How to Securely Deploy iPhones With Exchange ActiveSync in the Enterprise - The Complete Cookbook

Based on a request at TechEd, I consolidated my 7-part series "How to Securely Deploy iPhones With Exchange ActiveSync in the Enterprise" into a single PDF document. Now you can view the entire series in one place or print it out for easier reference.

On a side note, I've tested these procedures on iPhone OS4 and everything works as expected.  No changes need to be made to the existing procedures - it all works fine.

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How to Use the Windows Mobile 6.1 Device Emulator

The Windows Mobile 6.1 Emulator is a software version of a Windows Mobile phone that you can use to test Windows Mobile applications, such as Exchange ActiveSync.  This tool is enormously helpful for testing, troubleshooting, and creating documentation.

The WM emulator has been around since about 1998, but disappeared for a while, due to some legal issues.  I remember using this tool at TechEd a few years ago in a session that taught you how to create applications for Windows Mobile.  It's back now, with improved functionality and ease of use.

The emulator runs on top of Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 (a free download).  Virtual PC 2007 provides the hooks to the host operating system to provide network access and resource sharing.  This makes the emulator much simpler to configure than in the past.

You will need to download the following two packages from Microsoft:

• Virtual PC 2007 (32 or 64-bit, 30.5MB)
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Emulator Images (Standard 185MB or Professional 272MB)

Install Virtual PC 2007 first, accepting all the defaults in the setup wizard.  No further configuration of Virtual PC 2007 is required.

Next, install Windows Mobile 6.1. Emulator Images, accepting all the defaults in the setup wizard.

To configure the emulator, run it from Start > All Programs > Windows Mobile 6 SDK > Standalone Emulator Images > US English > WM 6.1 Professional.  Click File > Configure.  On the General tab, browse to your Desktop as the Shared Folder.  This will make your Desktop the external storage card on the emulator.  Now check the Network tab and check Enable NE2000 PCMCIA network adapter and bind to checkbox and click OK.  By now the emulator should have finish starting up. 

Use your mouse to configure a network connection on the emulator, as follows:

• Click Start > Settings on the emulator.
• Click the Connections tab and Connections.
• Click the Advanced tab and Select Networks.
• Select My Work Network in the top dropdown box
• If you use a proxy server to access the Internet click Edit.  Click the Proxy Settings tab, configure your proxy settings.  Use the Advanced button to configure the proxy port, user name, password, and domain.  Click OK to get back to Network Management.
• Click OK to return to Settings.
• Click Network Cards.
• In the My network card connects to dropdown box select Work
• Click NE2000 Compatible Ethernet Driver.  Check to see that the NE2000 Ethernet Driver has received an IP address from your DHCP server, or configure the IP address and name servers here.  Click OK twice to return to Settings.
• Close Settings.

Now test your Internet connectivity by clicking Start > Internet Explorer.  Enter www.microsoft.com, which will redirect to mobile.microsoft.com, as shown.

You can now use the WM 6.1 emulator just like a real hardware mobile device!  Use it to test Exchange ActiveSync, your company's AutoDiscover record, or your custom applications.  The emulator runs the exact same code that Microsoft offers to device manufacturers.

There are several Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (touchscreen PocketPC) emulator images:

• WM 6.1 Classic
• WM 6.1 Professional (used in the screenshots above)
• WM 6.1 Professional 240x240
• WM 6.1 Professional 480x480
• WM 6.1 Professional Square
• WM 6.1 Professional Square QVGA
• WM 6.1 Professional Square VGA
• WM 6.1 Professional VGA

The Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard (non-touchscreen SmartPhone) emulator images include:

• WM 6.1 Standard (shown below)
• WM 6.1 Standard 400x240
• WM 6.1 Standard 440x240
• WM 6.1 Standard Landscape
• WM 6.1 Standard QVGA
• WM 6.1 Standard Square

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Joining the Dark Side

So, I finally joined the dark side by getting an Apple iPhone 3GS and.... I absolutely love it.  It's nothing short of awesome.

Now that the iPhone support most of the features of ActiveSync for Exchange 2007/2010, I can say it's almost enterprise ready.  I say "almost" because it still requires iTunes and it doesn't support all the ActiveSync policy features.

Even so, for me, it's a truly fabulous device that I can use as my phone, email device, music player and more.  Oh, so much more.  I love all the apps!

And best of all, it just plain works.  No more tinkering in the Windows Mobile registry, trying new ROMS, etc. just to try to get it to work the way I want.  The iPhone works -- right out of the box.

I highly recommend it.

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What's New with Exchange 2010 ActiveSync and Outlook Mobile

Some great new changes are coming with Exchange Server 2010 ActiveSync.

Many more partners beyond Windows Mobile have licensed the ActiveSync protocol for syncing email to your mobile device. Here are just a few:

Architecture-wise, Exchange 2010 ActiveSync has the same connectivity flow as Exchange 2007.

Here are some of the new Exchange Server 2010 ActiveSync features:

Block/Allow/Quarantine List
You can setup a single list to block/allow mobile devices as needed. You can also quarantine devices such as new untested devices, etc.

Over the Air Update ModeYou can now push new Outlook Mobile updates and/or new versions to Windows Mobile 6.1 and above. This is really nice since you no longer have to wait for a new Windows Mobile OS version to obtain a new version of Outlook Mobile.

SMS SyncThe ability to send SMS text messages through Exchange and Exchange ActiveSync is used to sync SMS messages with a user’s mobile device. Benefits of SMS sync:

• User can use OWA, Outlook, and Outlook Mobile to respond
• SMS messages are backed up on the server
• Recipients can respond to messages
• User can switch “screens” while still seeing all their messages

IMAP/POP3 Service DiscoveryYou can now autodiscover/autoconfigure the IMAP/POP3 settings from your mobile device by just specifying your email address, just like you can now with Outlook 2007.

Here are some of the new Outlook Mobile features:

Conversation ViewConversation view is invaluable. This allows you to have a nicer mobile email experience when trying to skim through the onslaught of emails. This is the same experience you will have in Exchange 2010 OWA and Outlook 2010, but really makes a huge difference on a mobile device.

Reply State
You can now see which emails you have replied to or forwarded.

Conversation Actions
You can now ignore threads, move entire threads to folders, etc. from your mobile device.

Nickname Cache
Very nice that your nicknames follow you now. Especially useful for external recipients you email often.

Voice Card
You no longer have to download an attached voicemail before you can play it. You just hit play and hear the voicemail. Another cool feature is the ability to see a written transcription of the voicemail in the body of the message. Very useful for meetings and noisy airports, where you can't play the voicemail.

Get Free/Busy
I love this feature. You can now easily check someone's Free/Busy times at a glance from your phone instead of breaking out the laptop, etc.

As you can see, there are some very useful features coming to Exchange Server 2010 ActiveSync and the new Outlook Mobile.

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Twitter Client Twikini is Released

I became a Twitter convert at this year's TechEd North America. It really was the best way to communicate and send status among friends and colleagues about session information, locations for swag, and "Let's meet outside the TLC" messages.

I tried a lot of Twitter clients for my Windows Mobile device, but by far the best was Twikini by Trinket Software. The application is fast, lightweight, and highly customizable. Even better, it integrates well with other online apps like TwitPic.

Trinket Software released the non-beta version of Twikini this week. If you're a Twitter user, I highly recommend you check it out.

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Getting Windows Mobile to Work with Exchange 2007 Using POP3/IMAP4 and SMTP (Part 2)

This is part 2 of my series, where I show you how to configure Windows Mobile to send and receive email from Exchange 2007 using IMAP4 and SMTP.
Part 1, where we configured Exchange 2007, can be read here.

Now that Exchange 2007 is configured, we need to configure a new email account in Windows Mobile. How you do this depends on the version of Windows Mobile on your device, but the essential steps are as follows:

• Enter your email address and password to access the new account
• Select Internet e-mail from the dropdown box for Your e-mail provider
• Enter your name as you want it to appear to recipients and choose an account display name on the device (i.e., IMAP Email)
• Enter the FQDN for the Exchange 2007 server that holds the Client Access (CAS) role (i.e., cas.mydomain.com) for the Incoming mail server.
• Choose IMAP4 as the Account Type
• Enter your account logon (domain\username) for the User Name and enter the network password
• Enter the FQDN for the Exchange 2007 server that holds the Hub Transport role, followed by :587 (i.e., smtp.mydomain.com:587) for the Outgoing (SMTP) mail server. See the figure above. If you don't follow the FQDN with :587, the Windows Mobile device will use the standard port 25 for SMTP communication.
• Select Outgoing server requires authentication
• Under Advanced Settings, select both the Require SSL for Incoming e-mail and Require SSL for Outgoing e-mail checkboxes to encrypt the traffic between the Windows Mobile device and Exchange 2007
• Configure your Automatic Send/Receive schedule

Important Note: You must enter the FQDN:587 correctly the first time for the Outgoing (SMTP) mail server field. You cannot edit it later once you've clicked off that field -- if you do, Windows Mobile will still use port 25. This seems to be a bug in Windows Mobile 6.1 and may happen in other versions, as well. If you don't enter it correctly the first time, you will either need to cancel the setup wizard and start over again or delete the email account and recreate it.
Now test your new settings by synchronizing the mail account and test sending
an email. If you get an error saying,

Message not sent. The message 'Test email' was not sent and has been moved to the Drafts folder. The server returned the following error message:
550 5.7.1 Unable to relay

It means that the Windows mobile device is trying to send SMTP email over port 25 through your Exchange server to a remote address, which is relaying. Delete the account you just created and do it again, making sure to enter :587 after the FQDN of the SMTP server.
I hope this two-part series helps you get IMAP and SMTP working properly between Exchange 2007 and your Windows Mobile device!

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Getting Windows Mobile to Work with Exchange 2007 Using POP3/IMAP4 and SMTP (Part 1)

This is the first of a two-part article that describes how to enable Windows Mobile devices to receive email from Exchange 2007 using IMAP4 and send email using SMTP.

As you probably know, Windows Mobile can only have one connection agreement with Exchange at a time. That means that if you want to access additional email accounts you must use POP3 or IMAP4 for incoming email and SMTP for outgoing email on your device.

In part 1, I will describe how to set up IMAP4 and SMTP client email submission in Exchange 2007. Part 2 will describe how to configure the Windows Mobile client.

Configuring IMAP4 in Exchange 2007
POP3 offers simple email retrieval services from a user's Inbox in Exchange. IMAP4 offers a few more extensive features, including access to all the folders in the user's mailbox. Neither of these services are enabled in Exchange 2007 by default. To enable POP3 or IMAP4 (usually one or the other), simply change the appropriate service from Manual to Automatic on your Exchange 2007 Client Access server (CAS) and then start it. In this article I will be using IMAP4 for Windows Mobile access.

The next step is to configure the logon authentication mechanism for IMAP4. I strongly recommend using TLS to secure logons so that usernames and passwords are not transmitted in plain text.

• Open the Exchange Management Console (EMC)
• Navigate to Server Configuration, Client Access and view the POP3 and IMAP4 properties of the CAS
• Double-click the IMAP4 protocol and select the Authentication tab
• Select Secure Logon. A TLS connection is required for the client to authenticate to the server.
• Select the appropriate X.509 certificate to use and click OK to close the properties window

Configuring SMTP Client Submissions in Exchange 2007
Now we need to configure the Exchange 2007 Hub Transport (HT) server to accept (receive)inbound SMTP connections from clients.

• Open the Exchange Management Console (EMC)
• Navigate to Server Configuration, Hub Transport and select the HT server
• Click New Receive Connector from the Action pane
• Give the new Receive Connector a name such as, "Mobile Clients"
• Select Client as the intended use for this receive connector and click Next
• Click Next to allow all remote networks to use this receive connector
• Click New to create the new Receive Connector
• Now open the properties of the Mobile Clients connector
• Click the Network tab and notice that the port the connector uses is 587
• Click the Authentication tab. Ensure that Transport Layer Security (TLS), Basic Authentication, Offer basic authentication only after starting TLS, and Integrated Windows Authentication are checked.
• Click the Permissions Groups tab. Ensure that only Exchange users is checked and click OK to close the properties window.

Name Resolution and Port Forwarding
The FQDN of the CAS (i.e., cas.mydomain.com) and the HT server (i.e., smtp.mydomain.com) must be resolvable from your Windows Mobile device on the Internet. The CAS must also accept IMAP4 requests and the HT must accept SMTP submissions from your Windows Mobile device. This may require you to configure port forwarding from your external firewall. You will need to forward TCP port 143 for IMAP4 to the CAS and port 587 for client SMTP message submission to the HT server.

Port 25 is fast becoming the port used exclusively for server to server SMTP traffic and port 587 is becoming the standard for client to server SMTP traffic.

So far, we have configured Exchange 2007 to allow secure IMAP4 and SMTP client access. In part 2 of this series I will discuss how to enable IMAP4 and SMTP access to Exchange from a Windows Mobile device.

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Outlook Calendar Synchronization Cookbook

I carry an AT&T 8525 Windows Mobile device as my phone and PDA. It’s connected to my company’s Exchange 2007 server back in the office, but as a consultant I’m nearly always at a client site.

When I’m onsite for any length of time the client usually provides me with an email account on their network so that I can more easily communicate with teams and accept meeting invitations. The trouble for me has always been how to synchronize calendar data between the two calendars. There are lots of hard and messy ways to do this – I can forward the appointments to my WM device or type them in manually, or I can use Google calendar to do a “middle man” synchronization.

What I’ve discovered that does a really good job is a software and service called Funambol. This free service is made up of three components:

• The Funambol client for Windows Mobile
  
• The Funambol client for Windows Outlook
  
• The myFunambol Portal, the hosted server that holds the synchronized data
  

Funambol can perform synchronization of email, contacts, calendar items, tasks, notes and briefcases. Synchronization can be one-way (from Funambol server to phone only or from phone to server only) or two-way. Since I only perform calendar synchronization this article only covers this, but the other types of synchronization can be setup the same way.

To begin, sign up for a free myFunambol account at http://my.funambol.com. This creates a personal database account for you that will hold the synchronized data. The myFunambol portal also offers a web interface where you can view and manage your synchronized data stored on the server.

Next, download the Funambol Outlook Plugin from https://www.forge.funambol.org/download and install it on the computer with Outlook that you want to sync with your mobile device. Follow the Wizard to install the plugin. I won’t list them here because Funambol updates their software regularly and the steps may change, but here are the settings I use in the version I’m currently using:

• Account and password are the same as the myFunambol account
  
• Sync Calendar; One-way: Outlook -> Server; Synchronize every 2 hours

Test the synchronization from Outlook. The plugin may warn you that it needs to perform a full sync the first time. Once the sync completes, log into the myFunambol portal to ensure that your data is there.

Now download and install the correct Funambol client for your mobile device from https://www.forge.funambol.org/download. Funambol makes one for Windows Mobile PocketPC, Windows Mobile Smartphone, Blackberry, Java based phones and even the Apple iPod.

Install the client on your device and configure it thusly:

• Account and password are the same as the myFunambol account
  
• Synchronize all items in: Calendar
  
• PIM options – Sync Direction: Server to Phone only
  
• Sync Method: Scheduled Sync, Sync every 2 hours

Now sync your mobile device. The device will tell you that it needs to perform a full sync the first time and begin syncing the data from the myFunambol portal.

Viola!!! Calendar synchronization made easy!

For this solution to work, your Outlook client must be running and have Internet access.

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Windows Mobile 6 for the Samsung BlackJack - FINALLY!

Finally! After almost a year waiting, AT&T and Samsung have released Windows Mobile 6 for the original BlackJack. I nominated WM6 for the BlackJack as the year's biggest vaporware product on Wired Magazine's annual list. It was voted the #6 spot.

Head on over and get it here!

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Exchange ActiveSync Policies

Exchange Server 2007 provides ActiveSync mailbox policies to allow administrators to manage the Windows Mobile devices that attach to the network. This allows you to apply a common set of policy or security settings to a group of users or even an individual user.

Exchange 2007 RTM included 16 policy settings. That number climbs to 27 in Exchange 2007 SP1 for the Exchange 2007 Standard CAL. The SP1 Enterprise CAL offers an additional 16 settings. Settings that only exist in the Enterprise CAL, such as controlling POP and IMAP, Bluetooth, WiFi, the camera and text messaging, make that CAL a compelling choice for some customers.

The Exchange Team blog has an in-depth explanation of ActiveSync policies, as well as a great chart that shows the different policies for each version and CAL. Read What's New for Exchange ActiveSync Mailbox Policies in Exchange Server 2007 SP1? Microsoft also has a policy reference on MSDN, Understanding Exchange ActiveSync Mailbox Policies. Keep in mind that these settings only apply to devices that support them. Some only work on Windows Mobile 6 and some mobile device vendors may strip support for them from their mobile devices.

Another important change in SP1 is that it now publishes a default EAS policy, where RTM requires you to manually apply the default policy.

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Fix for Problem Storing Email Attachments on Storage Card

I frequently try new ROMs for my Windows Mobile device. On my last ROM I came across an issue that prevented me from storing Email attachments on my 2GB microSD storage card. The Storage error says, "No unlocked storage card detected. Make sure an unlocked storage card is inserted and try again."

The problem occurs when Windows Mobile thinks the extended ROM is your storage card, and the extended ROM is locked (the default behavior).

Notice in the screenshot above that WM6 says I have only 8.52MB free (the extended ROM), not 2GB as it would be if it were looking at the storage card.

The fix is to hide the extended ROM, restart the mobile device and reconfigure email to store attachments on the storage card. You can then re-show the extended ROM if necessary.

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How to Tell Which Users Have an ActiveSync Partnership

It's always good to know who is using the technology we support. I have a customer who needed to know which users were utilizing Windows Mobile devices to access their Exchange servers.

Here's a one-liner PowerShell command that reports which users have ActiveSync partnerships configured in Exchange 2007:

Get-CASMailbox WHERE {$_.HasActiveSyncDevicePartnership} SELECT identity

In Exchange 2003, it's not quite that simple. The ActiveSync partnership is stored in a hidden folder within the user's Exchange mailbox. This folder can be exposed using mfcmapi (the Microsoft Exchange Server MAPI Editor).

Mailboxes do not have the hidden Microsoft-Server-ActiveSync folder by default. Once an ActiveSync partnership has been configured from the user's Windows Mobile device, the following folder structure is created under the Root Container:

Note that PocketPC may show as SmartPhone, depending on the device used.

While mfcmapi can view the Root Container structure for an individual maibox, this is not feasible for a multi-user enterprise. I contacted Microsoft PSS for a solution, but they said there was no way to do this programmatically. Fortunately, I found this excellent VBscript written by Glen Scales that does exactly what I was looking for.

Here's an example of the output that the script produces:

Viola! Just what the doctor ordered!

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Office Mobile 6.1 Update

Microsoft has released the highly anticipated Office Mobile 6.1. This upgrade, which is free to existing Office Mobile users, finally adds support for Office 2007 file formats. It includes new Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile applications.

Other improvements include:
• Enhanced viewing experience for charts in Excel Mobile
• Ability to view SmartArt in PowerPoint Mobile
• Ability to view and extract files from compressed (.zip) folders

If you don't have Office Mobile on your device, it's $49 to purchase.

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Windows Mobile Codenamed "Neo"

While I'm on the subject of Windows Mobile, you ought to check out this video of what's to come. Windows codenamed "Neo" is Microsofts new "carousel" OS that changes the way you interact with your mobile device.

As discussed in an article at WMExperts, Microsoft recently applied for a patent on the interface. The new interface lets you think "what do I want to do right now" instead of "what do I want to do right now, what application do I need to open to do it, and how to I interact with that particular application."

Very cool! Right now it's available on the T-Mobile Shadow.

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Finally! WM6 is available for AT&T 8525

Windows Mobile 6 is finally available for the AT&T 8525, also known as the HTC Hermes. 8525 users can download the new ROM from the HTC 8525 download site.

Get it while it's hot! According to HTC,

"This ROM is available from November 1, 2007 to February 1, 2008. After this date, the ROM will be removed from the website and will no longer be available for distribution."

WM6 offers HTML email, improved calendaring, and a host of other goodies. I've been running it for a few months now and I'm quite impressed.

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Using Windows Mobile AutoCorrect to Automatically Replace Text

I love my Windows Mobile device, an AT&T 8525 (also known as the HTC Hermes). But as a former Blackberry user I really miss the Blackberry's AutoText feature.

AutoText allows you to enter a text string that will be replaced by another text string.

For example, if I'm driving and someone sends an email I need to reply to, I can reply with "cm" (call me) and the device would automatically change it to "Please call me on my cell at (650)555-1212."

This article explains how to achieve the same functionality on a Windows Mobile device using Windows Mobile's AutoCorrect feature.

First, ensure that you are able to view hidden files and folder in Windows Explorer. This is done on the Tools Folder Options View tab of Windows Explorer. If you have Windows XP, you will also need Microsoft ActiveSync 4.2 or better installed and configured on your computer. ActiveSync can be downloaded here. If you have Windows Vista, download and configure Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 for Windows Vista here.

1. Create an ActiveSync connection
   
2. Click Explore in ActiveSync
   
3. Navigate to your mobile device's \Windows folder
   
4. Locate the autocorrect.txt file and copy it to the Desktop. Note: Your autocorrect.txt file may be named differently. Mine is named autocorrect.0409.txt
   
5. Rename the autocorrect.txt file on your mobile device as a backup in case you need to restore it later
   
6. Right-click the autocorrect.txt file on your Desktop and select Properties. Clear the Read-only checkbox and click OK. Note: If you don't see the autocorrect.txt file on your Desktop, it's because you aren't able to see hidden files.
   
7. Open autocorrect.txt in Microsoft Excel
   
8. Insert as many rows as necessary and enter your new AutoCorrect entries. Column A is the text you want to correct and column B is the corrected text. For example,
   jeff for column A and Jeff for column B. See the example below.
   
9. Use Excel's data sorting feature to alphabetize the text by column A. Windows Mobile will not read the file correctly if it is not in alphabetical order.
   
10. Save the autocorrect.txt file in its current format
    
11. Drag and drop the autocorrect.txt file from the Desktop to the \Windows folder on the Windows Mobile device
    
12. Reset the Windows Mobile device to begin using the new AutoCorrect entries. Windows Mobile reads the autocorrect.txt file at start up.
    
    

Note: Be careful not to enter a text string to replace that you might actually use. For example, if you configure "im" to be replaced by "I'm", the phrase "My IM address is jeff@expta.com" will be converted to "My I'm address is jeff@expta.com".

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Placing Server Certificates on Mobile Devices

About the only thing that's difficult in setting up Exchange ActiveSync on a mobile device is getting the server certificate on it. Of course, this is a non-issue if you're using a trusted certification authority like Verisign, Thawte, GoDaddy, etc. I wrote these procedures for those of you who don't want the trouble or expense of buying an SSL cert and want to use the Exchange self-signed certificate.


Export the Certificate

• Log into the Exchange server with administrative rights and run IIS Manager
• Expand Local Computer Web Sites
• Right-click Default Web Site and select Properties
• Click the Directory Security tab
• Click View Certificate
• On the Details tab click Copy to File..., Next, Next, Next
• Enter the path and filename to use for the certificate export (i.e., C:\server.cer)
• Click Finish to export the certificate

How to Put the Certificate on the Phone

Option 1, Using Windows ActiveSync

• Download and install ActiveSync 4.5 on a PC (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9e641c34-6f7f-404d-a04b-dc09f8141141&DisplayLang=en)
• Dock the phone
• Use Explorer in ActiveSync to drop the cert into My Documents on the phone
• Use File Explorer on the phone to navigate to My Documents
• Select the server.cer file to import it

Option 2, Using Email

• If there is an alternate form of email on the device, email the cert to your device
• Open the attachment and import it

Option 3, Using a Website

• Send server.cer to a compressed folder (zip file)
• Put the zip file on a web server
• Use Internet Explorer on the phone and navigate to the URL of the zip file to open it (i.e., http://www.myserver.com/cert.zip)
• Download, open and import it

If you have an older Windows Mobile 2002 or 2003 device, check out the SPAddCert utility from Microsoft, documented at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841060.

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Beware the iPhone

The iPhone is a (very) expensive consumer device that has no place in the corporate environment. It has no security, cannot connect to enterprise email systems except using unsecured protocols (IMAP), and opens the company up to potential (extremely likely) copyright concerns.

Most companies should have a corporate "Just say no" policy for the iPhone in place by now. That way when the CEO drops his new iPhone on the administrator's desk and says, "Make it work with my email", they'll have a response ready.

On a side note, surveys have shown that people are really interested in three things about cell phones: Service quality (they want to be able to place or answer a call, not be dropped and be heard clearly), battery life, and ease of use (not having to use arcane menuing systems). Everything else is just gravy. When you add email to the mix, people want to be able to easily send and receive emails (tiny keypads and menuing systems inhibit this) and to a smaller degree expect fast delivery.

It seems that cell phone companies are busily trying to create "the next big thing" by adding the last big thing to their already crowded and confusing devices. Most people don't use 1/4 of the features on the phones they already have.

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