Motorola introduces Good Mobile Messaging 5

Following its recent acquisition of Good Technology, Inc., Motorola announced the next version of the Good Mobile Messaging solution to "make mobile email more personalized and productive, all while enhancing IT control." Among the new features, version 5 brings: improved email management (grouping, better search of messages), an option to edit and send documents, more customization, complete calendaring, mobile RSS reader and subscription manager, improved remote device management with more security options (application/device lockdown, advanced password management), access to contacts for third-party applications, and more.

There you have it. Sounds pretty improved if you ask me. Not that I'll be using it, but I'm sure that enterprise users will likely give it a try somewhere in September when Motorola will release the Good Mobile Messaging 5 through carriers, certified VARs, and directly through Motorola Good Technology Group. Check out the full release after the jump.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., - Motorola, Inc. today extended its leadership in the mobile office with the announcement of Good Mobile Messaging 5. This announcement follows Motorola's recent acquisition of Good Technology, Inc., and advances the award-winning Good Mobile Messaging software and service to help solve the information clutter problem for mobile users. Good Mobile Messaging 5 helps make mobile email more personalized and productive, all while enhancing IT control.

Good Mobile Messaging 5 (Good 5) incorporates multiple new features that vastly improve the mobile experience both for business users and IT professionals by: helping enable mobile users to get things done more easily; providing greater personalization; and strengthening security and manageability. The new release will incorporate all of the handheld security capabilities previously available separately though the company's Good Mobile Defense product.

"When it comes to the user interface, Motorola gets it," said Rob Mancini, Office of the Chief Technology Officer, Government of the District of Columbia. "They understand the need to extend the capabilities of the desktop to the handheld device, and they've added a number of innovative features such as scheduling enhancements and mobile RSS that we know our users will love. In addition, the enhanced security and management capabilities will really help us provide top-notch operational support of our user community."

Get Things Done More Easily. Mobile professionals receive so much email that it's often difficult to find the information they're looking for on their smartphone and complete tasks from start to finish. Good 5 introduces innovative email and PIM capabilities that help enable mobile users to easily find what they need when they need it and get work done. New features include:

• Group and find by conversation and sender: sorts and groups emails by conversation thread and/or sender, helping users to easily pinpoint important messages and save time by filing and/or deleting an entire thread or group


• Complete calendaring: helps invite participants to a meeting, provide real-time visibility into their free/busy status; and automatically suggests and reserves conference rooms based on past preferences and availability


• Edit and send documents: securely accesses corporate intranets using Good Mobile Intranet (GMI); enables downloads of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe PDF documents directly to the smartphone; allows users to edit files and attach them to outbound emails


• Dial without password: dials a contact from a password-protected phone without requiring users to enter the password–all while keeping email and contacts data secure


• Third-party access to contacts: option to provide third-party applications, such as voice dialing and SMS, with access to Good contacts, helping to enhance device usability

Have a More Personal Experience. Being productive on a smartphone has been challenging in part because the phone doesn't adapt to users' specific preferences, needs or workflow the way they are accustomed with a desktop or laptop. Good 5 introduces a number of new customizable features that personalize the mobile experience:

• Mobile RSS reader and subscription manager: helps keep users current with information from preferred sources-including business news and alerts. Subscribe to, manage, and preview feeds-all without having to leave the email inbox, launch a third-party application, or navigate a mobile Web browser


• Priority mail: helps quickly identify messages that are important to individuals based on their unique preferences; defines and distinctly marks priority mail by sender, distribution list, who's in the to: or cc: fields, and other user-selected criteria.


• Personalized notifications: assigns unique sounds and alerts to priority emails, so that users are less likely to miss the emails that matter most

More IT Control. Even with greater usability and personalization, IT doesn't have to sacrifice control or security. In fact, Good 5 helps provide more control by giving IT professionals all of the advanced device and data protection capabilities previously available only through the Good Mobile Defense product, through a single-management console and complete over-the-air controls. Features include:

• Mandatory applications: helps set and enforce the installation of mandatory applications like anti-virus checkers to ensure that users have what they need-both to do their jobs and to comply with corporate security policies


• Application lockdown: blacklists and prevents the launch of unapproved applications
  Device lockdown: locks down the camera, infra-red (IR), WiFi and/or Bluetooth wireless technology ports; enforces SD card encryption


• Advanced password management: enables administrators to set granular criteria for password characteristics, restrictions, and expirations


• Advanced encryption management: provides rules-based enforcement of SD card and database encryption policies


• Simplified load balancing: enables IT to move users across servers to facilitate load balancing-without the need to re-provision

"The holy grail of mobile email lies somewhere between complete IT control and unencumbered usability; products that try to close that gap often compromise the mobile experience," said Rick Osterloh, Senior Director Product Management and Marketing, Motorola Good Technology Group.

"With Good 5, we've successfully bridged the divide by giving end users the usability and personalization they want, while arming IT with even more manageability and security."

Availability

Good 5 is expected to be available in September through cellular operators worldwide, certified value-added resellers, and directly through Motorola Good Technology Group. The software and service will support a broad choice of the industry's most popular smartphones, running on both IBM Lotus Domino and Microsoft Exchange.