Mobile Computing
Loughborough University Policy on the use of Smart Phones
Supported Devices
The use of a PDA or smart phone, in conjunction with the University's e-mail and calendar system (Outlook / Exchange), can prove to be very beneficial to staff, providing access to e-mail and diary / calendars whilst they are away from the office.
IT Services endeavours to support handheld computing devices for centrally managed services like e-mail and wireless network access. However due to the diverse functionality of devices and Operating Systems, comprehensive support and documentation will only be provided for three smart phone operating systems. The current recommended systems are:
- Apple iPhone iOS operating system
- Google Android operating system
- Microsoft Mobile 7 operating system
Additional software may be required for full functionality.
Unsupported Devices
As the University's e-mail system is standards based, it will work with the vast majority of PDAs and smartphones. IT Services advice is that staff should follow the instructions that came with their device for synchronising with Outlook, however some devices do not offer enterprise functionality, and this may inhibit their use on campus. It is strongly recommended that only fully supported devices are purchased for use on campus.
Blackberry OS 7 users please note that currently Blackberry mobiles with this OS cannot connect to the university wireless service. This is due to the OS not supporting the WPA2 Enterprise encryption level fully. This OS comes standard with new purchases of Bold 9900 - Torch 9860 - Torch 9810 - Curve 9360, however there are older versions of some of these mobiles (running older OS versions) which are connecting successfully.
Users of unsupported devices have access to manual configuration details for our Wireless service.
Users of unsupported devices have access to a manual configuration page for Staff Exchange e-mail.
A self help group has been set up for users of Blackberry and previously recommended phones. The instructions for joining the mailing list
Send an e-mail message to majordomo@lboro.ac.uk with "subscribe handheld-support" in the body.
This list is archived, so staff can refer back to previous discussion threads.
Terminology guidance:
Basic Wifi refers to wireless networks with non-Enterprise security encryption e.g. imago Wi-Fi networks.
Secure Wifi refers to wireless networks with Enterprise security encryption e.g. eduroam networks.
Mail / calendar etc. synch with PC: Windows Mobile devices use ActiveSync (Staff Desktop Service Optional Application), Nokia devices use Nokia PC Suite, Apple devices use iTunes.
Mail / Calendar Synch "over the air": Calendar entries, especially recurring appointments, do not synchronise correctly over the air. This may lead to duplicate and incorrect entries.
Tether to PC for Internet connection: 'Tethering' a mobile to a PC refers to connecting the device to a desktop or laptop PC and using the mobile device's network connection to provide Internet access to the PC.