.KEYWORD palmemail
.FLYINGHEAD WIRELESS EMAIL SOLUTIONS
.TITLE Corporate email goes mobile and wireless
.FEATURE
.SUMMARY Palm, Inc. and its partners offer a number of solutions for secure, mobile access to corporate email. Steve Niles surveys some of the various email solutions available to help your company take email on the road.
.AUTHOR Steve Niles
These days, it really seems as though life revolves around email. I check my email frequently throughout the day, but I’m lucky because I spend most of my day at my computer. If I had to travel, I don’t know how I’d keep up with it all.
For you or your staff, however, travel might be a regular part of your normal business day. Even if you’re not a business traveler, perhaps you have a long commute by train or as a carpool passenger. That time could be spent getting through some of your backlog of email.
Fortunately, Palm, Inc. and its partners offer a number of solutions for secure, mobile access to corporate email. No matter which email or groupware application you use, it’s probably supported. There are solutions for Microsoft Exchange and Outlook, Lotus Notes and Domino, and Novell GroupWise, as well as IMAP4 (Internet Message Access Protocol 4) and POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) solutions.
I’ve looked into the various email solutions available, and in the next few pages, I’ll share with you some of the interesting options I discovered.
.H1 Sending and receiving desktop email
All Palm devices come with a built-in Palm Mail application that you can synchronize with your own desktop email clients. Of course, you might not want all your mail to download to your Palm device, as it could eat up a lot of memory. Fortunately, there are settings within the application that let you decide what email you want to receive, as shown in Figure A.
.FIG A You can decide what email you want to receive.
Another option might be to create a new email account that you only give out to those individuals whom you want to send you email on your Palm device. This might help to reduce the amount of spam and other clutter. There’s also an option to truncate messages to a particular number of characters, as shown in Figure B.
.FIG B You can truncate messages that come into your Palm Mail application.
Besides Palm Mail, there are other solutions you might want to consider.
.H2 Palm, Inc.’s MultiMail Conduit
Palm’s own MultiMail Conduit (at http://www.palm.com/software/multimail/) allows you to synchronize MultiMail Pro email with the email on your Windows desktop. It’s been updated to support email attachment conversions, meaning your desktop attachments are converted to Palm viewable attachments. This works for most file types, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat.
.H2 DataViz Mail
DataViz, the creators of Documents To Go (at http://www.dataviz.com), have a product called DataViz Mail designed to allow you to synchronize with desktop email clients like Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes, while also retaining your attachments. DataViz Mail comes as an added bonus for purchasers of Documents To Go, which enables you to create, view, and edit Word, Excel, and other files on your Palm device.
DataViz Mail works on any handheld running Palm OS 3.0 or higher, and it supports all file formats that Documents To Go does, including Word and Excel, WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, and Lotus 1-2-3.
Using DataViz Mail, when you receive an email with an attachment, you’ll be notified within the email, as shown in Figure C.
.FIG C You’ll be notified of an attachment in your email.
You can then open the attachment right on your handheld using the Documents to Go application. You can make changes to the document and transfer those changes to the original document during your next HotSync. Alternatively, you can simply be notified of the attachment and view it later on your desktop, as shown in Figure D.
.FIG D You can view an attachment later on your desktop.
.H2 Puma Technology, Inc.’s IntelliSync
Intellisync software from Pumatech (at http://www.pumatech.com/intellisync.html) uses its patented Data Synchronization Extensions Technology (DSX Technology engine) to let you simultaneously synchronize your Palm email with multiple PC applications including Outlook 97, 98, and 2000, Exchange 5.0 and 5.5, Lotus Notes 4.5, 4.6, and 5.0, and Groupwise 5.5.2. Its features include custom filtering and multi-user support.
On March 20, 2001, Pumatech unveiled Intellisync.com (at http://www.intellisync.com), its new Web service designed to enable you to synchronize information via the Internet, browse Web content both on and offline with your handheld device, and be notified of changes to relevant information via your PC or mobile device.
.H2 Chapura’s PocketMirror
PocketMirror 3.0 from Chapura (at http://www.chapura.com/html/products/products.html) can be used to synchronize Outlook’s calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes with your handheld. You can find more information on how that works in Bob Draper’s series running in PalmPower Magazine. His article, "A step-by-step guide to configuring PocketMirror and Microsoft Outlook," appeared in the January 2001 issue at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200101/pocketmirror001.html.
.H2 GlobalWare Computing’s Pylon Conduit
GlobalWare Computing’s Pylon Conduit (at http://www.globalware.com/products/conduit.html) is an enterprise synchronization tool that supports all the standard Palm applications, including Date Book, Address Book, Mail, etc.
.H2 Toffa International’s SyncWisePro
Toffa International’s SyncWisePro conduit (at http://www.toffa.co.uk/) can be used to synchronize date book, to do, calendar notes, email, and address book data between Novell’s GroupWise and Palm devices.
.H1 Sending and receiving Internet email
Palm’s MultiMail client, as well as a number of third-party applications, will allow you to send and receive Internet email directly from your Palm device. Internet-enabled mail applications include the following:
.H2 Palm’s MultiMail Professional
Palm’s MultiMail Professional (at http://www.palm.com/software/multimail/) is a POP3, IMAP4, and NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol) email client that supports email attachments such as ZIP, Word, Cutting Edge Software’s Quicksheet, CSV (Comma Separated Values), Text, VCard, Palm .PRC applications and .PDB files, and others. MultiMail Pro version 3.1 allows you to send and receive messages and attachments up to 2MB.
.H2 Eudora Internet Suite
The Eudora Internet Suite 2.0 (at http://www.eudora.com/internetsuite/) includes Eudora email for the Palm platform, EudoraWeb browser, and Eudora Mail Conduit. Eudora email allows you to synchronize your email with Eudora 5.0 or 4.3.2, and it supports multiple accounts. You can browse the Web without going through a proxy server using the EudoraWeb browser, and the Eudora Mail Conduit helps you manage the amount of email stored on and transferred to your Palm device.
.H2 Palmeta Software Co.’s Palmeta Mail
Palmeta Mail v1.73 (at http://www.palmeta.com) transfers incoming email to your Palm device’s Memo Pad. Meanwhile, outgoing email composed on your Palm device is transferred to your PC email "Outbox" with each HotSync. The application itself is installed on your PC, and only your mail goes to the Palm device. Email can be retrieved from multiple servers, Exchange profiles, or Netscape folders.
.H1 CompuCom and ThinAirApps’ wireless corporate email solution
Finally, Palm is currently promoting a particular wireless corporate email solution being put out through a joint effort between CompuCom and ThinAirApps, so it’s definitely worth your attention.
CompuCom Systems, Inc (at http://www.compucom.com) provides outsourcing and systems integration solutions designed to help companies simplify the selection, integration, and management of IT and infrastructure. ThinAirApps, Inc (at http://www.thinairapps.com develops applications and software tools designed to provide real-time data access for wireless devices.
On February 21, 2001, the two companies announced they had teamed up to provide Palm’s enterprise customers with wireless access to corporate email. The solution package they’ve developed includes Palm VIIx handhelds, ThinAir Server and ThinAir GroupWare Access, and CompuCom’s consulting services.
ThinAir Server is a software platform that powers any wireless application, regardless of whether it’s one that ThinAirApps provides or one you create. It can be deployed in a network to form the foundation of a wireless strategy. ThinAir Groupware Access, which comes with ThinAir Server, provides real-time access to Microsoft Exchange Server and Lotus Domino Server groupware platforms as well as to any IMAP4 or POP3 mail server including Novell GroupWise. It can also provide wireless access to your Outlook email, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes. The CompuCom part of the equation is set up to aid you in the deployment of wireless and mobile computing while developing internal expertise.
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.H1 The stage is set
The cool thing is, once your IT department meets the requirements for mobile email, you’ll have the infrastructure established to provide mobile access for other business applications as well, such as customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, etc. It’s a great first step towards getting your company involved in the mobile revolution.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on Palm’s wireless email solutions, visit http://www.palm.com/enterprise/solutions/email.html.
For more information on MultiMail Conduit, visit http://www.palm.com/software/multimail/.
For more information on DataViz Mail, visit http://www.dataviz.com.
For more information on Intellisync software from Pumatech, visit http://www.pumatech.com/intellisync.html.
For more information on Intellisync.com, visit http://www.intellisync.com.
For more information on PocketMirror 3.0 from Chapura, visit http://www.chapura.com/html/products/products.html.
For Bob Draper’s article, "A step-by-step guide to configuring PocketMirror and Microsoft Outlook," the January 2001 issue of PalmPower, visit http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200101/pocketmirror001.html.
For more information on GlobalWare Computing’s Pylon Conduit, visit http://www.globalware.com/products/conduit.html.
For more information on Toffa International’s SyncWisePro conduit, visit http://www.toffa.co.uk/.
For more information on Palm’s MultiMail Professional, visit http://www.palm.com/software/multimail/.
For more information on The Eudora Internet Suite 2.0, visit http://www.eudora.com/internetsuite/.
For more information on Palmeta Mail v1.73, visit http://www.palmeta.com.
For more information on CompuCom Systems, Inc, visit http://www.compucom.com.
For more information on ThinAirApps, Inc, visit http://www.thinairapps.com.
For more information about Palm computers, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
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.BIO
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