mobile, push, sync, over-air -> I am confused

[fisch09]

Hi all,

Ok - I have a zimbra network edition 4.5.6 running and I have a iMate JasJar.

basics:
- Compared to IMAP I can get my calendar and address book onto the JasJar as well using zimbra mobile.

questions:
- how do I set this up? In Zimbra I tick the zimbra mobile box but what next?
- how does "push" work? If I get an email it is automatically pushed onto my PDA? - I really don't get this bit........
- does over-air means my PDA establishes an internet connection by GPRS, EDGE, WiFi or whatever

Please be gentle with me - I've never owned a PDA and I do not like this devices but the Management does ....

cheers
Andre

[fisch09]

Hi all,

now I have active sync configured and it is working as expected.
But still the PDA initiates the connection to sync - where is the "push" ???

Kind regards
Andre

[jjzhuang]

Some devices support push. When you select how often to sync with server, if you see something like "always on" then that's the push mode. The mobile service carrier will also need to support push in the data plan in order for it to work well. Push works well in some carrier network while often broken in another. Thanks!

[mmorse]

Originally Posted by fisch09

- how does "push" work? If I get an email it is automatically pushed onto my PDA? - I really don't get this bit..

Hey fish, about as simple of an explanation/breakdown of 'push' vs 'pull/sync' as I can make it:

Pull/Sync:
Normally e-mail access is "pull" based: at login and in intervals from the server it's stored on.
For example, your thunderbird/outlook client would initiate a connection from your desktop to the server every x minutes to check for new mail.

Push:
New e-mail is instantly and actively transferred (pushed) as it arrives at the mail server to the email client.
Push devices can still choose to make use of sync, they need to occasionally check your folder structure for deletes, moves, an outbox (if you don't send in realtime/we're off network for a bit) etc.

(wikipedia) Extending this push to the last delivery step is what distinguishes push e-mail from traditional e-mail systems. The reason that pull is the usual method for the last stage of mail delivery is that while the server would normally be permanently connected to the network, the client is likely to only occasionally be connected.

ie: If your desktop/laptop was off, and the server tried to initiate the connection, well obviously there's no device at the other end to receive it; hence why 'pull' is the standard.

Push essentially = an 'instant' e-mail experience; new e-mails appear on the device as soon as they arrive, without the need for any user intervention/sync.
But you can realistically set your sync interval to 1-5 minutes and survive just fine . Your lag time is essentially the time between sync; and you spend a little more time utilizing your phone's cpu/ram to update your mail.
Often, so your not clogging the phone's resources, network bandwidth, server resources, etc -there are hard minimums to the value you can set for sync time (like one minute). So maybe you get that new email 60 seconds later.

[fisch09]

Hi guys,

thanks for all your help. Basically all I need is:
- a device that supports "push" (is there any list around?)
- a carrier that supports "push"
- set "always on" in sync options on the device.

that sounds pretty straight forward.

Cheers
Andre

[jjzhuang]

That's pretty much the case. Regarding compatible device list, in theory a lot of devices can support push, including all WM5 and WM6 devices, Nokia MailForExchange, and VersaMail 3.5+ on Treo. But in reality the best push experience we see is on WM devices on CDMA network such as Verizon and Sprint. For example, Treo 700w (a WM5 device) using Verizon data service has few issues with push.

Other clients such as MailForExchange over GSM network see a lot more push issues. The client can simply stop doing push after a while, and has to be manually brought back on track. Also GSM data service such as AT&T closes idle data connection on a regular basis (such as every 60 seconds), making push virtually useless.

Of course we only have anecdotal information on carrier data service. In different regions and on different plans, the same data package can have completely different experience.

[mmorse]

Officially tried and tested by zimbra employees:
/products/zimbra_mobile_device_list.html

[zetty]

Please help..

I am using a Nokia E52 but unable to send mail.
The outbox folder does not sync to the device.

Although I dont have an exchange server in place I use mail for exchange on the older devies like the E71 which works fine.

The E52 has a new mail client that works exactly the same as MfE

Any suggestions as to how I can fix this...?