Zimbra

Though the Holidays are in full swing and the big day less than 48 hours away, some of us here at Zimbra are just getting started on the gift giving process.  So naturally we started today by checking out some of our favorite idea spots like UnCrate, Gizmodo and the Adult Swim Store.

Invariably, a visit to Apple was also in order for gadgets and Apps to use as stocking stuffers.  That last bit may sound odd, but as an example, there are no fewer than four iPhones/Touches circulating now in my family and we are not alone.  Not surprisingly, children will also choose a new App over anything we could bring home from the Dollar Store.  So, the iTouch goes back in the stocking with Flick Fishing this year – and voila a new tradition is born. :)

Happily, during the process we discovered a new App benefiting Zimbra users who are on the go.  It’s called the Aderium Companion for Zimbra (App Store URL) and it gives you access to Zimbra Tasks and Briefcase items on the iPhone or iTouch – as well as Wiki pages, a feature we haven’t built into our own mobile web client yet.  It’s quite handy for viewing shared documents and creating new tasks on the go.  It’s also more convenient than using the mobile browser; though it’s not free that’s a small price to pay if you like having email, contacts, calendars, tasks, wiki docs and files on your iPhone natively (i.e. Zimbra Mobile plus Aderium).

Just added to my iPhone and soon to be in my stocking…  Happy Holidays!

The Zimbra Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server (ZCB) beta period is now closed; starting today ZCB is generally available (GA)!

Zimbra Network Edition (and trial) customers who have Zimbra Mobile may use ZCB free of charge, and it is fully supported by the Zimbra team.

This version of ZCB focuses on features and functionality requested by our largest BlackBerry constituency – small to medium businesses looking to migrate from their existing collaboration platforms, hence the official name: Zimbra Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server Small Business Edition. You may use it with up to 50 devices running on BlackBerry Professional or BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) for Exchange.

The addition of ZCB to Zimbra Collaboration Suite is significant because it is the only next-generation, open source email and collaboration platform to offer native integration with BES (and joins existing providers Microsoft, IBM and Novell). Until now, alternative platforms required 3rd party outsourced providers to channel BES, which meant less control and potentially higher costs for organizations.

With ZCB GA plus ZCS 6.0 (coming soon) providing mobile enhancements like Task sync, remote device wipe and many new features for mass-market devices ActiveSync devices, including the iPhone; the Zimbra Mobile family has more well-rounded mobility for a broader range of users and devices than ever before. Providing features key to collaboration: Such as full access to your global directory list, robust searching, support for multi-node ZCS configurations in addition to the native over-the-air synchronization of mail, calendars, and contacts. Moving forward, we will also look to further expand our ZCB offering to support Nginx proxy and larger organizations – one of the fastest growing markets for Zimbra.

We are very proud to have achieved this milestone and want to thank everyone for their testing and support throughout the process!

Network Edition users may register and download the ZCB GA here.

Now that the iPhone 2.0 software update is here, here’s a sneak peek of what Zimbra Mobile for iPhone looks like.

First, if you are new to Zimbra Mobile it’s part of Zimbra Collaboration Suite Network Edition and provides over-the-air synchronization of emails, appointments and contacts between a user mailbox and their mobile device. “Push” technology can make sure that updates are delivered to mobile devices as they happen in user’s mailbox on the server. Zimbra Mobile supports a wide range of ActiveSync compatible devices, including Microsoft Window Mobile (PocketPCs and Smartphones), Treo Palm OS series, Nokia E series (and other devices running 3rd party clients like RoadSync). Now, the latest additions to our device list are iPhone and iPod Touch running the iPhone 2.0 software. We’ve been tuning and polishing Zimbra Mobile to be a great match for iPhone.

I know everyone has his or her own favorite email gadget but personally, I’m glad I have an iPhone. With iPhone’s large, bright touch screen, instant “push” delivery, HTML email display, support for all sorts of document/media attachments and meeting invitations plus a photo-enabled address book, what else can I wish for? And the best part is Zimbra Mobile for iPhone takes full advantage of all that!

OK enough words. Let’s see what it will look like in action.

Note: Zimbra Collaboration Suite Network Edition 5.0.7 is required for iPhone sync support.

Zimbra Mobile for iPhone is a new feature in Zimbra Collaboration Suite Network Edition 5.0.7, and it requires the iPhone 2.0 software update from Apple. I’m really excited about the Zimbra Mobile for iPhone user experience. This is a great addition to our existing solutions for iPhone which includes ZCS optimized for the mobile Safari browser and our iSync Connector for the Apple Desktop. To find out more about Zimbra Mobile for iPhone, check out the Zimbra Mobile Forums.