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Apple restores push email in Germany, nearly two years after Motorola shut it down
We're no fans of patent litigation, and we imagine German iPhone users weren't thrilled when Motorola shut down iOS push email in the nation. After numerous pieces of paperwork (and a $135 million bond) was put on the table, an interim decision has allowed Apple to offer the service while the issue is resolved in court. All Teutonic users need to do is activate "Fetch New Data" from the "Mail, Contacts and Calendars" settings pane and, when all of this is settled, hope that messy patent litigation can stop getting between us and our email.
Early iOS 6 adopters report problems getting Exchange push email: are you affected?
We all know about the central issue surrounding iOS 6. For the suits and ties among us, however, there's a potentially more glaring problem with Exchange support. Some users quick to upgrade to Apple's latest mobile OS report losing automatic push delivery of their email, requiring that they check for themselves to get any fresh messages. The issue isn't carrier- or device-specific, and attempts to reboot, reconfigure or restore devices are at best temporary fixes: what flows smoothly at first runs dry several hours later. Apple technicians are aware that the flaw exists, but it's tough to know if and when engineers will have a fix -- the company typically waits until it has a solution in hand before it goes on the record. We've reached out to Apple for a possible comment all the same. In the meantime, let us know if your Exchange access (or push data as a whole) is going awry. [Thanks, Daniel] %Poll-78044%
Motorola's patent enforcement against Apple could cost German taxpayers dearly
In a recent article, FOSS Patents points out a loophole in German law that forces taxpayers to pay for part of the court proceedings between Motorola and Apple. Motorola is currently enforcing an injunction against Apple and has deposited money for the injunction as required by law. Apple is appealing this injunction, and the appeal is slowly winding its way through the German court system. When a settlement or judgment is finally reached in the lawsuit, Germany owes Motorola interest on the injunction money that was set aside. The government can't invest this money while it sits, so this interest payment must come from taxpayer money, says FOSS Patents.
Apple still blocked from using push email in Germany
German users of iCloud and MobileMe are going to have to wait a bit longer for push email to be reinstated on their favorite Apple devices. A regional court in Mannheim has upheld a ban on the service in Germany based on a patent lawsuit brought by Motorola Mobility against Apple. Motorola won the court case in February and was granted a permanent injunction against the services built into iCloud and MobileMe. The court has now upheld the ban and determined that Apple must pay unspecified damages to Motorola Mobility. The lawsuit is related to a patent entitled "Multiple Pager Status Synchronization System and Method," which covers push services. Motorola filed the suit last April prior to the announcement of iCloud, based on the push email service built into MobileMe. Motorola was able to successfully argue that MobileMe is part of iCloud, hence the lawsuit that originally targeted MobileMe has been extended to cover Apple's current cloud services.
Sparrow for iPhone will wow with its design, but lacks push notification
After a long wait, Sparrow for iOS made its debut in the App Store on Wednesday. Similar to the desktop version, the iOS mail client promises to provide you with an efficient and pleasant mailing experience, and the app mostly delivers on this promise. Sparrow supports Gmail, iCloud and IMAP, but not POP email accounts. When you launch the app for the first time, you are prompted to setup your first email account. The app will try to auto-configure your settings using your email and password. If it fails, you can enter the server details manually. During the setup process, you can also link to Facebook and pull down your contacts' images. The first thing you notice about Sparrow is the user interface, which is clean, efficient and intuitive. Unlike the native mail client which uses tapping to navigate through the app, Sparrow relies heavily on swiping. You can swipe left and right to move between your account settings, mailbox and individual messages. When you're reading an email, you can swipe up and down to move through other messages in the conversation. You can also swipe on any message to reply, star, label, archive or delete a conversation. Sparrow is not only easy on the eyes, it also supports advanced features like Google labels and identities. I've used lots of email clients, and many struggle with the management and usage of identities. Sparrow, however, is just perfect. Identities are easy to setup and even easier to select when you are going to send an email. Just tap the "From" at the top of the email composition window and a list of email accounts will appear. The app also tracks which account received an email and will automatically select the correct identity when you reply. Like any good email client, Sparrow has a search function that lets you search up to 1000 messages on your phone. You can filter by "From", "To" and "Subject". Search on the phone is great in a pinch, but I found it easier to search on the desktop which is faster and extends to all your messages. Message composition is straightforward. You are prompted right away to select a contact and assign them to either the main recipient, the CC or BCC. As noted above, you can easily select the account from which the email is sent. Writing the email is as simple as typing in text or using the voice-to-text feature. There is no text markup so you can't bold or underline parts of your message. Sparrow also lets you add an image from within the app. When you click on the paperclip icon, you are presented with the option to pick an image from your library or take a new one. Images can be resized when you hit the send button. All this simplicity, however, is overshadowed by one missing key feature: push email. For most people, email is time sensitive. You need to know when an email hits your inbox so you can respond (or at least read it) right away. That's why you need push notification and why Sparrow for iOS is disappointing in that regard. The beta version of Sparrow had push notification, and it worked wonderfully. Unfortunately, Apple rejected the app. According to developer Dom Leca, Apple said no to Sparrow because it used an API, the same one used by VoIP apps, that allows an app to be woken up in case of a network event. This lets Sparrow stay virtually connected to the mail server so it can receive push emails. This always-on type of connection is not allowed by Apple. Even though the solution worked flawlessly in the beta, Sparrow had to remove it for the public release. As it works now, Sparrow will sync your email when you open the app or manually pull down to refresh. You can read Sparrow's statement about push notifications on its website. Without push notification is Sparrow really worth the US$2.99? It depends. If you can't miss an email and your response time is critical, then you should stick with the native mail app. On the other hand, if you're looking for a fresh UI and an efficient way to manage your emails, then you should buy Sparrow without hesitation. You will quickly learn to live without push email or find ways to work around it. It's not elegant, but one work around is to keep notifications in the native Mail app active and then use Sparrow to read and respond to your mail. As noted by Think iOS, you can also use Boxcar notifications to alert you of an incoming email. You can follow the setup instructions on Think iOS's website to get Boxcar up and running. Sparrow for the iPhone is available in the App Store for $2.99.
Apple halts iCloud push services in Germany
Apple was handed a setback in Germany recently when a court ruled in favor of Motorola in a patent infringement case involving Apple's iCloud and MobileMe push email service. A new support document on Apple's German website confirms the company is halting push email for its customers that are inside German borders. The document gives customers instructions on how to setup email to be delivered at regular intervals. The support page notes that iCloud email will resume its push behavior outside Germany, while MobileMe push email will be disabled until further notice. This change in iCloud and MobileMe is the result of a lawsuit Motorola filed against Apple in April 2011. Judge Andreas Voss of the Mannheim Regional Court ruled that Apple infringed on Motorola's European patent, EP (European Patent) 0847654 (B1). This patent describes a "multiple pager status synchronization system and method." Motorola was awarded a preliminary injunction and exercised its right to enforce the patent by putting up a 100 million euro bond. Apple will likely appeal this ruling, but until then iCloud and MobileMe push email will be unavailable to those who live in or travel to the European country. [Via Macerkopf]
Apple and Motorola scuffle over iCloud and push email
Motorola scored a victory against Apple today when it won a permanent injunction against the company's iCloud and MobileMe push email service. According to FOSS Patents, the injunction is "preliminarily enforceable," which means Motorola can enforce the ruling right away by posting a 100 million euro bond. Posting a bond and enforcing this ruling is risky, though. If Apple appeals and wins, then Motorola will be liable for damages from enforcing this injunction early. If enforced, Apple must disable the push email portion of its iCloud and MobileMe service. Customers in Germany affected by this injunction will have to turn off push email and configure their mail clients to pull down emails periodically. This permanent injunction resulted from a complaint filed by Motorola in April 2011. Apple has the right to contest this ruling and will likely file a formal appeal with the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court.
India wants to spy on Nokia users, BlackBerry fans no longer feel special
Poor Nokia, between having to abandon its Symbian baby and hawk anachronistic wares at a Microsoft event, it's had a pretty rough go of it recently. Now India's Ministry of Home Affairs wants to block the launch of the company's new push email service until a monitoring system can be put in place. According to The Economic Times, the Department of Telecommunications is being asked to hold back the service until the intelligence community has a way to spy on messages being sent. RIM recently fought a similar battle with the Indian government, as well as those in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Looks like the two companies share more in common than just their slip from the top of the smartphone heap.
Verizon outs Mobile Email 4.0: true push and Exchange support for dumbphones
We imagine that the lion's share of people that need Exchange email access are getting it on a BlackBerry or some other manner of smartphone, but Verizon's covering all its bases here today with the release of Mobile Email 4.0, a dumbphone-compatible release that lets even some of the cheapest handsets in Big Red's lineup (the Octane, Cosmos Touch, and Zeal are specifically called out) in on the corporate action. Besides Exchange support, the release includes a "true push experience," an all-new UI, and Outlook calendar synchronization -- the perfect companion to Exchange email compatibility. It's available now for free if you're on a data plan of at least $15 a month, or for $5 a month with a pay-as-you-go data option. Follow the break for the press release.
LG strolls into Town with C300 featurephone, offers portrait QWERTY for text addicts
Still on the lookout for an affordable QWERTY dumbphone? You might be in luck, as LG's just released this eye-catching Town C300 to cater to your texting and IM addiction on the cheap. Just like its predecessor, this new handset includes Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger, and push email integration, along with FM radio, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 2 megapixel camera from the hardware camp. The damage? Just a mere £69 ($108) from Orange, but don't tell your friends -- keep the extra booze money to yourself. %Gallery-102995%
RIM CEO on BlackBerry Storm: "nobody gets it perfect out the door"
If there's one two things we love, it's hearing RIM's own Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis open their gaping traps. While the former was sufficiently panned back in January for exclaiming that buggy smartphone software was simply the "new reality," his partner in crime may have just done him one better. In a recent sit-down with Laptop Mag, Mike was specifically asked to address that aforementioned quote. His response? "That's our first touch product, and you know nobody gets it perfect out the door. You know other companies were having problems with their first releases." If you're struggling to translate that into layman speak, allow us: "Tough luck, early adopters!"As the interview progressed, the co-CEO took the opportunity to snub Apple on its inability to get Push Email out early on, noting that BlackBerry OS has "constantly been underestimated" and was "designed to multitask from day one." He also stumbled all over himself when it came to speaking about the BlackBerry's web browser, stating that "by writing our browser in Java, that provides our CIOs and wireless managers the assurances they need, to allow the browser to access internal information at the same time it accesses external information." We've literally meditated on that for a solid half-hour, and we still have absolutely zero idea what it means in English. Nevertheless, the whole thing is a pretty great -- if not comical -- read, so give it a look and share your colorful opinions in comments below.
Kerio MailServer is getting pushy
We've mentioned Kerio MailServer before, pointing it out as an Exchange alternative. Well, just two days after the release of the 3G iPhone, Kerio announced version 6.5.2 with full iPhone compatibility, complete with push email, contacts and calendar thanks to ActiveSync. Kerio MailServer has technically supported the iPhone for about a year, using a sync agent that was only capable of synchronization through IMAP, and calendar and contact syncing was handled through iTunes. With newly available technologies, MailServer users have a much more efficient means of keeping everything flowing. It's also been pointed out that, unlike some other email servers, it allows full access to all of your folders, not just the Inbox. According to Kerio, it's real "push," and it really works. I'm not currently running Kerio MailServer, so I can't attest to its effectiveness, but the 3G update is free for currently active subscribers. Using it on a previous generation iPhone, however, does require a paid upgrade*. Check Kerio's site for more information on pricing and features. *Correction: it's a flat out free upgrade for all current subscribers.
Verizon's RemoSync brings Direct Push email to select handsets
Hankerin' for some bona fide push email on your VZW handset, are you? If this is indeed the case, look no further than RemoSync, the latest Get It Now application that enables a handful of the carrier's handsets to get their Exchange-hosted email pushed directly to them. More specifically, those who purchase the app will be able to read, compose, reply, delete, forward, etc. emails, download Outlook contacts and view those immensely annoying calendar events. The pricing structure is quite curious, though. First off, it'll cost you $9.99 per month, and while a data plan isn't required per se, those without one will be charged $1.99 per megabyte (or "airtime") when using RemoSync. For a list of compatible mobiles, tap the read link and give that scroll wheel a few turns.[Via PhoneScoop]
.Mac push e-mail coming to iPhone 2.0?
Sometimes, we at TUAW get awesome tips from our readers -- this is proof. A certain, unnamed individual sent us some pictures of the latest build of the iPhone firmware showing .Mac push e-mail. The picture shows the main Settings page with a new button: "Fetch new data." When you click the button, you are taken to a list of your mail accounts, where you can choose between either "fetch" or "push." According to Mr. Anonymous, while .Mac is offering push e-mail, you are currently not able to do contact or calendar syncing. You can see the iPhone screenshots in the gallery.%Gallery-22363%
iMapIdle simulates push email on the iPhone
The IMAP IDLE protocol allows an IMAP email server to send out notification of new emails to a client. This means its a great way to implement a "push" email system that automatically sends messages out, instead of having to wait for the email client to poll the server (this is what happens, for example, when you set the "Check for new mail" interval in Mail.app). A new application called iMapIdle partially brings this functionality to the iPhone. Basically iMapIdle sits in the background listening for the IDLE commands ("even if you are in sleep/standby mode") and pops up an alert to tell you that email has arrived. You can then use the iPhone's built-in email application actually to get the mail.Needless to say, this requires a hacked iPhone, and since it uses more data transfer it may negatively affect battery life (that said, the IDLE protocol is very bandwidth efficient). The other consideration is that not all IMAP servers are set up with the IDLE protocol enabled. Many are, however, and I've used IDLE based push email on my Treo for quite some time via ChatterEmail. Furthermore, iMapIdle has specific support for Gmail. I should note, however, that I have not actually tested this myself.iMapIdle is a free download (donations requested).[via UNEASYsilence]
Business-centric iPhone, wireless speakers rumored
No sooner than JP Morgan squashes the iPhone nano rumor and gives legs to the 3G hunch, here we have more "Taiwanese sources" shooting off about future Apple and iPhone-related products. Granted, the vast majority of these propositions are bordering on laughable, but the suggestion of an "iPhone for business" isn't too far fetched -- especially considering that Apple has already hinted at appeasing the suits in due time. Additionally, these anonymous voices insinuated that Apple was working on a wireless audio system "that would allow music to be played directly from an iPod, iPhone, or range of Apple computers." We're not saying we believe any of it (yet), but feel free to affix your skepticism filter and hit the read link for the full report.[Thanks, Steven]
RIM developing BlackBerry virtualization software
In an aggressive move aimed at wooing the millions of smartphone users who would be interested in owning a BlackBerry -- just not all the time -- RIM will be releasing an innovative piece of software that allows its OS to run inside Windows Mobile 6. To many cellphone addicts this news is the equivalent of Parallels opening up Windows on Apple machines, as Pocket PC phones will not simply be skinned or loaded with BlackBerry Connect, but rather endowed with the full capabilities of a standalone BlackBerry -- including the ability to run third party programs. While so far the virtualization software -- slated for drop this fall, possibly free with subscription -- will only work on Crossbow, it's possible that the company could decide to support other platforms in the future, such as the Palm OS or its Linux-based successor, though no promises have been made. Bottom line is that this looks to be good news all around: RIM gets more unsuspecting users hooked on the Crackberry mentality, consumers can now have the best of both worlds when it comes to hardware / software combos, and even old Microsoft may come out on top, with the new members of the WinMo ecosystem potentially outweighing the flight from Exchange servers.
BlackBerry email still down, withdrawal setting in
As we noted last night, BlackBerry email is experiencing a service interruption of massive proportions, with the entire Western hemisphere unable to do the push email thing since 8PM EST on Tuesday. Things were supposed to be patched up by midnight last night, but apparently RIM is still trying to reset the system, and expects the problem to last into the morning. Even once the system is good to go -- and we are starting to here reports of some people getting their email -- it'll still take a while for RIM to process through the backlog of email, and the word is they'll be taking it slow as to not esplode the system again, so for all you CrackBerry addicts out there: you might be in for a wait, our thoughts are with you and your idle thumbs.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Update: BBC is now reporting that RIM has "most" of its North American network back, and that it's "closely monitoring systems in order to maintain normal service levels." (What were they doing before, playing ping pong?) As mentioned before, some users will experience delays as RIM clears the backlog of unsent emails.Read - CNNMoney.comRead - PINStack forums
Palm Treo 650 gets Direct Push email, too
Alright Treo 650 owners, you can now (carefully) climb off your soap box, as the svelte Exchange ActiveSync Update is now available to treat your very own handset. While Palm had already shoved the update onto the 680 and 700p handhelds, it's now giving the faithful 650 users the ability to revel in Push Email technology too, which is sure to make hard-nosed managers grin from ear to ear. Aside from the newfound support, the update notes here haven't really changed, so if you're interested in having your Outlooked life beamed straight to your Treo 650, be sure to hit the read link and get your download on. Of course, you should probably have your credit card ready as well, as folks with VersaMail 3.5 will be asked to cough up $2.99, while users without the aforementioned software will pay out $12.98.
Grundig B700 crams Linux in a smartphone
Just as Grundig is no stranger to the cellphone realm, Linux has seen its fair share of smartphones too, and the B700 marks yet another mobile in which an open-sourced OS is at the helm. Boasting a respectably thin ten-millimeter frame, this handset packs a two-megapixel CMOS camera, MP3 / AAC / video playback, 2.4-inch 320 x 240 resolution display, 2.5-hours of minimum talk time (150+ hours on standby), EDGE / GSM quad-band connectivity, USB, Bluetooth, built-in FM tuner, 100MB of internal storage, and a microSD slot for loading up any excess media. Aside from looking slightly like an antiquated calculator when powered down, the B700 manages to include a POP3 email push client, handsfree speaker, voice recorder, and animated wallpapers as well. Unfortunately, there's no word on future pricing nor availability, but we have our doubts about this thing ever flourishing here in the States.[Via MobileWhack]
