To better compete withResearch In Motion's BlackBerry offering, Good Technology has inked a deal to sell its wireless e-mail service directly to Sprint business customers.

Previously, the service, which also provides two-way wireless synchronization of contact lists, calendars, notes and tasks programs, was only available through third-party providers.

The new agreement between the Santa Clara, Calif., messaging specialist and Overland Park, Kan., telecom also means subscribers will have one bill for Sprint voice service and GoodLink data services.

Good Technology also unveiled a number of other enhancements today: support for Microsoft Windows Mobile smartphones; back-end integration with IBM Lotus Notes and Domino; new foreign language compatibility; and increased security measures.

"Sprint's powerful distribution and reliable CDMA (define) network will bring GoodLink productivity and efficiency benefits to even more customers more conveniently and cost-effectively," Danny Shader, Good Technology's CEO, said in a statement.

It's the second recent partnership with a wireless carrier aimed at adding to its 6,500 corporate customers. Last month, it signed a similar agreement with Cingular, the nation's largest wireless carrier.

Good's wireless e-mail and data software will be included when the carrier's 1,700-person, business-to-business sales force makes its pitch to corporate customers.

RIM and Good have battled in recent years. In May 2002, Good dragged RIM into court in an attempt to invalidate some of the latter's patents. In July of that year, RIM sued Good for patent infringement.

After ugly charges of stealing trade secrets, unfair competition and breach of good faith, the two companies settled in March 2004, with Good agreeing to pay an undisclosed amount plus quarterly royalties to RIM.

Good's strategy has been to forge partnerships with market leaders. In February, it joined with HP to offer GoodLink on future iPAQ releases. The deal followed a November 2004 agreement to add GoodLink to Nokia Communicator line.

Mob-E-Mail On-The-Move
Sprint's deal with Good highlights today's new mobile reality: Businesses and professionals have come to expect certain value-added services from their wireless carriers.

Voice communications alone no longer satisfies. Many subscribers want wireless access to e-mail, appointments and contacts from their mobile phones, smartphones and feature phones.

This spring, analyst firm Gartner predicted this week that by 2008 wireless e-mail will become standard fare for all smartphones, existing right alongside voice communications. SmartPhoneToday expects it'll to become far more prevalent in your average feature cell phone too, as J2ME and Brew-based e-mail solutions are already here and should become available to more users over time.

Slow Going
Even though the trend is towards widespread adoption, the difference between those who are able to communicate by means of voice and individuals who can correspond via e-mail is still considerable.

The exorbitant monthly fees charged by carriers for data services are one reason why mobile e-mail adoption rates aren't higher nowadays. Gartner says the costliness of messaging is due to unwillingness on the part of carriers to allow extensive messaging on their networks because of spammers and their ilk.

"Operators are reluctant to permit widespread messaging access to their networks without collecting fees from those who send such messages, such as spam," said Gartner VP and analyst Ken Dulaney.

He predicts this situation won't last forever, as the carriers " will lose this battle the same way that telecommunications companies lost the battle against an open Internet."

Anothr reason is—not unlike the early days of cellular voice communications—many enterprises have been disinclined to mobilize e-mail because they simply don't know how it can help their organization.