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ngreene
02-16-2006, 04:05 AM
I'm thinking of switching from a Treo 600 to a smartphone with WM5 but can't find answers to the following questions. Any help would be appreciated.

Will I be able to see HTML emails?
Will I be able to view muliple calendars?
Will I be able to check the availability of celleagues on my company's exchange server?
Will I be able to map user-defined fields during synching for appointments and tasks?
Does the outlook address book synch, so that my colleagues emails will be on my phone even if they're not in my contacts?
Does the email push function need any special setup on the exchange server (we have an exchange 2003 server)?

Mike Temporale
02-16-2006, 04:50 AM
Will I be able to see HTML emails?

Yes, but not as HTML. The tags will be stripped out and you'll end up with just the text.

Will I be able to view muliple calendars?

Sorry, I'm not following you on this one. Multiple calendars - there is a calendar application on the phone and you can install 3rd party replacements.

Will I be able to check the availability of celleagues on my company's exchange server?

This has nothing to do with Exchange. You can use MSN Messenger. Microsoft has just announced that Office Communicator will be available on Windows Mobile. Which is good if you're company runs that.

Will I be able to map user-defined fields during synching for appointments and tasks?

No, I don't think this is possible.

Does the outlook address book synch, so that my colleagues emails will be on my phone even if they're not in my contacts?

No, the GAL does not sync to your device. If you grab a device with MSFP on it, you can search the GAL from your device and add the contact to your address book.

Does the email push function need any special setup on the exchange server (we have an exchange 2003 server)?

Service Pack 2 is needed on the Exchange server, and MSFP (which is part of AKU2) is required on the phone.

subzerohf
02-17-2006, 01:25 AM
Will I be able to check the availability of celleagues on my company's exchange server?

This has nothing to do with Exchange. You can use MSN Messenger. Microsoft has just announced that Office Communicator will be available on Windows Mobile. Which is good if you're company runs that.


When scheduling a meeting using Outlook with an Exchange server, one is able to see other people's schedule, and invite them to the meeting accordingly. I think ngreene was refering to this feature (MSN Messenger tells you whether people are currently online).

Still, I don't think you have this capability on WM yet.

ngreene
02-17-2006, 04:23 AM
Thanks Mike and Subzerohf. To clarify my questions:

By multiple calendars I mean being able to see group or public calendars in addition to my personal calendar.

And as to check availability of colleagues, as Subzerohf suggested, I'm thinking of the outlook function for scheduling a meeting that allows you to see when folks are available and invite them to meetings.

Also for a newbe, can you tell me what MSFP and AKU2 are?

And finally on a slightly different thread, any opinions of the Verizon XV6700?

Thanks again.

Mike Temporale
02-17-2006, 05:29 AM
By multiple calendars I mean being able to see group or public calendars in addition to my personal calendar.

Hrm :? I don't think this is part of MSFP. So, I'm thinking the answer is no. At least I haven't heard otherwise.

And as to check availability of colleagues, as Subzerohf suggested, I'm thinking of the outlook function for scheduling a meeting that allows you to see when folks are available and invite them to meetings.

Sadly, no, you can't even invite someone to an appointment if you create it on the mobile device. :(

Also for a newbe, can you tell me what MSFP and AKU2 are?

MSFP = Messaging and Security Feature Pack
AKU2 = Adaption Kit Update 2.0

MSFP is the update to mobile messaging that allows push email on Windows Mobile devices.

AKU2 is the OS update (or patch) which contains MSFP and other changes.

And finally on a slightly different thread, any opinions of the Verizon XV6700?

That's one of those Pocket PC Wizard like phones, right? I think they're pretty neat. Don't know much about it though. Our sister site Pocket PC Thoughts (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com) would be a good source of info on that device. ;)

subzerohf
02-17-2006, 05:32 PM
And as to check availability of colleagues, as Subzerohf suggested, I'm thinking of the outlook function for scheduling a meeting that allows you to see when folks are available and invite them to meetings.

Sadly, no, you can't even invite someone to an appointment if you create it on the mobile device. :(


I found a way to invite someone to an appointment; it is not through Pocket Outlook though.

OMA (Outlook Mobile Access) is a surprisingly simple but useful tool. Similar to OWA (Outlook Web Access), it is a browser based application, just without the fancy GUI.

I have OMA enabled on our Exchange server. And I am able to create a new appointment from my phone through OMA. The OMA page does have fields for "Required" and "Optional" attendees. It even comes with a "Resolve" function so you don't have to enter the full user name. However, you can't see the availability of others.

Mike Temporale
02-17-2006, 08:46 PM
I found a way to invite someone to an appointment; it is not through Pocket Outlook though.

OMA (Outlook Mobile Access) is a surprisingly simple but useful tool. Similar to OWA (Outlook Web Access), it is a browser based application, just without the fancy GUI.

I have OMA enabled on our Exchange server. And I am able to create a new appointment from my phone through OMA. The OMA page does have fields for "Required" and "Optional" attendees. It even comes with a "Resolve" function so you don't have to enter the full user name. However, you can't see the availability of others.

Sounds like a Pocket PC Phone Edition device. I can't imagine running OWA on a Smartphone. It really needs that touch screen to make it useful. No?

ngreene
02-17-2006, 11:25 PM
Actually a lot of the phones have touch screens.

How about "Good link" anyone used that on WM5?

subzerohf
02-17-2006, 11:54 PM
I found a way to invite someone to an appointment; it is not through Pocket Outlook though.

OMA (Outlook Mobile Access) is a surprisingly simple but useful tool. Similar to OWA (Outlook Web Access), it is a browser based application, just without the fancy GUI.

I have OMA enabled on our Exchange server. And I am able to create a new appointment from my phone through OMA. The OMA page does have fields for "Required" and "Optional" attendees. It even comes with a "Resolve" function so you don't have to enter the full user name. However, you can't see the availability of others.

Sounds like a Pocket PC Phone Edition device. I can't imagine running OWA on a Smartphone. It really needs that touch screen to make it useful. No?

No, it's OMA, not OWA. I use it on my SMT 5600. It's quick and simple:
http://ca.geocities.com/[email protected]/oma_1.jpghttp://ca.geocities.com/[email protected]/oma_2.jpghttp://ca.geocities.com/[email protected]/oma_4.jpghttp://ca.geocities.com/[email protected]/oma_5.jpg

Mike Temporale
02-18-2006, 02:15 AM
Actually a lot of the phones have touch screens.

Around here, we call those PDAs. It's not an easy divide. Basically, there are two categories. Phones that do data, and Data devices that have a phone. One is meant to be a phone first, and do data as a secondary feature. The other is meant as a data device first, and phone features are second. In the Windows Mobile universe, Pocket PC Phone Edition devices are the data first, Phone second. And Smartphones are the phone first model. Confused yet? You should try and make heads or tails out of the analysts numbers. :roll: :?

How about "Good link" anyone used that on WM5?

A number of people have. Alas, I am not one of them. Search around here for Good Link and you should find some hits. :D