Applies to: Exchange Server 2010 SP3, Exchange Server 2010 SP2

Topic Last Modified: 2011-09-06

Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync in Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 enables users to synchronize their mobile phones with their Exchange mailbox. Users can synchronize e-mail messages, calendar information, contact and task data, and manage their Deleted Items folder, their e-mail signature, and automatic-reply settings to let people know they're away. This topic provides information about the different types of mobile phones that synchronize with Exchange 2010.

Note:
Although we consistently refer to devices that access Exchange 2010 as mobile phones, there are many personal digital assistant devices that can access Exchange 2010 but don't have cellular phone functionality. The term "mobile phone" in this documentation refers to those devices, as well.

Devices Enabled for Exchange ActiveSync

Users can take advantage of Exchange ActiveSync by selecting mobile phones that are compatible with Exchange ActiveSync. These mobile phones are available from many manufacturers. For more information, see the device documentation.

Mobile phones that are compatible with Microsoft Exchange include the following:

  • Apple   The Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad all support Exchange ActiveSync.

  • Nokia   Nokia offers Mail for Exchange on their Eseries mobile phones. E-mail, calendar, and contact data can be synchronized over a cellular network or a wireless LAN.

  • Sony Ericsson   Sony Ericsson offers Exchange ActiveSync support on several of their newer smartphones. They also support Direct Push through a third-party program.

  • Palm   Palm offers some models of mobile phones that have the Windows Mobile operating system. These devices support Direct Push.

  • Motorola   Motorola has its own synchronization framework that enables over-the-air synchronization through Exchange ActiveSync on many of its devices.

  • Symbian   Symbian Limited licenses Exchange ActiveSync for use in the Symbian operating system. This operating system is an open standard operating system for mobile phones.

  • Android   Many mobile phones with the Android operating system support Exchange ActiveSync. However, these mobile phones may not support all available Exchange ActiveSync mailbox policies. For more information see Understanding Exchange ActiveSync Mailbox Policies.

Windows Mobile Software Features

Mobile phones that have a version of Windows Mobile software as their operating system offer the greatest functionality when synchronizing with Exchange 2010. The following table shows some features that are available with different versions of Windows Mobile software.

Windows Mobile software features

Operating system Features

Windows Mobile 6.0 and later versions
  • Direct Push

  • HTML e-mail support

  • Message flags

  • Quick message retrieval

  • Task synchronization

  • Global address book lookup

  • Enhanced calendar views

  • Meeting attendee information

  • Management of Automatic Replies

  • Exchange search

  • Windows SharePoint Services and Windows file share (UNC) document access

  • Enforcement of Exchange ActiveSync mailbox policies

  • Remote device wipe

  • Basic authentication

  • Integration with Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server

  • Certificate-based authentication

  • S/MIME support (with Exchange 2010)

  • Device storage card encryption

  • Support for rights management

Important:
Windows Phone 7 mobile phones only support a subset of all Exchange ActiveSync mailbox policy settings. For a complete list, see Understanding Exchange ActiveSync.

For More Information

For more information about how to manage Windows Mobile phones, see the Windows Mobile Center Web site.