Let's discuss: push mail for Exchange

[Kostya Vasilyev]

TouchDown uses ActiveSync. So does Nine, Moxier Mail, and stock (and vendor-modified) Email apps.

ActiveSync was designed with mobile devices in mind, it doesn't have any issues wrt. push + mobile device. EWS was not, and it does.

[SanderNijdam]

I just had a crazy idea: wouldn't it be possible to make a 'combined' IMAP-EWS account? This would be an account that uses both the IMAP and EWS functionality of an exchange server. It would use IMAP for the push-notifications and EWS for all the other functionality.

Now I'm really on the fence: switching from IMAP to EWS means gaining a lot of functionality but also losing the push. I could keep both active but this is not so practical. Combining them could be an ideal solution/workaround.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Um, I can't even imagine how that would work...

[SanderNijdam]

Um, I can't even imagine how that would work...

One account in Aqua Mail of the type 'EWS-IMAP combined' with separate server entry pages for IMAP and EWS. EWS is then used to get all the folders. Each folder is then checked to be available also on the IMAP-server. Then for the folders that are available both on EWS and IMAP it is possible for the user to check 'IMAP push'. Then AquaMail uses IMAP-push to wait for new messages. When a new message is detected, that folder is synchronized using EWS. The non-IMAP folders (like the calendar) are regularly checked like normal EWS-folders.
I could imagine this would work.

[zspb]

Buying a server from Online.net or some other similar service is cheaper and much more safer. (You could rent the 16 euro Avoton server. Much more powerful.)

You could use encryption with this setup, and enter passcode via KVM.
(You dont reboot servers that often anyway.)

For backups, Google's new cheap cold storage would come in handy.
(Since the 16 euro machine comes with a single drive only.)
Maybe you could introduce a 1$/month fee for this service.
Paypal and Google Payments both provide tools for this.

I would be interested for sure.
(Heck, throw in a discount like 10$/year. Few people, and you are not working with a loss.)

[SanderNijdam]

I could imagine this would work.

I have recently started using EWS and am now even more convinced it makes sense to have such a combined account. I found that the data usage of EWS is a lot higher than of IMAP-push. I use some 30 folders and found that it costs me a few 100 MB per day when using EWS to check them every 5 minutes. With IMAP-push this was much lower and instant instead of the 5 minutes. This data usage is no problem when in reach of WIFI but otherwise it can get expensive.
Although I love the extra functionality of EWS, I think I will switch back so not to be surprised by too high data usage.

For testing these kind of things it would be nice to have an option to (temporary) disable accounts. As far as I could find it is now impossible to disable an account except by deleting it.

[stevealb]

The combined EWS and imap would only work on those exchange servers that are set to support both. My exchange server is not set to support imap. I agree that push is essential and would pay extra to have Activesync, notwithstanding the strict policy requirements.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Re: data usage - EWS is a very verbose protocol, in ways more than one.

Re: disabling accounts as necessary - an easy way to do this is with Tasker, AquaMail has built-in support for it, including being able to change per-account settings.

[Tanchico]

I may have posted this in another thread.
My need for Exchange Push in AM went from "required" to "nice to have" and now "I don't care"

I have an elegant but simple solution and it's been working flawlessly;
 - Set AM to sync with Exchange only once a day
 - Install some other email that supports ActiveSync, just for notifcations (most are garbage compared to AM)
 - Use Tasker with some plugins to check notifiations and trigger AM to sync my Exchange account

Done!

I added some Tasker code to turn off the redundant nofitications but it's still pretty basic and just works. I'm getting dozens of Exchange emails daily, I get them within seconds and my AM battery drain is hardly measurable.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

@Tanchico, that's really impressive.

[SanderNijdam]

I may have posted this in another thread.
My need for Exchange Push in AM went from "required" to "nice to have" and now "I don't care"

I have an elegant but simple solution and it's been working flawlessly;
 - Set AM to sync with Exchange only once a day
 - Install some other email that supports ActiveSync, just for notifcations (most are garbage compared to AM)
 - Use Tasker with some plugins to check notifiations and trigger AM to sync my Exchange account

Done!

I added some Tasker code to turn off the redundant nofitications but it's still pretty basic and just works. I'm getting dozens of Exchange emails daily, I get them within seconds and my AM battery drain is hardly measurable.

Sounds like an excellent idea. I installed Tasker and am experimenting with the stock email client as 'notifier'. This works, however, it does not give a notification when an email arrives in another folder (by server-side rules). Which client do you use for the notifications?
And how do you turn off the redundant notifications?

[starbuckk]

An interesting thread.  I have been wishing for a single app that supports EWS, EAS and IMAP so I could have an all in one app.  But after reading this thread I understand why you are not supporting ActiveSync.  Aquamail is the ONLY app I have found that supports EWS (at least with any degree of quality).

This thread has given me a few ideas about how to use it better. EWS is critical to me because of dealing with some clients that either do not allow contractors access to EAS, or demand too much power.

Thanks for a great app!

[OCS]

I just discovered AquaMail which I'm please with so far, and came looking for info on Exchange push.  For me I'm not sure if it's a deal-breaker, but it's close.  I'll have to see how it goes.  I would certainly greatly prefer ActiveSync, and like another poster mentioned, I would pay extra for it.

In regards to the quote of some guy bashing Boxer because of paying more for Exchange, that sucks.  What about offering another app in the Play store, AquaMail + ActiveSync, with a higher price and explanation about licensing costs?

[Kostya Vasilyev]

- No ActiveSync

- No push, since "Kostya Vasilyev" just doesn't sound as nice as "XYZ Inc., we sure will encrypt your password".

I don't have the resources to offer two separate apps, and anyway, not sure how it would be any different from the Boxer case --

-- users would still need to pay if they wanted ActiveSync, and then it would be same old "how come, the built-in Gmail app works with my corporate mail and it's free, hey, you hear me, idiot developer, it's free and preinstalled".

[stevealb]

No push? That's too bad, as it is a requirement for me. I was holding out with AM, hoping that you would find a solution to push without activesync. Since you are now abandoning push altogether, I must find a different solution than AM for my exchange account. It's a shame, because in most respects, AM is the best mobile email client out there. But without push, I must find another alternative.