The links below are to external websites for further vendor-specific information about configuring and using your Smartphone.
The one feature that all Smartphones have in common is email. However the type of email solutions supported by the devices varies from platform to platform. Below is a brief description of the email solutions most commonly supported by Smartphones.
Post Office Protocol Version 3 (POP3) is a client/server protocol by which a client machine can retrieve email from a mailbox on a mail server. The POP server holds the e-mail until the user can retrieve it on their computer. POP3 is used with SMTP which sends email. Most feature phones also support POP3 email. However, POP3 is the most basic email retrieval program available - it only supports a single folder for email (your Inbox).
The default configuration of POP3 on a desktop machine via an email client such as Outlook or Outlook Express is to download your email from the POP3 email server and remove it from the server. This default does not work as well on a mobile phone where there is a limited amount of storage space and you may not want to read the entire email on the phone.
The default configuration of POP3 on mobile phones is to download only part of the email (usually the top 5KB but this is configurable). Any email attachments are not downloaded automatically. Additionally, the mobile will not remove the email from the server. Only downloading part of the email means that you use less data traffic (which is generally charged for by usage). If after reading the first part of the email, you want to read more, you can download the rest of the email (which will still remain on the server) and download any attachments with it.
Internet Message Access Protocol Version 4 (IMAP4) is a client/server protocol for retrieving email. IMAP4 provides many enhancements over the basic POP3 email protocol. IMAP4 supports multiple folders and is designed for users to leave most of their email on the server.
Most corporate email products (such as Microsoft Exchange Server) have both IMAP4 and POP3 functionality, however the services may not be permitted through the corporate firewall, so check with your IT department to see which protocols are permitted.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is a client/server protocol used for sending e-mail only. Email clients such as Outlook Express use SMTP to send email and either POP3 or IMAP4 for retrieving email.
The difficulties with spam email and preventing spam are partly due to the sending protocol (SMTP) and receiving protocols (POP3 or IMAP4) being completely separate systems - there was an almost implicit 'trust' between the systems that the person sending email was also the person receiving email.
In order to prevent spam from being sent, most email providers insist that the email client must authenticate (send your email username and password) when you are not using their network (if you're on their network, whether dialup or broadband, you will have authenticated when you connected).
Unfortunately, first generation Smartphones and most feature phones did not (and some still do not) support authentication for sending email. In order to overcome this limitation, most mobile operators provide an alternative SMTP server for sending email. For instance, Orange (UK) provide smtp.orange.net. When configuring your email on a phone which does not support authentication on sending, instead of putting your normal SMTP server details in, you substitute it with your mobile operator's SMTP server. The server will then relay the email for you as the mobile operator is already aware of who you are having authenticated you on the mobile network.
Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) is an open international standard for applications that use wireless communication such as Internet access from a mobile phone. WAP was designed to provide services equivalent to a web browser with some mobile-specific modifications, being specifically designed to address the limitations of very small portable devices. It is now the protocol used for the majority of the world's mobile Internet sites. Some email servers, most notably Microsoft Exchange Server; provide a WAP-based email client. WAP browsers installed on mobile devices can browse to the email server WAP site and read emails on the email server.
There are two server products that are most frequently associated with Smartphones, namely Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) and Microsoft Exchange Server.
Microsoft Exchange Server is a widely deployed messaging system combining an email server with groupware functionality and, in Exchange 2003, integrated support for legacy mobile devices (via a WAP email client) and Microsoft mobile devices. Designed primarily for business users, Exchange server is usually used with Microsoft Outlook as the desktop email client. Microsoft Outlook supports Exchange's collaborative features, such as the ability to share calendars and contact lists.
Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) is a necessary gateway for integrating Blackberry devices into existing email systems. BES is designed to extend wireless communications and corporate data, including email, to mobile users. Versions of BES include:
Synchronization Markup Language (SyncML) is the former name for a platform-independent information synchronization standard. Existing synchronization solutions have mostly been vendor, application or operating system specific. The purpose of SyncML is to change this by offering an open standard as a replacement. Several major companies such as Motorola, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Siemens AG already support SyncML in their products.
SyncML is most commonly thought of as a method to synchronize contact and calendar information between some type of handheld device and a computer (personal, or network-based service), such as between a mobile phone and a personal computer.
Control of the SyncML specification was transferred to the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and is now usually referred to as either SyncML or OMA DS (Data Synchronization) who are responsible for a large number of the open standards used in mobile devices. The new version (v1.2) of the specification includes support for push email (Server Alert Notifications), providing a standard protocol alternative to proprietary solutions like Blackberry. Version 1.1.2 is the current official release of the SyncML specification, although a number of companies have already implemented and deployed v1.2 in order to provide the push email functionality.
SyncML is designed to be an extensible synchronization mechanism, capable of synchronizing any data. SyncML provides support for synchronizing standard data types, namely email, contacts, calendar, task lists and text notes. However, support for each data type is optional so mobile devices with SyncML support may only provide support for synchronizing contacts and text notes (this is often the case with feature phones).
The Intellisync Mobile Suite is a suite of software designed for corporations and wireless carriers. The intent is to provide database synchronization with the company's DataSync product; Email and PIM synchronization with Email Accelerator, and Device Management and File Distribution with Systems Management/File Sync. These products support synchronization with a corporation's Microsoft Exchange Server, Domino mail servers or Novell GroupWise, as well as POP and IMAP mail support. Intellisync originally only provided software for Windows-based computers, Palm Devices, Handheld PCs, and Pocket PCs, but has recently expanded into supporting Symbian and other mobile devices. Nokia has now acquired Intellisync.
Intellisync <http://www.intellisync.com/>Synchronica are a software vendor that provides SyncML based synchronization and OTA device management. Products include Mobile Manager (a web based application that provides over-the-air (OTA) management of Windows Mobile devices), SyncML Gateway (providing wireless synchronization of calendar, address book and email between SyncML-enabled mobile phones and Microsoft Exchange or SunJES), and SyncML DM Server (a remote device management system which features installation or removal of applications, configuration of device settings, backup or restore of user data and firmware updates).
Synchronica <http://www.synchronica.com>Synthesis AG offers Synchronisation Software based on the open standard SyncML DS / OMA DS. Synthesis offer SyncML based client and server solutions for a range of systems and devices.
Synthesis AG <http://www.synthesis.ch>