SmartPhone or PocketPC into my Tablet and enter all the information in ActiveSync on it and it's transferred to the mobile device. A lot easier than all that tapping.

With Exchange I'm hosting my own E-mail and Sharepoint gives us a built-in Intranet site with a common calendar, contacts and photo sites among other things. Pretty nice setup. Probably overkill for most people, but not gadget types like us :D

[Mike Temporale]

Yeah, Small Business Server is a good option, but 5 CAL's just won't cut it for me. 8)

I don't think the solution is to convert everyone in the world to exchange. That's just not going to happen. The average Joe user that picks up a Windows Mobile device from their local cellular provider won't have access to an Exchange server (or SBS, for that matter). They'll be expecting to get email from their ISP - which, no doubt will be offering POP/SMTP based email. :wink:

[Sven Johannsen]

Yeah, Small Business Server is a good option, but 5 CAL's just won't cut it for me. 8)

That's what it comes with out of the box. They'll let you buy more, just like with the real servers. It used to handle up to 50, but I think it is up to 75 now.

[Mike Temporale]

Yeah, Small Business Server is a good option, but 5 CAL's just won't cut it for me. 8)

That's what it comes with out of the box. They'll let you buy more, just like with the real servers. It used to handle up to 50, but I think it is up to 75 now.

Right, but they aren't cheap, and I shouldn't have to buy Exchange (or SBS) just to get a little more smarts in Pocket Outlook. :wink:

[Neil]

I actually did spec exactly the feature you describe for Smartphone 2002. Here's a direct cut-and-paste from the spec:

The incoming mail server field is pre-filled based on the e-mail address the customer entered in Step 2. Its contents are selected when focus moves into the field. If the domain name consists of two parts (e.g. microsoft.com) then we prepend ‘mail.’ to the domain name and prefill with that. If the domain name is more than two parts (e.g. exchange.microsoft.com) then we prefill with the domain name.

I can't remember whether we actually shipped this in Smartphone 2002, but I know why it's no longer there: it causes suppot calls, particularly with outgoing SMTP servers. The assertion that this auto-text entry will be right is actually incorrect for the outgoing server the vast majority of the time, particularly on Smartphone 2002 and 2003 devices when we didn't support outgoing authentication. Further, customers were assuming that since we auto-filled the information, it must be right, and were blindly accepting the defaults. When it was wrong (which, sadly, it often was), customers call the mobile operator and it costs the operator quite a bit to resolve.

In WM 5.0 I believe we added support for the auto-config feature that Pocket PC has had for a while, where we actually hit a server to find out what the settings should be based on your e-mail address. That helps!

Neil

[Mike Temporale]

I know why it's no longer there: it causes suppot calls, particularly with outgoing SMTP servers. The assertion that this auto-text entry will be right is actually incorrect for the outgoing server the vast majority of the time, particularly on Smartphone 2002 and 2003 devices when we didn't support outgoing authentication. Further, customers were assuming that since we auto-filled the information, it must be right, and were blindly accepting the defaults. When it was wrong (which, sadly, it often was), customers call the mobile operator and it costs the operator quite a bit to resolve.

Alright, that makes sense. I can see how some people would be confused by the fact that the field already has data in it. Thanks for the info Neil, even if it's not what I wanted to hear. :(