Following closely on the heels of similar announcements from Motorola, Nokia, and PalmOne, British mobile phone OS software vendor Symbian has agreed to license Microsoft's Server ActiveSync synchronization protocol. This technology allows smart cell phones and wireless handheld computers to synchronize e-mail and personal information manager data, such as appointments and contacts, over the air (OTA) directly with Exchange 2003 servers. These announcements signal the intent of virtually every major wireless device manufacturer to offer devices that can synchronize data with Exchange 2003.

The deal with Microsoft is notable because Symbian was originally formed to counter Microsoft's efforts to build mobile device software, but the scope of the deal is limited, and it does not necessarily signal broader cooperation between the two companies.

Symbian plans to make an Exchange Server ActiveSync protocol plug-in available to all Symbian OS licensees, which includes majority stakeholder Nokia, as well as Arima, BenQ, Fujitsu, Lenovo, LG, Mitsubishi, Motorola, Panasonic, Samsung, Sendo, Sharp, Siemens, and Sony Ericsson. This ActiveSync protocol plug-in will enable the licensees to implement direct synchronization capabilities with Exchange Server 2003 in their devices running a Symbian OS, without requiring any intermediate servers.

As with the earlier deals, the terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed, and the deal is only for the protocols that perform OTA synchronization with Exchange 2003. Symbian did not license other portions of the ActiveSync technology, such as those used to manage docking of Windows Mobile and Windows CE devices with PCs, synchronize files, configure devices, and install software, nor did it license Microsoft's Pocket Outlook client software. Symbian also supports other e-mail synchronization protocols, such as RIM's Blackberry Connect, as well as the Open Mobile Alliance WAP 2.0 Data Synchronization protocol.

Other recent ActiveSync licensees are noted in "Wireless Exchange Sync Broadens" on page 13 of the Mar. 2005 Update.

Exchange 2003 mobile device support is described in "Improved Support for Mobile Exchange Users" on page 11 of the Mar. 2003 Update and at www.microsoft.com/miserver/evaluation/omaex2003.asp.

Microsoft's Windows Mobile devices were covered in "Wireless WAN Strategy Takes Shape" on page 14 of the Nov. 2002 Update, "Updated Software Platform for Pocket PCs" on page 21 of the Aug. 2003 Update, and "Smartphone 2003 SDK and Platform Details Available" on page 28 of the Oct. 2003 Update.