DataViz said it would enable Microsoft's push e-mail solution on pre Windows Mobile 5.0 handhelds a few months back. Today, the company made that solution, with the RoadSync Exchange ActiveSync client, now available to the many consumers and enterprises still using older-generation PDAs and smartphones running Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition software. These would include devices like HP's iPAQ hw6500 and Samsung's i700 series.

With push (available most famously in Research In Motion's BlackBerry solutions), when a server receives a message, it is automatically sent to a mobile device instead of the user having to manually pull it down or schedule retrievals at set intervals. It is now almost a prerequisite for a smartphone.

Microsoft started providing push e-mail support to Exchange on the backend last fall. And just before the company completed its push e-mail puzzle with the development of on-device client for the technology this past February, DataViz released RoadSync 2, its Exchange Server ActiveSync-enabled client for Symbian smartphones; bringing Redmond’s push technology to one of the company's chief smartphone competitors a hair before its own Windows Mobile platform.

In addition to push e-mail, Microsoft's technology allows for the wireless synchronization of PIM (calendar, contacts, and tasks) data with an Exchange server. Administrators can also remotely wipe data from a lost device, and users have the ability access the corporate contact list wirelessly.

Unlike with Windows Mobile 5.0 devices, to gain push compatibility with these older 2003 Second Edition gadgets you will have to pay $49.99 for the RoadSync Exchange ActiveSync on-device client. There are no monthly fees, however. And the server side Exchange upgrade, available through Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Exchange Server 2003, is free. Many ISPs and enterprises have done so already.

The software developer also said it'll soon offer RoadSync for Windows Mobile 5.0, in addition to the Symbian S60 and UIQ 3.0 platforms. This version will build upon Microsoft’s native wireless sync capabilities by adding support for new Exchange 2007 productivity features, such as e-mail flagging, online mailbox search, and support for linked SharePoint files .

DataViz product manager Ilya Eliashevsky noted, “RoadSync for Windows Mobile 2003 makes the key SP2 features, such as Direct Push, available to the tens of thousands of Windows Mobile 2003 devices already in today’s enterprises. As Exchange 2007 adds new mobility features we plan to subsequently make many of those features available for current devices running Windows Mobile 5.0."