Question on synching with Outlook

I am thinking of getting the Droid but need to know if it will work well for my business needs. I currently have the Blackberry Storm 2 and don't like it for the keyboard but obviously the synch to Outlook and email push are perfect.

I am not very computer literate and need to know the truth about how difficult it is to synch Outlook with the Droid. I am planning to have Verizon help me set it up initially but need to know if it synchs just as easy as my Blackberry.

Also, I need to push my pop3 email and understand that it has to go through a gmail account.

My real questions are: How well does the email work and how easy is it to synch with Outlook on the Droid?
Thanks!

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Originally Posted by csouleles

I am thinking of getting the Droid but need to know if it will work well for my business needs. I currently have the Blackberry Storm 2 and don't like it for the keyboard but obviously the synch to Outlook and email push are perfect.

I am not very computer literate and need to know the truth about how difficult it is to synch Outlook with the Droid. I am planning to have Verizon help me set it up initially but need to know if it synchs just as easy as my Blackberry.

Also, I need to push my pop3 email and understand that it has to go through a gmail account.

My real questions are: How well does the email work and how easy is it to synch with Outlook on the Droid?
Thanks!

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I have tried the trial version of Companionlink. It was good for importing my outlook contacts. But the calendar has been flukey. It has not completely transferred my calendar events from outlook and yet some events get multiple listing - every time it syncs it adds another instance of that event. Still looking for a good solution

Your IT still will appreciate the homework your doing, but still speak with them before proceeding. Here's why ...

Exchange ActiveSync does work on the Droid (I'm personally using it). However, there are some caveats that you need to know about before attempting to make this work.

First, does your company have security policies in place which require the use of encryption on the handheld devices which contain email? If so, Android doesn't support this and it will be a no-go from a policy standpoint.

From a technical policy standpoint (meaning actual settings on the Exchange server), if boxes are ticked forcing the use of encryption, you will need to purchase a 3rd party app such as Touchdown get around this. Touchdown fakes out the Exchange server into thinking you're running encryption while you're really not. The original IPhone did the same thing. Try to realize that this would most likely violate your policy if encryption is REQUIRED. There is a difference between what is required and what is simply being enforced. See if you can get clarification on that.

The built-in app for Exchange ActiveSync can be a little finicky in getting going. There's not a ton of information about the Exchange policies it supports and doesn't support at this time. It's a bit of hit or miss. Mine is working fine but I did have to disable 'Forms Based Authentication' on my Exchange servers to get it working.

One other note here ... Touchdown can also sync with Outlook Web Access. If OWA is available to use, Touchdown can get your mail for you that way too.

The only information you need to know to test all this out is the following:

Company policy on email on handheld devices.
Outlook Mobile or Web Access Server (name or IP Address)
Your username and password to login
Whether or not your company uses a Self Signed SSL Certificate or one from a Trusted Authority.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tekmazter

Your IT still will appreciate the homework your doing, but still speak with them before proceeding. Here's why ...

Exchange ActiveSync does work on the Droid (I'm personally using it). However, there are some caveats that you need to know about before attempting to make this work.

First, does your company have security policies in place which require the use of encryption on the handheld devices which contain email? If so, Android doesn't support this and it will be a no-go from a policy standpoint.

From a technical policy standpoint (meaning actual settings on the Exchange server), if boxes are ticked forcing the use of encryption, you will need to purchase a 3rd party app such as Touchdown get around this. Touchdown fakes out the Exchange server into thinking you're running encryption while you're really not. The original IPhone did the same thing. Try to realize that this would most likely violate your policy if encryption is REQUIRED. There is a difference between what is required and what is simply being enforced. See if you can get clarification on that.

The built-in app for Exchange ActiveSync can be a little finicky in getting going. There's not a ton of information about the Exchange policies it supports and doesn't support at this time. It's a bit of hit or miss. Mine is working fine but I did have to disable 'Forms Based Authentication' on my Exchange servers to get it working.

One other note here ... Touchdown can also sync with Outlook Web Access. If OWA is available to use, Touchdown can get your mail for you that way too.

The only information you need to know to test all this out is the following:

Company policy on email on handheld devices.
Outlook Mobile or Web Access Server (name or IP Address)
Your username and password to login
Whether or not your company uses a Self Signed SSL Certificate or one from a Trusted Authority.

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Thanks for the info. I do not have a company to worry about as I am a sole proprietor and only have two emails, one is a personal one and the other is through the domain name of my company website.

I'm afraid I don't really understand a lot of what you said as I indicated I'm really a novice here and don't know what an exchange server is. Please bear with me as I'm learning as I go here.

Syncing with a normal pop3 eamil account is easy and painless, it works just as well as the Storm (for 'works well' read persitant).
I have two pop3 accounts, one being gmail plus an exchange server (corporate email).
All work as they should.

getting your pop3 email is just pushing and pulling emails through the mail servers and doesn't require syncing with your laptop or outlook.

if you really want to sync with outlook (2 way sync where you merge contacts and calendar, notes, tasks, etc from the phone and the laptop/desktop) then I don't think you can do that. At least not without microsoft exchange. That is my understanding. Is the reason I keep my windows mobile phone around... I have to be able to sync my contacts and calendar on a regular daily basis with outlook

*edit: I hope I'm wrong about that... I want to be able to get free from windows mobile but the OUTLOOK ball and chain keeps me tied to windows mobile.

unbelieveable..at my store this phone was in a business phone display. and was told it would sync to outlook. needless to say i didnt dig deeper to see if i couldnt simply usb and sync my contacts and calendar and it be correct and complete. this is a standard program for a majority of smart phone users.

i love the droid but PLEASE lets get an app soon!

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Originally Posted by greendroid

unbelieveable..at my store this phone was in a business phone display. and was told it would sync to outlook. needless to say i didnt dig deeper to see if i couldnt simply usb and sync my contacts and calendar and it be correct and complete. this is a standard program for a majority of smart phone users.

i love the droid but PLEASE lets get an app soon!

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Unfortunately, some of the store employees don't really understand the difference between Exchange and Outlook. Most businesses use Outlook (not Outlook Express) to access their mailbox on an Exchange server.

Droid does sync wirelessly with Exchange Server right out of the box. To sync with your Outlook client (don't know about Outlook Express) check out TouchDown (made by NitroDesk) or CompanionLink.

can anyone give me a step by step on how to do it. I followed it step by step but it keeps saying checking for server settings.

thx

It is easy to sync a non-exchange Outlook's calendar to the Droid. Just install Google Calendar Sync on your PC, and use it to keep Google Calendars sync'd with your Outlook (select the both directions option). You can set how often to have it do this, and it might take a while the first time. Then be sure your phone is set to sync with Google calendar.