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Wireless Handheld Devices: PDAs - Personal Digital Assistants and Smart Phones

Accessing Your E-mail and Calendar

At this time the applications that are in high demand for mobility are e-mail and calendar. In the future more campus applications may be accessible through wireless handheld devices.  Check this space regularly for the latest information.

Most of these devices also contain Web browsers, but most University of Iowa Web pages are not yet formatted for display on these small screens.

Connection Options

• ActiveSync Enabled:
  Synching wireless via Hawkmail ActiveSync
  
  ActiveSync on your PDA phone (Smart Phone) allows you to directly download your e-mail and calendar from the Hawkmail server without going through your desktop computer.  ActiveSync synchronizes directly with the Hawkmail server, not your desktop software (Palm Desktop or Microsoft Outlook).
  
  We have had good experience with several models of PDAs and SmartPhones using ActiveSync with Hawkmail. See Hawkmail Calendar and Email from Anywhere for detailed information about ActiveSync in general and the devices in particular.
   
• BlackBerry:
  Synching your Blackberry with Hawkmail using the Blackberry Server (recommended)
  Synching your Blackberry with Hawkmail using IMAP/POP
  
  BlackBerry includes mobile devices, synchronization software, and connection protocol using the RIM (Research In Motion) operating system. BlackBerrys are a viable alternative. A BlackBerry Enterprise server has been implementated for full integration with the Exchange Email server at the University of Iowa. If you would like to request an account on the Blackberry server there is a one time $99 activation fee and you should check with your phone service provider to make sure that the phone plan you have supports Enterprise usage. For users that just want email on their Blackberry Phone IMAP/POP configurations are also available. Click here for more information about BlackBerry architecture.
  


• iPhone/iPod Touch:
  Connecting your iPhone/iPod Touch to UI Wireless
  Syncing your iPhone/iPod Touch using ActiveSync (recommended)
  Syncing your iPhone with Hawkmail using IMAP
  
  

• Palm TX
  Connecting the Palm TX to UI Wireless
  Using Versamail to sync with the Exchange server
  
   
• Wi-Fi:
  Wi-Fi stands for wireless fidelity which is common terminology for the IEEE 802.11 communications standard for wireless local area networks. You can think of Wi-FI as a direct alternative to connecting your device using an Ethernet (network) cable. The UI Wireless network is a Wi-Fi network as are many airports, hotels, and coffee shops in the USA. Visit the ITS Helpdesk Wireless Instructions page for more information.
   
• POP/IMAP:
  Basic POP/IMAP configuration settings
  
  POP (Post Office Protocol) and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) are standards based protocols for downloading or synchronizing your e-mail with a servers that support these protocols. The Hawkmail servers are enabled for POP/IMAP. Generally, a POP account downloads mail to your handheld device whereas IMAP leaves a copy on the server. Click here for more information.
   
• PC Monitor Software:
  PC Monitor Software allows you to synchronize your e-mail wirelessly through your desktop. It requires that an application always be running on your desktop to monitor your e-mail.
  
  ITS does not recommend this synchronization method because it requires that the application always being available. If the application halts or your desktop crashes, you can no longer synchronize your e-mail.

If you are not using Hawkmail for your e-mail please contact the ITS Help Desk (its-helpdesk@uiowa.edu, (319) 384-Help (4357)) to discuss additional options.

Last Updated: 07/14/2008