Craig,

I just passed on this Idea to Shawne Robinson the Traveler Product Manager.

Might be a risk, if the Pre doesn't sell well, of wasting development hours that could be dedicated to something else (i.e. making Notes work better on the top 3 selling phone platforms). On the other hand, its a great idea. How's that for one vote down and one up canceling out my vote entirely.

@Roland - ha! Take a stand - Vote No Opinion :-)

@Bruce

Ah, back at ya! I didn't know that was an option. I officially take a stand on the fence! Might be painful.

@Roland,

Take a look at the IdeaJam Tour videos at { Link }

@2 - Wouldn't it be more useful to develop a standard sync protocol that ALL smartphone vendors could write to? Then the effort wouldn't be wasted.

I seem to remember that some other vendor has been quite successful with that approach, but the vendor slips my mind at the moment.

@1 - Thanks!

@Bruce - TY, good vid. I am now enlightened. I have learned the proper way to express "I don't care". That is a life skill I have to this point in life lacked a suitable means to express. As you can see from the stats, I am making good use of this new found enablement. I owe you a beverage at the sphere.

@Craig - you make a good point, but I cannot start to care now or lose credibility (but you're on the right track).

@6 yes, it's called SyncML. That's an open protocol that is basically what is implemented under the covers in Lotus Notes Traveler.

@9 and it's an openly documented protocol with easy to access vendor-specific/supplied support?

@9 & @10 - (yes, I'm talking to myself.)
I don't mean to come off (too) challenging or gumpy, but this particular point has been discussed publicly for over a year, and the concept is applicable across many of the niggling issues that cause customers grief.

It seems blindingly obvious that if you want 3rd parties to support your product, you have to make it easy to do so. Part of that is open, documented, and supported API/interfaces like SyncML or MAPI or many other things like that.

@11 protocol access is there. Any mobile device vendor that wants to work with Domino can work with SyncML and the Traveler team to fill in any Domino-specific gaps. It doesn't need to be "openly documented" in terms of our implementation though I realize that would help. Let's put it this way -- the Nokia series 60 support in Lotus Notes Traveler 8.5 will likely work with other Symbian devices, we just haven't certified anything other than Nokia.

@11 - I think we're vastly underestimating how much it would help to have these things openly documented and easily available.

More directly: If it's so easy to do this, why do so many devices ship ready to work with (desktop software) or sync (handhelds) with Outlook/Exchange? It's not (entirely) because Microsoft has some big, evil hold on the minds of 3rd party companies.

Point: If I want to develop something that syncs works with ActiveSync, I don't have to talk to MS at all. Maybe eventually, but not to get started. I can dive right in with by googling "developing activesync". That. is. all. it. takes.

@13 I get that, Craig. But yes, I actually believe that there's a lot that has to do with business development as much or more than technical accessibility. (and I have a little insight on this :-) ) That's not to say we shouldn't publish, but it's not the only step in the process.

Guess not. Ah, well.

Voted, now that I have the Pre and it appears to be selling rather well. :-)
Truthfully, when I bought it I thought that as the Pre can connect with an Exchange server, I mistook that for Traveler/ActiveSync coming in 8.5.1.
I am far too in love with my Pre to go back to another phone, so I'm off to go look for a way to sync my Google calendar with Lotus Notes so I can still have the native calendar app in the Pre. I need my notifications! Email, I can live without. ;-)

New comment... the Pre supports connecting with Exchange (EAS). Isn't that ActiveSync? Shouldn't we be all set with 8.5.1 which is what I originally thought?

@Ms. Stratton You'd hope that, wouldn't you?

Per IBM - the only activesync device supported in 8.5.1 is the iPhone. There are 'plans' to support others, including the Pre/Pixi, but they are just that, 'plans'.

Having said that, it may still work. I don't have a Pre/Pixi to play with so I can't tell, but it will have no support from IBMotus.

I'm with @16 After 12 months of BB Curve misery, RIM should not be rewarded with additional revenue--from my perspective. VZW is offering a Palm Pre next week, and I am strongly considering it. I would want synching software natively in Domino, vis-a-vis Traveler. If the horizon is too long, then I'll look to BP ISVs for answers.