Nokia took aim at smartphone rival RIM this week, announcing plans to expand the number of devices that will automatically be capable of accessing Microsoft corporate email via the software giant's Exchange platform.
On the eve of the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment tradeshow in San Francisco, Nokia announced it would 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 N-series and E-series phones released in future.
Until this announcement, Nokia offered Microsoft email support as a download for only a handful of devices. However, the feature wasn't well publicised, and it was relatively 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 N-series and E-series 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 could do it themselves without the help of their IT department, said Bill Plummer, vice president of sales and go-to-market for Nokia Americas.
Research in Motion has dominated the smartphone category in the US with its BlackBerry devices. The integrated Microsoft email support could now make Nokia a more appealing choice for corporate users.
However, winning over corporate customers may still be difficult. Nokia rivals, such as Palm and Motorola, already have ActiveSync available on their smartphones, and BlackBerry continues to have the upper hand over these companies. Apple has also introduced Microsoft ActiveSync for its iPhone users.
