Database Users

[Question] Using Android for Company Use?

Hi,
I am a system administrator for my company and i am considering switching from windows mobile devices to android devices in our company.
What i am looking for is people who use or have used there android with exchange.
This is mandatory in our company.
The phone needs to be able to sync Email, Contacts and Calendar with MS Exchange.
Are there people who can confirm that
- this works.
- what is your experience.
- Does is work like on a windows mobile device?
- Does it run smooth
- are there any complications.
- Is there anything that needs to be done server side (i assume not)
Any information would help.
Also i would like to know,
From the 3 android phones that are now available (g1, magic & hero)
Seeing that they are all HTC made, do they all have the htc exchange support implemented?
And if not, which ones don't support it, and is there an alternative solution for it?
Thank you in advanced.
Alex

A little info...
anheuer said:
Hi,
Are there people who can confirm that
- this works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this works. The HTC Exchange app "Work Mail" (mail.apk) allows for syncing of mail only. Complete Exchange sync support is available at this time via thrid party apps only. The best I've seen so far is Touchdown. A 5 day demo is available for testing. This solution is frowned upon by all my sysadmin pals because of two reasons... 1) added cost per end user and 2) its not native therefore you're relying on a third party for support. If they go under, your elegant solution is toast.
- what is your experience.
--> See above. Touchdown works well. Mail.apk gets the mail down but sync can be an issue and calendar, contacts and tasks is a NOGO.
- Does is work like on a windows mobile device?
--> Don't think I know what you're asking but... if you mean does it work like windows mobile's implementation of Outlook/Activesync then... not really. Sync is just like Activesync in that it polls your Exchange server periodically and checks for new items. See above for differences.
- Does it run smooth
--> Sure, though some have reported intermittent sync issues, I have not had that problem. Bear in mind pretty much everyone using Mail.apk is running some flavor of an experimental ROM.
- are there any complications.
-->typically, yes. See above
- Is there anything that needs to be done server side (i assume not)
-->no, no config changes are required to run either mail.apk or Touchdown
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also i would like to know,
From the 3 android phones that are now available (g1, magic & hero)
Seeing that they are all HTC made, do they all have the htc exchange support implemented?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mail.apk or Work Mail is a part of the ROMS for newer HTC devices, it is not intended to be used on the HTC Dream/G1 but has been ported over by kickass people to be used on the G1 and is included in newer modded roms like Cyanogens. I believe it first popped up in the Sapphire ROM, search here for in And.dev for the thread that clued me in to its existence.
So bear in mind, any solution you employ will either be entirely 3rd party or incomplete at this time. Also, the Dream/G1 is the only phone with a keyboard, I don't know about you but I wouldn't be composing emails with an onscreen keyboard.
Hope that helps and that I didn't misrepresent anything. If I got any of this wrong get in here and spank me good guys.

innerspace said:
Yes, this works. The HTC Exchange app "Work Mail" (mail.apk) allows for syncing of mail.....................
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply.
I assume that when i use the application Touchdown on the G1, that this will also work right?
On our mail server we enforce 2 things when connected to the exchange mail.
1. force password protection on the device
2. force encryption for files on device and SD card.
Do you have experience with this in combination with Touchdown?
Does it ignore it?
Will it enforce it?
Because i think we at least want password protection
(and then i mean that the entire phone cannot be used until the password has been typed. to protect all date on the phone.)

Just one additional point - the "work email" app DOES provide for full Exchange support (ie. contacts, calendar, email) on SOME ROMs. Any ROM that uses an HTC branded Magic ROM as its basis will have this, whereas Google branded ROMs do not (although they can run the application if one acquires it, in such case you'll get email only - most ROMs over on the development board bundle at least the email only version).
A good ROM to use for this is the Smartphone France ROM, which has full support, and is a moderately fast ROM.
I'm not sure about encryption and/or password protection for Exchange but certainly you can add passwords or even gesture based locking onto Android phones.
I personally found Touchdown to be complete and total gash, just couldn't get it to work at all well. Either it wouldn't sync at all, or it'd take ages for mails to appear, or you'd get a random subset of an inbox rather than a complete listing. However, most people who have used Touchdown seem to think my experience is in a minority.

Loccy said:
Just one additional point - the "work email" app DOES provide for full Exchange support (ie. contacts, calendar, email) on SOME ROMs. Any ROM that uses an HTC branded Magic ROM as its basis will have this, whereas Google branded ROMs do not (although they can run the application if one acquires it, in such case you'll get email only - most ROMs over on the development board bundle at least the email only version).
A good ROM to use for this is the Smartphone France ROM, which has full support, and is a moderately fast ROM.
I'm not sure about encryption and/or password protection for Exchange but certainly you can add passwords or even gesture based locking onto Android phones.
I personally found Touchdown to be complete and total gash, just couldn't get it to work at all well. Either it wouldn't sync at all, or it'd take ages for mails to appear, or you'd get a random subset of an inbox rather than a complete listing. However, most people who have used Touchdown seem to think my experience is in a minority.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you suggest one or more of those locking apps?
So if i understand correct.
The only way to not have to worry about which android phone people would like to use, and still have full exchange functionality is by using touchdown.
If i dont want to use that, then i need to get an android phone that is htc branded, or change the rom to a custom rom.

All Rogers and Hero ROM's have full exchange support NATIVE to the ROM.. do not go the Touchdown route.
As Android is increasingly supporting exchange, Touchdown will be less and less supported.
I am currently running Soulife's Rogers ROM and it handles exchange (email/contacts/calendar) totally native and works really well.
As for your company, it really depends on how many handsets you are supporting, and also depends on whether you really want to root and run different roms on all these devices as well.
I'd probably wait until an Android phone is released in your area that fully supports exchange natively.

There is no remote wipe for Android ... so if you are concerned about security or have to enforce password or locking policies then you should consider blackberry server ... I'm in the same boat as you, would like to use Android but the management tools are not there yet.

I have a magic flashed to jacHero, all aspects of exchange work fine, except one thing. When I try to change the date on a meeting invitation, I get a force close. I guess this is a problem with the ROM, as the stock Rogers ROM did not have this issue.
I have also tried touchdown, which works fine, and has tasks (which is a plus), but I prefer the native app.

Loccy said:
Just one additional point - the "work email" app DOES provide for full Exchange support (ie. contacts, calendar, email) on SOME ROMs. Any ROM that uses an HTC branded Magic ROM as its basis will have this, whereas Google branded ROMs do not (although they can run the application if one acquires it, in such case you'll get email only - most ROMs over on the development board bundle at least the email only version).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm using an HTC ROM on my vodafone/Google branded magic (which does not sync with exchange by default) and the exchange sync works quite well. i get email, calendar and contacts.
one thing though, with regards to exchange contacts, there doesn't seem to be a way to browse the GAL.
in my case i have to click menu, then company directory. then i can type an entry into the search box.
it does feel a bit cumbersome, but i guess it's better than your phone trying to download several thousand GAL entries to your phone.

Do you need wi-fi?
If you need to use wi-fi in your company, and if you are using WPA-Enterprise (AD auth), keep in mind that android doesn't support it yet (at least out of the box).

How about Outlook Sync?

Just wondering, any news about being able to sync with Outlook?
I do not use online e-mail. I would get this phone but only if I can sync with Outlook both at home and work (Exchange). Need Contacts, Calendar, and e-mail (if possible).
Has anybody heard anything about it?
I would think they will use HTC Sync... but just wonder if it will be available or not.
Thanks.

HTC Hero does that.. So I am guessing it will be supported or else there is an app (TouchDown) that will do the same thing..

toocrazy999 said:
Just wondering, any news about being able to sync with Outlook?
I do not use online e-mail. I would get this phone but only if I can sync with Outlook both at home and work (Exchange). Need Contacts, Calendar, and e-mail (if possible).
Has anybody heard anything about it?
I would think they will use HTC Sync... but just wonder if it will be available or not.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you can be 99% sure this will happen. I don't think Sprint would release a flagship device that wouldn't be compatible with 85+% of the business users that would like to purchase.
I wouldn't worry, and as stated, the Hero does this, as does the Nexus One, so I'm sure the Evo will be fine.

I hope it supports active sync encryption. My company switched over to this just recently and everyone with android phones were hosed. They will not install Touchdown on the server either.
I haven't heard anything about android actually supporting this protocol, has anyone?

toocrazy999 said:
Just wondering, any news about being able to sync with Outlook?
I do not use online e-mail. I would get this phone but only if I can sync with Outlook both at home and work (Exchange). Need Contacts, Calendar, and e-mail (if possible).
Has anybody heard anything about it?
I would think they will use HTC Sync... but just wonder if it will be available or not.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most likely. I don't see HTC not doing so. Plus they just updated the HTC Sync for the Desire and the Legend.
Link - http://phandroid.com/2010/04/16/htc-updates-htc-sync-with-support-for-desire-and-legend/

UnlnvlslblE said:
I hope it supports active sync encryption. My company switched over to this just recently and everyone with android phones were hosed. They will not install Touchdown on the server either.
I haven't heard anything about android actually supporting this protocol, has anyone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to speak to your IT person to allow for both in the encryption policy. So the android is not hosed. This is still secure while allowing those phones such as Iphone 2G and 3G that does not have encryption capabilities. The Iphone 3GS does have this. You can also support by individual mailboxes as well so you can fine tune those who do and those who don't. There are a few ways to implement this. I assume you have Exchange 2007/2010?
Touchdown is not implemented at the Server level. It's on your phone.
If you are looking for a complete Exchange experience I would suggest looking at moxier mail.
www.moxier.com - it allows for Mail, tasks, calendar and contacts with lots of corporate features. Remote wipe, etc. I do not think that your IT admin should have a problem with this setup either.
HTC's own mail on the Desire, Legend EVO has more capabilities than the same HTC mail client on the Incredible. Not sure if Verizon is the one holding it back.
Lots to think about

mrmomoman said:
You need to speak to your IT person to allow for both in the encryption policy. So the android is not hosed. This is still secure while allowing those phones such as Iphone 2G and 3G that does not have encryption capabilities. The Iphone 3GS does have this. You can also support by individual mailboxes as well so you can fine tune those who do and those who don't. There are a few ways to implement this. I assume you have Exchange 2007/2010?
Touchdown is not implemented at the Server level. It's on your phone.
If you are looking for a complete Exchange experience I would suggest looking at moxier mail.
- it allows for Mail, tasks, calendar and contacts with lots of corporate features. Remote wipe, etc. I do not think that your IT admin should have a problem with this setup either.
HTC's own mail on the Desire, Legend EVO has more capabilities than the same HTC mail client on the Incredible. Not sure if Verizon is the one holding it back.
Lots to think about
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was under the impression Touchdown had a server-side plugin as well as an install on the device. If its just on the device I wonder if it would work for us. I don't have a device to test at the moment, I'm still rocking the TP2 and nobody here that I have access to really uses an android at the moment.
I work at a hospital and we need to keep all of our data extremely locked down. We can't allow any specific accounts to have less "lockdowns" than other accounts so it's not a possibility to tweak settings individually. I guess I'll just need to pickup an android device and try it out.
Moxier looks interesting as well, I'll have to give it a try once I get my hands on another phone.
Thanks for the tips!

I don't have a device to test at the moment, I'm still rocking the TP2 and nobody here that I have access to really uses an android at the moment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try using XDAndroid, and load it up to see if it'll work. I'm currently booting XDAndroid on my TP, and it runs fairly smoothly (when it doesn't, I'm sure its hardware faults with my POS device).

UnlnvlslblE said:
I was under the impression Touchdown had a server-side plugin as well as an install on the device. If its just on the device I wonder if it would work for us. I don't have a device to test at the moment, I'm still rocking the TP2 and nobody here that I have access to really uses an android at the moment.
I work at a hospital and we need to keep all of our data extremely locked down. We can't allow any specific accounts to have less "lockdowns" than other accounts so it's not a possibility to tweak settings individually. I guess I'll just need to pickup an android device and try it out.
Moxier looks interesting as well, I'll have to give it a try once I get my hands on another phone.
Thanks for the tips!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anytime! Both these programs are very good as well as the built in extra capabilities from HTC phones. Unlike the Google N1 phone which does an okay job of Exchange Sync. HTC with Sense has a better Exchange interface as well as increased capabilities. It allows for server searches, etc. I have heard that the Google N1 doesn't allow for this or contact and calendar sync perhaps due to their strong ties to their own google contacts and calendars.
In regards to the Touchdown.
No Hassle Setup
TouchDown™ does not require you to run a separate program on your computer to forward your data to the phone. Simply install the product, configure it on the phone and get going in a couple of minutes.
Also Moxier has a nice interface. Both are very capable and will fit into any locked down environment. Both can take PIN requirements as well as WIPE devices remotely as well.
Good luck.

Exchange GAL - Global Adressbook

Hi Guys,
I'm looking for a soltuion to see the companies exchange global adressbook on my samsung GT-9000. The Motorola Milestone has an app call motogal.apk. So it was possible to browse and add contacts to my own. The same feature did I use on my htc legend. If you using an exchange mail account on the samsung gt-9000 you can only search the gal during creating a new mail message and then just using the found e-mail adress. Not more. I tried to use the motogal.apk, installed it, opened it, crashed it. Just the app.
Has anybody an idear? I will not using touchdown a other third party apps. thx
regards

It would be really nice if someone could included it (motoGAL, CorpGAL or anything like that) to his ROM. Or even better make a package that could be installed and running on any froyo ROM.
Thanks

[Q] Noob question - Multiple Exchange Profiles

Hi,
Complete Android noob! Im thinking of getting an android phone, moving from many years of Windows mobile but i now have a need for multiple exchange/activesync accounts (two jobs, both with Exchange!)
If i move to Android, i think i want the Legend simply because it looks and feels better built, but i guess a Desire would also do. The problem is, i've read that while Android (2.1 maybe, 2.2 definelty) supports multiple Exchange mailboxes, the HTC Sense removes the ability. Is this true, and is there anyway of restoring it? Can i get Sense off and revert to pure Android without 'rooting' it or doing anything else that could theoretically make it less reliable?
If anybody does use multiple Exchange profiles, can you tell me how it handles the different calendars and contact lists? does it keep them separate or does it all end up merged together and then sync'd back to each Exchange server?
Sorry for the questions, especially if its the wrong forum, but i want to get this right as the phone is going to be fairly critical for both jobs (and i keep being told an iPhone can do everything i want, but i dont want to got that way!)

Reading my German Vodafone Legends' Manual it says: "...only one Exchange Account...". I don't care about this as I need only one and - I use Nitrodesk's Touchdown Exchange client which not only supports more than one Exchange account but is overall much better than Android's client. Huge feature list, perfect widgets (from third party collaboration), great support (check out their google group). Started using TD more than a year ago and coming from WM too I can say TD is perfect and is worth the money. They have a 30 day trail in the market. Maybe you give it a try (or just study their documents as you don't have a phone already)?
Cheers,
Derek.

Thanks for this. The feature list looks good, so i'll give it a try
Its such as shame that Sense kills the ability to have multiple accounts though.

new desire HD/android user

i'm about to get my new desire HD from orange tomorrow and i thought i better ask for a little advice.
as i'm upgrading from a touch HD the android experience is totally new to me, so i was hoping for a few hints and tips as to how to get the best from my new phone and what apps are going to be most interesting.
cheers

I've recently done the same (moved from a Touch Pro2). Main differences over WM you will find....
* Improved stability
* Improved responsiveness and speed
* Android app market makes obtaining apps and wider range of apps much better
* Overall a much more pleasant experience to use
* Battery life will be worse, but you can tune the device to improve this a lot
* Integration with Microsoft products is not so great although does support multiple Exchange profiles

An HD2 immigrant here
First of all you need to get used to the different logic of the system. You probably had HTC Sense on ur touchHD and when you see that the Sence in DHD is similar it's a bit leading.
The hardest for me was getting used to the fact that the "All apps" button is not "Start" and just brings u to everything that's installed ( no rearangements, no folders, no renaming )
Then comes the battery life. DaveTME was right that it sucks, but thats (IMO) only do to the fact that by default, every service u have installed is syncing all the time. If u tweak ur sync settings a bit u should get close to what u had in THD.
For further references you may want to check this out -> http://androinica.com/category/androidguide/
good luck and welcome

ta for the reading matter guys
at the mo i just sync my phone with outlook on my PC to get its contacts, notes etc.
does android do this out of the box?? i'm assuming i need a PC client, but do i need an app??

sning said:
ta for the reading matter guys
at the mo i just sync my phone with outlook on my PC to get its contacts, notes etc.
does android do this out of the box?? i'm assuming i need a PC client, but do i need an app??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly what I checked into before I made the jump from Nokia, where the Ovi Suite (PC Suite) would sync with Outlook. The HTC Sync SW supposedly does this but I had problems when I got the phone and, if you search about a bit, you'll find others have too.
What I did was to install HTC Sync anyway but also to install MyPhoneExplorer (... http://www.fjsoft.at/en/ ...). This installs on the PC and, as you surmised, on the phone. Works fine for me. I'm using XP Pro + Outlook 2000 (yeah, I know, behind the times but hey .... it all works!). MPE also has a forum where the developer is pretty responsive to issues.
I also sunc the calendars but use Gemini Calendar on the HD (search and ye shall find ... ). Much better than stock.
HTH.
Oh, and remember that Android is Google, which means they intend you to sync through the *cloud* and not to your PC. Especially with Microsoft's products, which is why you need to go 3rd party. When you get your DHD, before you do anything else, go into the menus and put everything on manual sync until you know what's happening. Or you'll end up with Facebook, Google and Uncle Tom Cobbly's contacts all on your phone ...
Download the manual from here .... http://www.htc.com/www/userguide.aspx?p_id=324 ...
Dave

sning said:
i'm about to get my new desire HD from orange tomorrow and i thought i better ask for a little advice.
as i'm upgrading from a touch HD the android experience is totally new to me, so i was hoping for a few hints and tips as to how to get the best from my new phone and what apps are going to be most interesting.
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same, i got my dhd yesterday. I'd say you'll love. explore for yourself you'll enjoy it very much but to start off i suggest angry birds, google googles, and set up facebook etc etc.

is there anyways to see your folders in sd card on android like file explorer on wm?

Gurps777 said:
is there anyways to see your folders in sd card on android like file explorer on wm?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OiFilemanager or AndExplorer should both do the job

another quick question, and i know this will sound totally dumb, but i have to ask.
do i NEED an google account to use this thing properly??
i dont use facebook or twitter or any other social media, so i'm happy to sync with outlook as its got all my contacts in up to date, and to be honest i'd rather not give google any more of my personal details thani have to!

Yes you need a google account. Aslo you can import your contacts into your google account and sync it to your phone.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

You do need a google account, but to be honest that is a good thing, the integration with Googles services is so tight. It provides the best email experience by a LONG way in my opinion, and the cloud features are fantastic.
Since switching to android i have also switched to a more "cloud" centric workspace, all my work is backed up to a cloud (2 actually!) and i keep copies of everything i need online aswell as on my PC so i can access it anywhere.
Its a shame you dont want to "submit" to google if you know what i mean, gmail is so, so slick.
*Spooky voice* It is the futuuuure!
I hope you enjoy your switch to android, i know i did!
J

unfortunatly i have an inherant distrust of "the cloud"
while i can see its benefits, i dont trust other people with my data, there's already been too many breaches, leaks, and lost data in the cloud for my liking

sning said:
unfortunatly i have an inherant distrust of "the cloud"
while i can see its benefits, i dont trust other people with my data, there's already been too many breaches, leaks, and lost data in the cloud for my liking
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with you on this one! You do have to set-up a Google email account BUT mine is just forwarded to my *real* email address so never use it for anything. I *assume* you may need it to buy apps. from the market but I've only downloaded free ones so far. Oh, it's *compulsory* to download Angry Birds, BTW, free on Android ...
Dave

How can sync my Outlook infos with Google Calendar and Contacts?

Get a gmail account, best out there. Just don't save your contacts to gmail. I got hacked from China and everyone on my email list got a virus infested email. Lucky I found out very quickly and told everyone before any damage was done.
As to sync. I just use HTC Sync downloaded from HTC web site. Works a treat
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Oh by the way has Orange messed up the OS like they did with the touch hd? (made mine useless)
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App