I've got opportunity to possibly get a 3Gs free and paid for, which is cool but what's really bugging me about the phone is the mail.

I receive a lot of PDF's over the weekend for review, and so far all is good on my Samsung phone through Verizon. Windows mobile is extremely clunky, but honestly it's Exchange integration can't be beat. Usually the PDF's are no more than about 2-3 megs in size and they download fast so I can just view them for a general okay, no need to sit down at a computer.

Earlier in the week, a colleague needed to forward files, and we're in the middle of downtown, full bars and 3G on both our phones. Problem is the files are on the exchange server, and it's taking his iPhone FOREVER to download the files, which in turn would take FOREVER to then re-upload.

Five actual minutes goes by, and the files aren't even done downloading to his phone. This is rather clunky and silly, I told him forget about it and forwarded them off my Omnia in literally a few seconds, because I don't have to actually download the files they are just forwarded straight from the exchange server.

Also I can say in this instance AT&T's claim of the fastest 3G network is a load of horse hooey, as for craps and giggles I downloaded the file, and it downloaded before his iPhone finished downloading despite having a 5 minute head start. Actually, the file was a scant 210KB so really I don't get the 5 minute download time.

Anyway, talking with IS guys earlier, they said Snow Leopard has better exchange integration than even Entourage, so I expect that would be coming soon to the iPhone, or at least I hope so. Mainly because what I need it for it would drive me bonkers and I'd smash the thing.

Has anyone heard of better exchange support in future updates? Or does he just not have it configured correctly? Because honestly having to download a file to the phone, and then re-upload it to the mail server to forward is a real deal breaker.

Can't help you there because I haven't gotten any PDF's through my mail. I could try it but this is a 70KB file that isn't going through MS Exchange. Does that matter? Or I could send it to my work email which is MS Exchange and is on my iPhone....

To be honest

Stick with the PC side of things - I am only saying this because you seem to be on the side of PCs anyway in a respectful kinda way .

Stay with what you know the best - if Apple Mail will later knock your socks off then make the change

John

I always had problems with ""Exchange"" and that was PC to PC - so what gives ?

Ok, I guess I didn't understand or misread, because I sent 2 PDF files from home to work, which my iPhone just checked. They are sitting on my iPHone in the email.

Is this what you mean?

Here's what I mean...

Both of us received the same email with a PDF file attached.

Neither phone downloaded the PDF, just the email body. Just like the email you took a shot of, those aren't on the phone, if you click one the phone will then download it.

Someone emailed him, and asked him to send them the email. He went to forward the message, however to do so his iPhone then proceeded to download the PDF onto the phone, and then resend the PDF - acting kind of like a POP mail client.

My phone simply sent a forward request to the exchange server, which then forwarded the PDF, just like Outlook on the PC. The PDF was never downloaded to the phone at any point.

However I'm beginning to think either he or IS has the phone set up incorrectly. The 3Gs is supposed to be fully compatible with ActiveSync, which means it shouldn't have to download the PDF and then resend it. I'll have to get my hands on it and investigate

**Edit - try forwarding that email, see if it downloads the PDF first. It shouldn't if the phone is fully activesync compatible, and you have the email client set up to use activesync and not as a POP client.

Carp, I work on OS X 10-12 hours a day. Up until snow leopard, Apple mail has really sucked if your email is on an exchange server. That's why I use Entourage, which itself isn't all that.

If Apple touts the iPhone 3Gs as being ActiveSync, but it has to download an attachment to the phone to forward to another person, then it's not fully ActiveSync compatible. It should work exactly as it does on my Omnia. I think however his phone might not be configured correctly.

Besides, it's a free iPhone 3GS. I'd be a damn fool not to take it, at the very least it's a 32GB iPod!

They do have it set up incorrectly.

I just forwarded that email to myself and it sent without downloading. It asked me if I wanted to include the attachments.

And when I went to view the PDF's, they opened up right away. Of course, they are small in size.

Awesome! That makes life a whole lot easier. Now I just gotta keep the pressure on 'em to get me the phone

Is the exchange server you guys are using and old version? I think the iPhones are really only compatible with the last couple server versions. (2003?+)