I suggest everyone that is using Android and Lotus Notes to submit a formal request to IBM.
http://www.ibm.com/planetwide has a full listing of phone numbers, or if you know your IBM Sales representative contact him and post a formal feature request.
Android works with Eclipse witch is the preferred development platform at IBM (and used in Notes 8). Notes 8 Works with Windows, Mac and Linux.
I suggest everyone that is using Android and Lotus Notes to submit a formal request to IBM.
Honnestly, working for IBM I can tell you this is a pure waste of time. IBM is not interested in such sync application market - and anyway, there is already a solution for syncing Lotus Notes with Android : just look for "CompanionLink for Google Android".
Honnestly, working for IBM I can tell you this is a pure waste of time. IBM is not interested in such sync application market - and anyway, there is already a solution for syncing Lotus Notes with Android : just look for "CompanionLink for Google Android".
Hi,
I'm a new G1 user but with quite a long experience from the Lotus brand (ex IBM and Lotus Development also). I haven't dug THAT deep into the Android SDK yet, but are there really any big obstacles for some of us (me or someone else) that prevents a sync solution to be built for Android?
Would a pure desktop sync solution be "good enough"? As i didn't see anything mentioned regarding interacting with the mail-container in Android, i also assume that one needs to build a new mail-client (much like K-9 for example). Correct?
I use CompanionLink on my G1, unfortunately it only syncs the calendar, to-do list, and the address book. There is no email support. Our company also does not run off of Microsoft Exchange servers, so there aren't any other good options thus far... I think Lotus Notes is a horribly inferior email program compared to Outlook and other Enterprise solutions. I feel like IBM is stuck in the past and is quickly watching other, more fluid development companies fly right by.
I use CompanionLink on my G1, unfortunately it only syncs the calendar, to-do list, and the address book. There is no email support. Our company also does not run off of Microsoft Exchange servers, so there aren't any other good options thus far... I think Lotus Notes is a horribly inferior email program compared to Outlook and other Enterprise solutions. I feel like IBM is stuck in the past and is quickly watching other, more fluid development companies fly right by.
You are of course entitled to your own opinions, but have you even seen version 8.5 of the Notes client? If you're after pure MTA functionality, you even have free, open source solutions which are a lot cheaper than outlook/exchange.
But then again, if we are talking more than pure MTA functionality, you are way off if you think that the M$ solutions are the "best" (if you take into account, license costs, the huge amount of virtual/physical servers needed, the "rip-and-replace" upgrade path from one M$ version to another (AD, Sql-server), the "lock-in" effect you get (sharepoint, office, etc). I can go on and on about this. Yes, IBM is not perfect but Lotus Domino/Notes are way ahead of anything that M$ tries to come up with (did i mention platform independance, scalability, standardized protocols and services, Open Office).
I would be very interested in testing a desktop sync for calendar, tasks and contacts. I work for a domino/notes based company and have googlemail blocked so I not sure companionlink would work even if did try it. I have always used desktop sync products and am quite happy to continue with desktop sync as I dont want my work emails on my personal android phone, but I do want to sync all my contacts, calendar - who doesn't want just a single calendar to work from and even tasks.
The request should be for a "Lotus Traveler" client for Android!
I've used the Lotus Traveler on my Touch HD for a year now, and it's fully integrated with Lotus Notes, pushing mails, tasks, contacts and appointments back and forth through our Domino Server.
It works perfect, I must say! Forget all about sync'ing - pushing is the way to go, and we should have a client for Android as well as for Windows Mobile!
The request should be for a "Lotus Traveler" client for Android!
I've used the Lotus Traveler on my Touch HD for a year now, and it's fully integrated with Lotus Notes, pushing mails, tasks, contacts and appointments back and forth through our Domino Server.
It works perfect, I must say! Forget all about sync'ing - pushing is the way to go, and we should have a client for Android as well as for Windows Mobile!
One of our TouchDown customers has tested out Syncing (with push) with Traveler 8.5.1. But this is a private beta, so you might want to email our support alias for it.
This thread looks somewhat old, but I just wanted to chime in and say that I would be interested in a Desktop Sync app for Android and Lotus Notes. I need the ability to sync a personal phone with my computer (notes client). I can't do an OTA or server based sync, since the IT department won't allow it. I have a BB right now and the Blackberry Desktop syncs well with Lotus Notes, but I am looking at the upcoming release of the Motorola Scholes/Tao/Droid on Verizon.
I just wanted to know ahead of time whether I would be able to sync with Lotus Notes.
Same here - looking forward to replacing my Windows-based phone with an Android one (HTC Hero) but need it to be able to sync with Notes. Any solutions out there yet ?
Same here - looking forward to replacing my Windows-based phone with an Android one (HTC Hero) but need it to be able to sync with Notes. Any solutions out there yet ?
LOL - I was just thinking to myself about the post I made a couple of weeks ago - and heard nothing since. I wasn't even sure where I posted it! Glad I got a notification so I could find it again...
I hope there is something out there - I like to have my work calendar and contacts synced on my phone...
The latest release has added support for Android, Palm Pre and iPhone s that's why you will not see an Android specific product.
At the moment it s just the Wireless product that supports Android, but please feedback if it really is Desktop sync you want and I can feed this back to our development team.
The latest release has added support for Android, Palm Pre and iPhone s that's why you will not see an Android specific product.
At the moment it s just the Wireless product that supports Android, but please feedback if it really is Desktop sync you want and I can feed this back to our development team.
Hope it works out for you
OK - one more question...
I am OK with the wireless option, but does this require some sort of integration with the corporate servers? Or is it a client that would run on my PC?
I ask because the phone isn't a company issued phone, and all I have is "local access". This is why I asked about a Desktop Sync option.
EDIT: Ouch - just looked at the pricing. The wireless option is a little out of my price range, so maybe I would be better off with the Desktop option if one ever becomes available. I am still interested in the capabilities of the wireless version - could I use my personal Android phone with it, without any involvement from our IT department?
Thanks again,
Jeff
Last edited by spiff72; October 28th, 2009 at 09:49 AM.
No configuration with servers needed. mNotes works through something called CSC (CommonTime Switching Centre) and requires no configuration on corporate servers or firewalls. It works from your desktop so that needs to be active.
I am not the most technical of people so can't tell you EXACTLY how it works, but one of the main ideas behind mNotes that people who don't have corporate phones or no corporate mobile strategy etc can still get business mail so no servers required!
So I would have to leave my computer on at work, and I would have my calendar, contacts and mail on my android phone?
Actually, the mail part isn't as important as my calendar and contacts, but I would have to try it to find out.
Is the annual pricing something that you have to pay every year to continue, or could you do it for a year and still have it work after that, but with no maintenance support?
Thanks again for all your help...I thought I recognized your name as a Commontime person from other emails in the past!
That's right with regard to how it sync's. You can get multiple calendars, full contact search, Sametime etc etc and you are totally in control of when you get up dates so you wouldn't have email bugging you at all hours if you didn't want!
As for pricing, it is a yearly subscription. This is probably different from what you had before as the products were changed last year. I guess your old licence would be out of maintenace now...
I think it is worth a free trial to see how it works out for you. Hope you have a good experience - always good to get feedback but especially from Android users as it is a new platform for us!
That's right with regard to how it sync's. You can get multiple calendars, full contact search, Sametime etc etc and you are totally in control of when you get up dates so you wouldn't have email bugging you at all hours if you didn't want!
As for pricing, it is a yearly subscription. This is probably different from what you had before as the products were changed last year. I guess your old licence would be out of maintenace now...
I think it is worth a free trial to see how it works out for you. Hope you have a good experience - always good to get feedback but especially from Android users as it is a new platform for us!
OK - works for me. I just need to get the Android phone first (probably a couple weeks away yet).
If I wanted to submit feedback that I am interested in a desktop sync solution for Android, where would I do this on your web site?
I can not find the price for this product on commontime.com. Does anyone know the price and also if a pure desktop solution will be on the market soon?
I can not find the price for this product on commontime.com. Does anyone know the price and also if a pure desktop solution will be on the market soon?
I found the price by adding mNotes Wireless to my basket, and then looking at my basket to see how much it was. It was $140.
I got another email from a person at Commontime, and they basically said that a desktop sync is not possible at this time (if I understood his explanation correctly). I got the impression that there were technical limitations, and there may not be a desktop sync option...
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately the solution is out of my price range, so I guess I will have to look for another solution to replicate my notes calendar and contacts
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately the solution is out of my price range, so I guess I will have to look for another solution to replicate my notes calendar and contacts
Do you already have an Android phone? If so, I have seen a product called Companionlink for Google that has a free trial (14 days I think) that is supposed to work with Google. It looks like it is $40.
Once I get an Android Phone, I will try it out...along with the mNotes product.
Unfortunately companienlink will not work for me, since it replicates notes to gmail. We use Lotus Notes at work and ot would be a serious security offense to replicate via an email account on the internet. Therefore I need to be able to replicate directly from my desktop to my phone. My Phone is a private phone, so the replication tool should be installed directly on my laptop and not the company server. Does anyone know such a programme that is freeware/inexpensive?
Thanks
You can use HTC Sync to synchronise your Lotus Notes contacts and calendar with a HTC Hero, and probably other Android based HTC phones. This came on the Micro SD card included with my Hero or you can download it from HTC - Mobile Phones, Smartphones, Cell Phones, PDAs in the support section.
It creates a calendar named Outlook on your phone, shame it is not called Lotus Notes. This means that you can add entries, such as personal entries, to the default calendar on the phone and they will not synchronise back to your Lotus Notes calendar or you can add entries to the "Outlook" calendar on your phone to have them synchronise back to your Lotus Notes calendar.
If you also want mail then check if your Domino servers are enabled for IMAP4 or POP3 and whether you can access your mail server over the Internet (without a VPN connection) or over a company WiFi network.
What I really want is either a BlackBerry Connect Client or a Lotus Notes Traveler Client with a Lotus Mobile Connect Client for Android.
You can use HTC Sync to synchronise your Lotus Notes contacts and calendar with a HTC Hero, and probably other Android based HTC phones. This came on the Micro SD card included with my Hero or you can download it from HTC - Mobile Phones, Smartphones, Cell Phones, PDAs in the support section.
It creates a calendar named Outlook on your phone, shame it is not called Lotus Notes. This means that you can add entries, such as personal entries, to the default calendar on the phone and they will not synchronise back to your Lotus Notes calendar or you can add entries to the "Outlook" calendar on your phone to have them synchronise back to your Lotus Notes calendar.
If you also want mail then check if your Domino servers are enabled for IMAP4 or POP3 and whether you can access your mail server over the Internet (without a VPN connection) or over a company WiFi network.
What I really want is either a BlackBerry Connect Client or a Lotus Notes Traveler Client with a Lotus Mobile Connect Client for Android.
Interesting - I won't have an Android phone for about a week...so can't try yet.
I looked on their site for HTC Sync, but it only mentions Outlook in the description. Have you successfully used it with Lotus Notes?
And I wonder if there is some sort of built in hardware check that tests to see if you are installing it on an HTC device...
EDIT: It also syncs over USB, right?
Last edited by spiff72; October 31st, 2009 at 08:26 PM.
Yes I am successfully using HTC Sync to Synchronise my Lotus Notes calendar with my HTC Hero. I am running Lotus Notes 8 client against a mail8 database design. HTC Hero will also synchronise contacts but i don't use that functionality. It will not do email and I can not remember it having an option to do To-Do list or personal journal.
My Lotus Notes client is configured to use a local replica of my mail database and HTC Sync appears to be using this replica as I can still successfully sync when I do not have access to the Domino server. Some synchronisation tools I have used in the past have insisted on using the replica on the Domino server even if the current location document says to use the local replica. There are options to force it to use a specific server and mail file but I just leave it at the default. I think it works if the Lotus Notes client is running or not.
And yes I simply connect the Hero to the computer by USB and either select Synchronise Now on HTC Sync on the computer and select the option on the phone to Synchronse. There are options to get it to automatically synchronise whenever the phone is connected via USB. Would be nice if I could do this over bluetooth but only appears to work via USB.
I guess it will only synchronise with a HTC because there is some software also running on the phone and this software is pre-installed and not available to load on another phone.
I guess it will only synchronise with a HTC because there is some software also running on the phone and this software is pre-installed and not available to load on another phone.
Dang. That kills that option for me then...
Could have been useful!
Would be nice if Motorola provided a program like this...
Does anyone know if the Commontime Mnotes Wireless application relies on a completely separate dataset than the built-in contacts, email and calendar databases? I am looking for someting that allows a single view into everything, versus a need to open the work calendar application and then open up the included calendar app to determine if I'm available.... does that make sense?
This would also give me the ability to change my calendar view and exclude my work calendar or email on the weekend, etc.
I have found that loads of Lotus Notes syncing apps for android are very, very expensive!
I'm testing an app called MyLink that can sync your email, calendar, apps etc… wirelessly and over usb. No need to have your PC left on either via wireless. Looks promising and they say it will cost less than $10 as a one off purchase. There will be a free version too, one to watch for sure! Not sure when its out.
I have found that loads of Lotus Notes syncing apps for android are very, very expensive!
I'm testing an app called MyLink that can sync your email, calendar, apps etc… wirelessly and over usb. No need to have your PC left on either via wireless. Looks promising and they say it will cost less than $10 as a one off purchase. There will be a free version too, one to watch for sure! Not sure when its out.
Well - I tried emailing their contact address, and the email was returned (something about a non-unique name). I am sure I spelled it right - not sure what is wrong...
Does anyone know if the Commontime Mnotes Wireless application relies on a completely separate dataset than the built-in contacts, email and calendar databases? I am looking for someting that allows a single view into everything, versus a need to open the work calendar application and then open up the included calendar app to determine if I'm available.... does that make sense?
This would also give me the ability to change my calendar view and exclude my work calendar or email on the weekend, etc.
Anyone?
I installed it for use with the new Motorola Droid. I found that the current version of mNotes (5.10) does NOT work with the Droid. I emailed their tech support team and they confirmed it doesn't work. They say they've identified what the problem is and know how to fix it. I'm awaiting the update to test further. From what I know, mNotes essentially implements Exchange Active Sync so you can use the Droid natively as if it was going against a standard Exchange server.
I installed it for use with the new Motorola Droid. I found that the current version of mNotes (5.10) does NOT work with the Droid. I emailed their tech support team and they confirmed it doesn't work. They say they've identified what the problem is and know how to fix it. I'm awaiting the update to test further. From what I know, mNotes essentially implements Exchange Active Sync so you can use the Droid natively as if it was going against a standard Exchange server.
I can use this against our company's Lotus Traveler server whereas Android 2.0 does NOT work against Lotus Traveler.
Hello,
What is the limitation with the Droid? Is it the fact that it is running Android 2.0?
I would be connecting without any IT intervention (personal phone - no support from IT), so I don't know what this Lotus Traveler thing is (and I therefore assume that I can't use Nitrodesk Touchdown), since I was expecting mNotes to provide the Activesync Exchange go-between for Lotus Notes.
EDIT: Just to clarify - I am not looking to access email - I just want to get calendar, address book, and Tasks synced...
Last edited by spiff72; November 9th, 2009 at 01:15 PM.
What is the limitation with the Droid? Is it the fact that it is running Android 2.0?
I would be connecting without any IT intervention (personal phone - no support from IT), so I don't know what this Lotus Traveler thing is (and I therefore assume that I can't use Nitrodesk Touchdown), since I was expecting mNotes to provide the Activesync Exchange go-between for Lotus Notes.
EDIT: Just to clarify - I am not looking to access email - I just want to get calendar, address book, and Tasks synced...
Yes - you are correct. For my solution to work through either Touchdown or native EAS, you must have Lotus Traveler running by your company.
You will need to wait for mNotes support which emulates a hosted EAS server that connects to your local desktop connector.
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately the solution is out of my price range, so I guess I will have to look for another solution to replicate my notes calendar and contacts
If it is the price that is stopping you trying the product out, the good news is the price of CommonTime mNotes is coming down - significantly. Certainly before your free trial is up the price will be reduced. Not certain of the exact date yet, but will post as soon as it is set. Hope that is good news for some of you .
If it is the price that is stopping you trying the product out, the good news is the price of CommonTime mNotes is coming down - significantly. Certainly before your free trial is up the price will be reduced. Not certain of the exact date yet, but will post as soon as it is set. Hope that is good news for some of you .
Holly - not sure if you work for commontime but if so, do you know when you will have a fix ready for the Droid?
Holly - not sure if you work for commontime but if so, do you know when you will have a fix ready for the Droid?
I am interested in this timing too! And a lower price! And a quick note to borderless, Holly does work for Commontime...
I just got my Droid yesterday, and I am using the 15-day trial of Companionlink for Google application on my computer, and it does a "so-so" job. It doesn't handle cancelled repeating meetings well at all. For me, mNotes desktop for WinMo phones was always very good with repeating meetings/reschedules, etc.
I would have tried the mNotes wireless trial (in fact I signed up for it, but didn't download it yet), but I saw in this thread that it didn't work with the Droid yet...
Thanks for the update, Holly, and I look forward to a reduced price and support for the Motorola Droid with Android 2.0.
Thanks
Last edited by spiff72; November 11th, 2009 at 10:01 AM.
Holly - not sure if you work for commontime but if so, do you know when you will have a fix ready for the Droid?
Quite right, I do work for CommonTime. As for the Droid update I know that it is being worked on at the moment but we want to test throughly to make sure it is a great solution for you guys! It will be sooner rather than later but we don't have a date as yet - if you are in contact with our Support Team over email then they will let you know as soon as. We are as keen for people to get using it as anyone. As soon as I know, you will know...that is if Support don't get there first!
Quite right, I do work for CommonTime. As for the Droid update I know that it is being worked on at the moment but we want to test throughly to make sure it is a great solution for you guys! It will be sooner rather than later but we don't have a date as yet - if you are in contact with our Support Team over email then they will let you know as soon as. We are as keen for people to get using it as anyone. As soon as I know, you will know...that is if Support don't get there first!
Lotus Notes
Lotus Traveler 8.5.1 support in TouchDown.
