There are also a number of small bug fixes and improvements in the new release including fixes for new email notifications on the i8910 and 5800, improvements in full screen and zooming support and support for syncing with Google Calendar and Google Contacts (for non Exchange users).
DataViz are also celebrating their partnership with Samsung which sees RoadSync shipping out-of-the-box with the i8910 HD (Omnia HD) handset:
RoadSync is optimized for Symbian S60 5th Edition and provides Samsung customers with built-in secure, wireless and direct push synchronization of corporate e-mail, calendar, contacts and tasks with Microsoft Exchange Server.
“Samsung is regarded as one the most successful quality brands in today’s market and we are very pleased to partner with them to provide Exchange ActiveSync connectivity for their handsets,” said Dick Fontana, President and CEO of DataViz, Inc. “The development resources which are made available through the Samsung Mobile Innovator program enable us to consistently update our RoadSync solution and offer more productivity features to our customers.”
Checking for updates, and the new touch friendly toolbars.
On Nokia phones RoadSync competes against Nokia's free Mail for Exchange product. However, in general, Roadsync has had always had a richer set of functionality and a better thought out user interface. On the other hand RoadSync has, in general, been more resource hungry (in memory terms), although this has become much less of an issue as the RAM size of Nokia phones has increased.
While recent releases of Mail for Exchange on S60 3.2 (notably in the E75) have narrowed the gap between the two products (e.g. sub folder support and limited HTML support have been added to Mail for Exchange), the same is not true for S60 5th Edition. RoadSync on S60 5th Edition supports Exchange sub-folders, HTML email, a full screen view for messages and, as noted above, has touch optimised UI elements. None of these features are present in the S60 5th Edition of the 2.9 release of Mail for Exchange.
As such, at the current time, I would consider Roadsync the premier Microsoft Exchange client for S60 5th Edition phones. If you're a regular user of Exchange on your mobile phone, and you're looking for the best possible mobile email experience, then it is well worth the price.
How to buy / upgrade RoadSync
Samsung i8910 owners receive a fully licensed copy of Roadsync bundled with their phone. Nokia N97 and Nokia 5800 users can purchase RoadSync from DataViz or from the Ovi Store. Currently there is a time limited promotion running in the Ovi Store where by you can purchase Roadsync for £8, rather than the usual £30 - a great bargain!
If you've been using RoadSync on S60 5th Edition (either purchased via Ovi Store, or pre-installed on the Samsung i8910) you will get a free upgrade to the latest 4.x version.
The easiest way to update the application is to choose Options -> Help -> Check for updates from the menu on the application's main screen. This will take you to a web page that will inform you whether an update is available. From here you can following the on screen instructions to download and install the new version.
If you update the application you will have to enter your license number and activation number again. You should have received these by email when you registered the copy. You can also find your registration number in the application's about screen (make a note of this before upgrading) and use it to retrieve your activation number of the DataViz website.
RoadSync for S60 3rd Edition
RoadSync is also available for S60 3rd Edition devices; version 4 was announced in October last year and there have been a number of small incremental improvements since its release. These include full screen support (when reading email), support for DataViz's mini appstore, zooming improvements, extra localisations and numerous bug fixes.