Update: Whatever happened with that ActiveSync-iPhone deal?

I've gotten a couple of reader queries asking about the status of the Apple-Microsoft deal via which Apple allegedly licensed Microsoft's ActiveSync protocol for the iphone. Apple still hasn't announced anything other than IMAP for Exchange synchronization, so what gives, they ask.

Good question. All I can tell you is I hear the deal is signed and sealed. Apple may be holding off on a big-bang announcement until the fall. Not sure. Neither Microsoft nor Apple has denied that the licensing deal was signed; both are simply saying no comment.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is talking about the fact that the iPhone supports Microsoft's Open XML formats. In a posting to his blog on July 17, Office Program Manager Brian Jones noted:

"I was looking into the iPhone today and it looks like it has support not just for .doc, .xls, .pdf, and .html; but also has for .docx and .xlsx. Very cool! I saw this in their product documentation: http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iPhone_User_Guide.pdf."

That's all I've got for now. Stay tuned.