Treo 680 & Treo 700p Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) Update
After a year in the making Palm finally announced its much anticipated Microsoft Direct Push Technology for PalmOS Treo smartphones – including the new Treo 680 and Treo 700p but not the Treo 650.
Yesterday Palm released an Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) Update that is freely available to download and install.
While PalmOS based Treo smartphones have long been able to use Exchange ActiveSync to access Microsoft Exchange Server information using the VersaMail email client this new update enhances it further by adding Microsoft’s Direct Push Technology, which gives users connected to an Exchange Server fast, automatic wireless updates of email, calendar and contact information.
As Joe Fabris, director of wireless solutions, at Palm, Inc. points out, “Extending Microsoft’s Direct Push Technology to the PalmOS based line of Treo smartphones gives business customers a powerful new choice for wireless email, security and manageability” and “this combination delivers the benefits of business-class email without the cost of additional infrastructure required by other middleware-based solutions, ensuring a fast return on investment as well as a great end-user experience.”
In addition to providing a powerful email solution, the Exchange ActiveSync Update for Palm OS devices offers the following benefits:
- Adds Direct Push Technology – Direct Push Technology gives users connected to an Exchange Server fast, automatic wireless updates of email, calendar and contact information (Exchange Server 2003 with SP2 or Exchange Server 2007).
- Extends existing software and infrastructure – Wireless email using Direct Push Technology reduces the need for third-party software and infrastructure, thereby reducing cost, maintenance requirements and staffing needs. Companies now can use their existing infrastructures and servers to deliver Exchange Server information wirelessly simply by adding Treo smartphones.
- Offers security and central management – Security features for IT administrators include over-the-air password policy enforcement and remote wipe for lost or stolen devices. Users also have the benefit of accessing their company’s Global Address List (GAL) over-the-air, providing them with quick access to colleagues’ contact information.
- Installs easily – The update can be downloaded over-the-air for Treo 700p and Treo 680 customers, making it very easy for IT to deploy.
Additionally, Jeff Ressler, director of product management for Microsoft Exchange Server also adds that “Mobile users are increasingly demanding fast, automatic updates to email, calendar, and contacts. IT departments struggle to offer this productivity-enhancing capability to an ever-increasing number of workers in a cost-effective and secure manner. The addition of Direct Push Technology will help Palm’s customers meet these growing user needs securely and cost-effectively by leveraging their existing, highly scalable Exchange Server infrastructure.”
Finally, because Palm’s Windows Mobile based Treo products – the Treo 700w, Treo 700wx, and the recently announced Treo 750 – also offer the benefits noted above businesses that run a mixture of Windows Mobile and Palm OS Treo smartphones can now deliver the same Direct Push Technology experience to all their users around the world.
I personally don’t (yet) use either an Exchange server or even an IMAP email account because I prefer to download my emails manually whenever I need to. Having said this, I have for months now considered using an Exchange server and this latest EAS update from Palm and Microsoft may just prove to be the one to make me switch. I’m naturally curious to hear more about how you use email on your Treo:
Treonauts always have the most email choices… 
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Comments
This upgrade will not work on a Cingular 680. Don't know why but according to palm it is not supported.
Rumor is that it has to undergo Cingular verification before they allow it... I find that to be a bunch of hooey. Guess I'm stuck with carrying around a Treo and a Blackberry for another few months.
I would like to hear an explanation of any sort from Palm for why there is no support for the 650.
I have a Cingular Treo 680 and when I launch the app., it says it's not supported on this version - does anyone have any ideas?
SJ,
See annotation #2 at http://www.palm.com/us/software/eas_update/ (at the very bottom in a tiny font).
2 - Update not available for Cingular customers.
This is what Ken and I were complaining about.
Brian
I installed this on my Sprint 700p. I use a hosted Exchange provider. Something is definitely wrong. I installed, configured, then soft resetted as recommended. I set up up Versamail preferences for Auto Sync to sync "As items arrive".
Mail did start coming down asynchronously and without an explicit press of the "Sync" button. Great! However, every few minutes I'd get an Alert that would instruct me to switch to Versamail and press the Sync button! So I'd do it. Then it would happen again, another alert. Again and again. I dismiss them, I follow their orders, I am subservient to their every whim, but they just keep coming back. I had to turn off Auto Sync, it got so annoying.
What's this all about?
I am a Cingular customer, but have an Unlocked 680....I just installed the update, and am now getting email "pushed" to Versamail from my corporate Exchange Server. My guess was that the "not available for Cungular customers" warning only applied to those using Cingular branded 680s - looks like my assumption was correct?
I'm curious to know if there are there any other Unlocked 680 owners who got the Direct Push update to work?
Man - this is sooooo sad. Why can't they figure out Push Email on a Cingular 680? I guess it may be due to the Built in Apps they use such as Xpress Mail. I wonder if I use an unlocking service, if it will work...
LTIM, I have heard folks on the TreoCentral forums with unlocked Treo 680s say it works. I believe it is only an issue with Cingular branded Treo 680s.
SJ, I don't think it will. My Cingular branded Treo 680 is SIM unlocked and it still does not work. Cingular gave me my unlock code after I told them I was traveling abroad and wanted to use a non-Cingular prepaid SIM while I was there.
Brian
I had the same issue as Larry on my 700p. It was pretty annoying, so I turned it off. Then I noticed that it had removed all but the 4 most recent contacts. And I can't figure out how to transfer contacts from Outlook (or Palm Desktop) back to my Treo. I changed hotsync settings to sync contacts (something, probably EAS, turned that off) and it ignores it and turns it back off. I really don't feel like typing in 64 contacts.
Does anyone if and when MSN/hotmail will be supported on versamail? Right now I have to go on the web to see my email.
rxgrl - I can recommend the very popular GlimmerMail application to retrieve your MSN/Hotmail.
http://software.treonauts.com/product.asp?id=5537
Cheers, A.
until they get the SSL problem fixed, this is a joke for corporate e-mail users - even the crappy Windows Mobile lets you install an SSL certificate on the phone enabling push to work
I'm a Verizon customer with a 700p, and I installed the update. However, I don't get the choice "As items arrive". I've deleted and re-installed with the same result. Any ideas?
I am tempted to install this Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) Update on my Treo 700P, however I am curently using the KeySuite program and I am not sure if my success will continue once this update is installed. Besides once installed can the update be removed?
I bought the new Treo 680 a few days ago and I'm looking for a hosted exchange server so I can use the push mail on my Treo 680 (I live in Switzerland and my network is Orange) ... Does anybody has a suggestion ? I already tried Cortado.com and 4smartphone.net without success ...
Excellent website!
> until they get the SSL problem fixed, this is a
> joke for corporate e-mail users
Agree completely. What good does this do if versamail can't use anything but a hard-coded list of certs?
I installed it on an open 680 from Palm. Tried it but it didn't work due to our extra layer of security. So I deleted the active sync account out of VersaMail which drove the Treo nuts. It would boot every time the data part of the network connected. Only way I could stop it was to disconnect the network simultaneously while it was trying to connect. After trying many things I finally hard reset the device because it put things in the Treo that I couldn't find. Fortunately I had not hot synced again (which would have backed up the bad stuff). Now I am back to normal. I guess it automatically turns on active sync (some other place in Versamail) and it doesn't like you to delete an active active sync account.
John
It doesn't work for me either (Cingular 680). This update from Palm seems pointless. Who does it actually work for? One person that I see above.
Maybe I should have got a Windows 750. At least it somewhat works.
Can anyone tell me how I can get a vibrate alert when an email comes in. I can get an audio alert, but when my phone is on vibrate, I get no notification outside of the blinking green light and a notice on the front screen. Anyone got any ideas - I already went through and tried to change near everything under sound preferences.
Thanks
It appears since I installed the EAS Direct Push Software on my Sprint Treo 700P, my phone continually freezes or locks up in the off position. It's literally dead, zero response from any button. I never know when this occurs until I check my phone to realize it is frozen. Each time I have to reset the phone by popping the battery in and out to restart. This seems to occur 10 to 15 times a day that I know. I suspect this happens each time an email gets delivered to the phone and times out when it's not activated, but I have no proof. Has anyone else experienced this or a similar problem?
i own a Verizon 700p and I have a HUGE PROBLEM...my phone shut off suddenly and out of the blue...it will not turn back on it goes to the White ACCESS powered screen and then to the palm screen and then turns back on and just repeats this...I took it to Verizon and they tried a soft restart and said I would have to do a hard restart that would erase all my contacts...I know its my fault I had just bought a memory card but did not save all of my numbers...DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW I CAN GET THE PHONE WORKING AND STILL RETRIEVE THOSE NUMBERS? I went on a two week business trip and made so many contacts and most of the numbers are only on my phone please somebody HELP!!!!!
I had the same problem as Tim. The option "as items arrive" does not appear until after you sync the first time.
I also had the same issues that Larry had. The push technology does not seem to work properly most of the time. Sometimes the updates to the phone are automatic but most of the time you get "sync now alerts" even when there is no email to download.
After some struggling I got ActiveSync to *somewhat* work with my Exchange server.. but the bottom line is it's a buggy, poorly-built piece of software. Calendar and mail synced up okay, but contacts were constantly getting duplicated, triplicated, and copied four times in some cases. The copies had corrupt characters in them (e.g. box characters in the email). There is no way to disable only the contact portion. My advice is stay away from this software.
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