Over-the-Air Push Synchronization for Mobile

By Messaging News staff
in

MailSite Software, Inc. announced last Tuesday its AstraSync, the “industry’s first and only ActiveSync software client” for BlackBerry smartphones. AstraSync is a small software application for BlackBerry smartphones that can be downloaded over-the-air. AstraSync delivers the same ActiveSync functionality to BlackBerry smartphones that is built-in to the new Apple iPhone 3G.

“Adoption of mobile push email, calendar and contacts is just beginning to take-off,” says David Ferris of Ferris Research. “AstraSync extends the market opportunity for BlackBerry smartphones beyond large enterprises into the hosting market and the small business market.”

AstraSync provides a simple configuration wizard for the username, password and address of the ActiveSync server. After the initial configuration, AstraSync runs silently in the background on the BlackBerry and synchronizes the user’s email, calendar and contacts through a secure HTTP connection to the ActiveSync server. Updates on the server are immediately pushed over-the-air to the BlackBerry through ActiveSync DirectPush. Changes on the BlackBerry are pushed back up to the ActiveSync server.  AstraSync integrates with the native calendar and contact applications on the BlackBerry so users do not need to learn how to use a new interface. AstraSync works without the BlackBerry Internet Service and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. The company notes that this removes additional complexity, making it easier for enterprises and hosting providers to deploy BlackBerry smartphones in a heterogeneous environment alongside Windows Mobile and iPhone devices.

Published November 4, 2008