Exchange ActiveSync Documented

Technical documentation for Exchange ActiveSync, Microsoft’s protocol for enabling mobile devices to synchronize e-mail, calendar, and other information with Exchange Server, is now freely available. The information, which previously required a license, will help handset makers and mobile software developers create prototype phones and applications that interoperate with Exchange. However, third parties will still have to pay license fees to implement Exchange ActiveSync commercially. The protocols were published as part of Microsoft’s Interoperability Principles, a set of promises the company made in Feb. 2008 under pressure from the European Commission (EC), which enforces fair competition laws for the European Union.

Exchange ActiveSync, which is sometimes called Server ActiveSync and is different from Windows ActiveSync (which enables desktop PCs to synchronize information with Windows Mobile devices), was originally created to enable Outlook running on a Windows Mobile device to synchronize information wirelessly with a remote Exchange Server. Since 2004, Microsoft has licensed Exchange ActiveSync to other device makers, including Apple, Nokia, Palm One, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. By removing the license requirements for viewing the protocols, Microsoft hopes to spur the creation of other devices and mobile applications that interface with Exchange, increasing that product’s already considerable appeal.