Motorola upgrades to Good 5.0
The fifth version of Motorola's Good Mobile Messaging software will be out later this year with improvements to how the software handles attachments, calendar appointments and deleting massive amounts of e-mail.
If you're not using a BlackBerry, your employer might be using Good Mobile Messaging to "push" your corporate e-mail to a mobile device. Good Technology developed the product before being acquired by Motorola last year, and this is the first major release since the acquisition.
Good 5.0 lets you group e-mails by conversation, deleting those threads from hell in one fell swoop. It lets you download Microsoft Office documents from your desktop or intranet, edit them on your smart phone, and e-mail the revised documents to recipients. It also has improved calendaring software that can search for a free conference room on the proposed date and time.
Motorola wants to deliver "a no-compromises experience moving from a PC down to a handheld," said Danny Shader, corporate vice president for Motorola's Mobile Device business and the former CEO of Good Technology. The day still hasn't arrived when you can leave the laptop behind on a moderately long business trip, but Motorola wants to keep moving in that direction, Shader said.
The new version of the software also adds a few IT-friendly features, making it easier to mandate the installation of certain software, such as antivirus protection. It can also prevent unauthorized applications from launching without IT's permission, those killjoys. The software will be available in September, Shader said.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom.
