Cingular Pushes Microsoft Direct Push Email

Cingular has rolled out support for Microsoft Direct Push email service for its 8125 Pocket PC.

If you’re a proud user of (and your employer is a proud owner of) a Cingular 8125 Pocket PC, today may be good news day: Cingular is now offering Microsoft Direct Push email service and new Direct Push rate plans for 8125 users. The service enables users to receive email, Outlook, and Office information while they’re out galavanting in the real world, with the 8215 (or other Cingular-certified device) automatically notifying users of important new messages and data items without signing into a corporate network.

Microsoft Direct Push plans run from $29.99 for “Smartphone Connect” to $39.99 and $49.99 per month for “PDA Connect” on top of a monthly voice plan. The services require Microsoft Exchange 2003 Server with SP2, and users must have a Windows Mobile 5 device (like the 8125!) with Message Security Feature Pack and an email account enabled with Direct Push.

We realize that in the real world the distinction between smartphones and PDAs is getting thinner and thinner