DEFINITION

    OK, you would most probably ask: “What is Exchange? What is Hosted Exchange?”

    “Microsoft Exchange Server is a messaging and collaborative software product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is widely used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure solutions.” (Source: Wikipedia). Going further into this, we can describe Hosted Exchange as being the Exchange service which is provided by third parties, like 4Smartphone, where the actual Exchange Server is online-based, allowing users to access their account on the server from anywhere in the world

PRINCIPLES

    Exchange really goes further than e-mail. Exchange is an all around solution that includes electronic mail, calendaring, contacts and tasks. And the “WOW” factor: it’s safe, instant, collaborative and shared. All your information above is stored on the hosted server online, with which all your devices (Desktops, Notebooks and Mobile phones) keep in sync, so that a change occurring on one of them is automatically synced and reflected on all the others. In order to be able to fully benefit from Exchange, you will need a data connection on your device, which can be either Wifi or any Data plan.

UP & RUNNING

    In order to get started with actually using Hosted Exchange, you need to do two things first, for this one time only:

1. Apply for one of the three Service Plan Options 4Smartphone has to offer, sign up and wait for confirmation as well as instructions by e-mail;
2. Setup forwarding from your e-mail address to the one 4Smartphone offers you (i.e.: forward from myaddress@mydomain.com to myaddress@mydomain.msoutlookonline.net).

    That’s it for the difficult part! Setting up Exchange on your Windows Mobile Device is easy; it is just a three-step procedure:

1. Fire up Activesync on you Device and choose Menu > Add server source… Tap in your regular e-mail address, uncheck automatic configuration and in the next screen, fill in the server address. Don’t worry; you will receive the server address by e-mail from 4Smartphone.

2. Fill in your user name, your password and the Domain. Your username will be your old user name, followed by an underscore and your old domain. (i.e.: myaddress_mydomain). You will initially receive a password from 4Smartphone as a temporary credential, which they – and I myself strongly advise you to change as soon as possible. The Domain you need to fill in will be also brought to your attention in the same e-mail you will receive after signing up.

3. Select information you would like to keep synchronized. You have the options to choose between Contacts, Calendar, E-mail, Tasks, all at once or any combination. Tapping on items allow you to use the Settings… button where you can customize the service even more, to your liking.

TIP:

By default, Windows Mobile operating systems only synchronize the Inbox, that is the e-mail you receive. If, by any chance, you need to have more control and mobility at hand, and you need to keep in sync also your Sent items, or even some other folder, you can do that by going to your Inbox on your Mobile device, tap Menu > Tools > Manage folders… and check the Sent items folder as well as any other folder you would like to also keep in sync on your Device. Please note that synchronizing Sent items and other folders is space consuming so use that carefully (either sync only what’s really necessary or change the date from back when Activesync downloads messages; i.e.: last 3 days).

If you are an iPhone user, you don’t really need to worry about all these: 4Smartphone has a special widget for iPhone that will help you through the process. As far as your PC is concerned, they also have a setup Wizard for Microsoft Outlook.

PUSH EMAIL

    You can have Activesync deliver e-mails to your device as soon as you receive them, or you can customize delivery options. Push E-mail is nothing more than the ability of the server to push the messages you receive to your mobile device, or putting it the other way around, the feature of your mobile device to automatically retrieve e-mails you receive.

Setting up sync schedules is done by tapping Schedule… in the Menu of Activesync.

Now, if you have an unlimited data plan and you don’t really care about costs of always being connected, the best option is to set both options to As items arrive. This way, you will instantly receive e-mail to your device.

Activesync also allows you to configure Peak and Off-peak times separately, as well as define those Peak times. For instance, you can set a longer interval in peak times, like Every 60 minutes or even Manually and you can have a shorter schedule for Off-peak times, like Every 15 minutes or even As items arrive.

EXCHANGE vs. POP3

    POP3 e-mail is an inexpensive solution, which unfortunately has its limitations compared to Exchange. You cannot use Push E-mail with POP3; this means that you have to manually check for e-mail messages (i.e.: by going to Activesync and forcing it into actually synchronizing). Simply put: the time you receive information is considerably longer. You cannot synchronize with POP3; yes, that means that your Desktop, Notebook and Mobile device will not have the same content as to E-mail, Contacts, Calendar and Tasks. Sure, you say: “I always sync my device with my PC!” Yes you do! But how do you synchronize them all together, instantly? Exchange does this without you even knowing it. Moreover, there’s sharing: you cannot share information via POP3, neither files, nor calendars, contacts, etc.

    Bottom line: by implementing Exchange, you enhance your communication processes with collaborative features and give your business or everyday’s life an instant competitive advantage.

PRICING

    There are several service plans available on 4Smartphone. The Mobile Plus plan is probably best for most people and it costs $10.95 per month. It includes 1GB or storage space, 50MB file attachements, nightly backups, plus support and several other options. To see this and other service plans, go to the 4Smartphone website and choose "Service Plan Options" on the left side.

CONCLUSION

    While being on a business trip, leaving my notebook at home, I have received an e-mail from Brandon, our Editor-in-Chief. I know this because my device just alerted me I have a new e-mail message. He sent me someone’s contact information so that I could forward a message to that person. Created a new contact, forwarded the e-mail and my battery died on me shortly after. Putting my backup device to work, it alerted me of an incoming e-mail message immediately after starting up: the person thanked me for forwarding the message. Same calendar, same tasks, same inbox and same contacts, on all your devices. It’s love.