Network World: Notes Traveler iPhone Support

Good news for iPhone and Windows Mobile users who also use Notes Mail. John Fontana at Network World scooped this on Monday

IBM/Lotus for the first time will provide users of the iPhone -- and other mobile devices that support ActiveSync -- with real-time access to their e-mail, calendars and contacts.

...and now the Press Release is out.

In related news, which some might think this is old news (as old as two weeks ago), the recently released Notes/Domino 8.5 came with a revamped iNotes interface. If you haven't seen the new iNotes 8.5 interface, with it's Lite and Ultralite versions, you might want to take another look. iNotes provides near functional parity with the Notes 8.5 desktop mail client. A few things are missing and they still need to enhance their widget support (only the web-page widget is supported today) but the AJAX-based interface is modern, fast, and very clean. iNotes Ultralite is perfect for mobile devices and dovetails very nicely with this announcement for ActiveSync support. IBM also announced at Lotusphere 2009 that it was planning Samtime support on the iPhone as well (due later this year). Soon Mac users with iPhones can work with their Notes/Domino mail in the same comfort as BlackBerry users.

Lotus Notes/iPhone users to get their wish: real-time e-mail access

Leaving on a jet plane - Jan 17

As I jet across the lower half of the US I’m studying the slide decks from the Lotussphere 09 (LS09) Analyst pre-briefs (yes, more than one) that were held late this week. There’s quite a bit of content in the presentations, so LS09 attendees be prepared for an information-packed OGS. No need for spoiler alerts, I’m not giving up anything until IBM says it’s OK (that would be Monday January 19th).

My studying is going to include building matrices of products and offerings. I tend to do that the Sunday of LS - it gets mind mind into some sort of data mapping (after all I started out as an application programmer), gap finding (gapware), and gauging my (and maybe Lotus’) level of confusion/understanding. I also need to go to the Internet and brush up on a few things before I go into briefings. Lastly, I’ll probably hold a few strategic talks with a few trusted cohorts to compare our pre-game notes and thoughts. Such is the life of a research analyst.

The big news leading up to LS09 IBM’s announcement on Thursday to acquire Outblaze, Ltd., a SaaS-based messaging and collaboration provider. This announcement leads the build-up to Monday’s events. Outblaze’s messaging services are slated to fill the glaring messaging gap in IBM Lotus’ Bluehouse strategy. Something that apparently I wasn’t alone in noticing. This is grand news for Bluehouse although I’m curious in finding out how it all plays out with the rest of IBM’s messaging solutions - Notes/Domino, Lotus Notes Hosted Messaging Services, and some other stuff that I can’t talk about yet. IBM’s press release states that:

Enterprise clients will be able to use IBM as a single provider for all their messaging needs, whether on-premise or online, serving a range of user needs from occasional to full-time. Small business customers will get a 
simple-to-acquire, integrated set of collaboration services that allow 
them to easily work with their network of customers and partners. 
Partners such as telecommunications operators and Internet service 
providers will be able to package and sell collaborative services to 
their clients under their own brands.

An interesting and broad proposition, something Outblaze is likely to provide. I still have questions that you can be sure I’ll ask this week.

Now the decision is what productivity editors do I use? Office? Symphony? iWork?