Exchange App for Andorid

[MrGibbage]

It will not retrieve previous emails only new ones, would be more useful if it retrieved a set number of emails at a time as I scrolled down/up
The reason we do not do this is because we expect that once the application runs for a few days, the number of email messages in the list will proliferate to the point where we have to worry about space requirements. This is especially true since we store the messages on the device. Would you still expect to keep scrolling down beyond say one week of email? Do let us know if this is a critical one for you.

I have never owned or operated a BlackBerry, and I haven't even had much success with the exchange apps that have been released for the G1 so far, so I was not able to even replicate the problem that you stated here. However, you did get my curiosity going.... How does BB do it? If their model is good, could it be implemented on the G1? If it isn't good enough, what would be a better solution? I would be inclined to say something like store all headers for all emails on the SD card and keep it synced with the exchange server. Only go to the server when opening the email (or checking for new emails).

[davidj2k]

I looked at a BB that a guy I work with has, basically it keeps all messages on the phone and the server and the phone can be set to sync where he deletes a message on his phone it deletes on the server or they can be not sync'd where he deletes a message on the phone and it does not delete on the server. Another difference is the server is pushing to his phone not his phone pulling, but he said when it first was setup the exchange server sent the last few days emails but not all of them. But what I was thinking about was less like BB or WinMo and more like GMail on the G1 works where it will retrieve more emails when I scroll down.

[MrGibbage]

I think it's obvious that there's no way for the phone to realistically hold every user's email inbox. I'm sure some of them are several GB's. So it is a given that some sort of trade off must be made. I do like the way gmail does it. The top most recent messages are cached and have quick access. If you scroll down, the phone polls the server for more data. But sometimes I do wish it already had the headers... just hte headers. So it wouldn't have to go to the server just to scroll around. Sometimes I just want to look for a message and that is the fastest way. I'm sure some smart person can come up with a nice elegant solution.

[davidj2k]

That is an excellent suggestion,
cache the latest emails but store say up to 200 headers past that and retrieve the email itself on demand

[cubs120]

exchange connectivity and better attachment viewing are something that should eventually be native to the android os imo

[itrider]

Welcome aboard itrider!
If you send the developer an email, they can probably help you. They responded to me right away. support@nitrodesk.com

I emailed them and we have been in contact all morning. They have me testing a couple different beta versions that increased the timeout over 3G since email was having difficulty (calendar and contacts worked). I'll post back when I know more.

[itrider]

FYI...NitroDesk is releasing a new version on Turkey Day. There are many new improvements, including an increased server timeout (an issue I was having) and the ability to search through contacts via alpha letters.

I don't know what time they are posting the new version, but I just wanted to give users a heads up.

[nitrodeskinc]

Thanks for everyones patience..

Finally, we do have some Exchange 2003 support in preview mode.
Here is why we call it preview
1.You can do everything except edit / create/delete contacts on your personal contacts list (you can download your personal contacts to the phone)
2. It does not seem to fetch email for certain 2003 users

With that said,

Here are some typical settings for Exchange 2003
User ID :
if you login to owa as mydomain\jsmith, enter jsmith here
If you login to owa as jsmith@mycompany.com, enter jsmith@mycompany.com

Domain:
if you login to owa as mydomain\jsmith, enter mydomain here
otherwise, leave this blank

Exchange 2003 compatibility : Check this ON
Full email address:
Please look at the from address on an email you send yourself. You will find your proper email address. if you login as jsmith, your email address might still be john.smith@yourcompany.com. This is the address you should enter here.

Server Name:
If the link to your OWA page is https://mail.mycompany.com/exchange, or some such, you need to enter just mail.mycompany.com, and not the entire thing.

Once you have set these, press Save
Go to the last tab in settings, scroll to the very bottom and press Refresh Folders. Give it at least a minute for the folders to be refreshed. If these dont get refreshed, you may be running an incompatible version or have wrong settings. Note that there is no activity feedback for this.. the folder list would simply be updated when the operation is over.

Running TouchDown
Once the folder list is up to date, from the home page, click Menu/Refresh to initialize the system. This can take a long time. For some people this has been known to crash.
Send yourself a test email and verify it appears in outlook. then press Menu/Refresh again.

TO get your initial contacts list, go to contacts, press Menu/Refresh All.
To get your calendar for the day, go to Calendars, press Menu/Refresh.

Email us at support if you have any trouble.
thanks!
-Nitro

[devsk]

Why? These guys obviously put their hard work into a tool that you and a ton of other people want to use. Why does everything have to be free?

because "the other phone" we all hate (me particularly) supports it out of the box. So, my cost for G1 is going up if I have to pay for things which are for free (as in beer) on "the other phone".

[nitrodeskinc]

I do understand the sentiment @devsk, which admittedly, many share.
However, here is one big differentiator which we believe to some extent sets us apart:

Take a look at http://www.nitrodesk.com/dk_touchdownFAQ.aspx, the last question.
Almost 90% of the wish list came from user feedback, and most will be available in a matter of weeks..

-Nitro