Nokia smart phones get Microsoft email

Nokia took aim at smart phone rival RIM yesterday with plans to expand the number of devices that will automatically be capable of accessing Microsoft corporate email.

On the eve of the CTIA IT and Entertainment tradeshow in San Francisco, US, Nokia announced it will embed Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync on all Nokia phones that use the S60 Symbian operating system.

As a result, 43 different models of Nokia phones will have easy access to Microsoft corporate email. Nokia will also add the Microsoft Exchange support to all new Nseries and Eseries phones that hit the market in the future.

Until this announcement Nokia offered Microsoft email support as a download for only a handful of devices. But the feature wasn't well publicised, and it was somewhat difficult to download.

Now Microsoft's ActiveSync software will be automatically available for 80 million of Nokia's already shipped devices, and it will be available as a standard feature on all new Nokia Nseries and Eseries phones. Having the software embedded on the phone or as an automatic software update makes setting up corporate email access on a Nokia phone so easy that most people can do it themselves without the help of their IT department, said Bill Plummer, vice president of sales and go-to-market for Nokia Americas.

The enhancement is big news, especially in the US, where Nokia has not made significant traction in the smart phone market. Instead, RIM has dominated the smart phone category in the US with its BlackBerry devices.

The integrated Microsoft email support will now make Nokia a more appealing choice for corporate users. But winning over corporate customers may still be difficult. Nokia rivals such as Palm and Motorola already have ActiveSync available on their smart phones, and BlackBerry continues to beat these companies. Apple has also introduced Microsoft ActiveSync for its iPhone users.

Original article: Nokia offers Microsoft email on smartphones from CNET News.com