4iPhone.net launches hosted Exchange service for iPhone owners
Up until October of last year, I used 4SmartPhone.net as my hosted Microsoft Exchange provider. In fact, I used them for a good two or three years until I decided that Gmail's IMAP would meet my needs... and at no cost. I was wondering if they were going to offer service to iPhone owners, since the 2.0 firmware for the phone will support Microsoft Exchange. Sure enough, they are and you can find out about it at their new site: 4iPhone.net. Actually, you can pre-register for it since there's not much info on the site. ;)
From the press release they sent out today, it looks like pricing will be around $10.95 a month and my guess is that's if you pay annually in one lump-sum. With an account, you'll have Direct Push services right from the server for your e-mail, contacts, and calendar events to your iPhone. There's also the Remote Wipe function to delete data from your device. Why would a consumer need that? Just ask Robert Scoble... he knows why.
If you're new to the "Microsoft Exchange" world, consider the "Hosted Exchange 101" article we put together last year; it gives you the high-level view of what the service is and why you might want it.
Or you could get the 1and1.com's hosted exchange account for $6.99 per month, which also includes a mobile ActiveSync device (Windows Mobile, iPhone 2.0, etc.). Plus it is available today and includes IMAP access for iPhone 1.0 users.
At this price, its cheaper than Mobile Me!
Posted by: Rick Huizinga | June 25, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Do all Exchange hostings offer the abilty to use both iPhone or WinMo devices ? Or is there inherently something that the host needs to do to support the iPhone. Being able to sync contacts and tasks over PC, Smartphone and iPhone would be very sweet.
Posted by: NigelG | June 26, 2008 at 07:43 AM
Nigel, it will be up to each Exchange provider to determine what devices they want to support. Technically, I don't see any reason they can't support both iPhone & WinMo. Most probably will, but some will jump on iPhone support faster than others.
Posted by: Kevin C. Tofel | June 26, 2008 at 08:04 AM
Not sure about other hosts...but apps4rent.com does provide this support. They provide both iphone and Windows Mobile Sync without any additional charge and even in $6.95 plans.
http://apps4rent.com/hosted-exchange-silver.html
Posted by: Dean | July 16, 2008 at 04:27 PM
Yes, one of a few providers of Hosted Exchange - http://www.123together.com offers iPhone support. Support for many other mobile devices are supported as well with their email hosting offers: http://www.123together.com/mobility.xhtml
Posted by: Damien | August 17, 2008 at 11:08 PM