CoMo's Out and About for Windows Mobile 6 Users

Microsoft made some hoopla when it launched Office Communications Server 2007 back in October. That's a big one for folks looking to integrate voice, IM, email and the rest of the Office 2007 suite. Cool stuff. So cool that it muted the release of Communicator Mobile. And yeah, before any Softies jump on me, the official name is Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile 2007--nickname CoMo.

This package runs only on dual-mode Windows Mobile 6 devices, but it's got a lot to offer for companies looking to get the most out of their smartphone investment. Microsoft's eventual goal is for companies to treat Windows Mobile clients as regular network citizens, just like laptops. You can already use WM5 and WM6 to directly log into a Microsoft Exchange email server. With CoMo, you can access OCS as well and use it in conjunction with your Exchange account. A few screen shots to show you what I'm babbling about:






First, you can engage enterprise chat behind the firewall, just like with desktop Office Communicator 2007. That means you can access our Exchange/OCS contact lists and not only get their contact info, but their availability as well. Mr. Lyon (above screen), for example, is busy, so starting a chat isn't the smart move. Better to one-click on either the Work phone or the Send E-Mail box and zap him something he can get to later.

Fortunately, CoMo has a decent contact search interface that can pull up all your contacts, contacts by name, or contacts by group--again just like the desktop version. You can also opt for different views, like this one (immediate left) where all you're interested in is their current availability.

And like the desktop version, you can adjust your OCS settings, too. That includes adjusting your presence (pictured below left), but you can also do things like add contacts, organize multi-party chat or log into federated OCS servers (meaning OCS boxes located at partner companies, not just your own).

Sure, I can think of more features I'd like to see (like some way to participate in a Live Meeting, for example), but that's for the future. CoMo, however, is an interesting look at how the phone is going to evolve for business users. Right now, these kinds of features are only available in a wholly closed server environment (Active Directory, Exchange, Office Communications Server, SharePoint, etc.). But the standards for doing this on a more open level, using protocols that different brands of servers can recognize, are already in the works.


Eventually, features like these are going to be available not only no matter what messaging servers your company uses, but as hosted features that any cell phone user will be able to access whether they're working for a specific business or not.