Visto pushes e-mail, contacts and calendars

These push capabilities give BlackBerry-like e-mail functionality to smartphone and wireless-PDA users on their existing devices, Visto said.

In addition, version 5.0's new ConstantSync feature provides real-time two-way updates to contact and calendar databases. For instance, if a mobile user adds a new appointment to his device's calendar, that entry will be wirelessly synchronized with his office PC. Likewise, a sales manager could push new contacts to a mobile worker's device just by adding the data to Outlook.

Visto claimed that its optimized network architecture requires only 20 percent of the bandwidth of SyncML and IMAP-based solutions, thereby reducing data-transfer requirements for carriers and users alike. To keep data secure, Visto Mobile 5.0 offers FIPS 140-compliant, end-to-end AES encryption.

Currently, 10 wireless carriers worldwide offer the Visto Mobile platform, including AT&T Wireless and Nextel Communications. Visto Mobile 5.0 supports the following mobile platforms: IMAP4, J2ME MIDP 2.0, Palm OS, Symbian, SyncML, and Windows Mobile and Smartphone. The Motorola MPX220 and Sony Ericsson P910 smartphones are among the latest devices certified to be compatible with Visto Mobile.

The Visto Mobile Enterprise Server (VMES) requires a 1.5GHz processor; 1GB of RAM; 2GB of hard drive space; Microsoft Outlook 2000 or IBM Lotus Notus R5 or higher; and Windows Server 2000 SP1 or 2003. Visto recommends running VMES on a dedicated server.

Because Visto is not sold directly to end users, pricing is determined by individual carriers. A company representative said the Enterprise edition usually costs $15-25/month, depending on the data plan.