The evolution of the latest iteration of Microsoft’s email service is in no way done. Case in point: the upcoming introduction of ActiveSync capabilities.

According to the Redmond company’s Dharmesh Mehta, group product manager for Windows Live at Microsoft, the software giant will introduced support for ActiveSync in the new version of Hotmail come Monday, August 30, 2010. (via BeyondBinary)

In addition, a spokesperson has also confirmed that ActiveSync is heading to Windows Live Hotmail 2011 / Wave 4 to Mary-Jo Foley.

“We can confirm that Exchange Active Sync will be available on Monday as part of the ongoing Windows Live updates for consumers. We will provide additional details on the Inside Windows Live blog when we release this on Monday,” the company representative stated.

ActiveSync support will be unveiled as a part of a new update planned for Windows Live Hotmail 2011, Microsoft explained.

At the point in time, the company did not indicate that any additional features and capabilities will also be added with the upcoming August 30 refresh.

ActiveSync will allow users of the Wave 4 version of Windows Live Hotmail to push content from the service, including messages, to devices which also feature support for the protocol, including smartphones.

Among the devices that allow customers to grab their Windows Live Hotmail 2011 email from the Cloud via ActiveSync are the new Windows Phone 7 phones, but also the new iPhone, iPod Touch and the Palm Pre, along with some Android devices.

In addition to emails, ActiveSync also allows the synching of contacts and calendar. However, in the case of Windows Live Hotmail, mobile phones will not connect to an Exchange Server via ActiveSync, but to the email service itself.

Mehta noted that Microsoft hopes the combination of ActiveSync and POP access will mean that Windows Live Hotmail users will be able to do without IMAP.


According to Microsoft: “ActiveSync is a Microsoft Exchange synchronization protocol that's optimized to work together with high-latency and low-bandwidth networks."

“The protocol, based on HTTP and XML, lets mobile phones access an organization's information on a server that's running Microsoft Exchange."

“Exchange ActiveSync enables mobile phone users to access their e-mail, calendar, contacts, and tasks and to continue to be able to access this information while they're working offline.”

One of the questions that the software giant still has to answer this Monday is whether ActiveSync will be offered to all Windows Live Hotmail Wave 4 users simultaneously, or if, as was the case with previous updates, the new capability will be rolled out gradually.