Best Microsoft Exchange client application for OSX?

mathcolo said:

Hi everyone, as of recent I was given an institutional email account that's attached to Microsoft Exchange. I initially decided that using Mail.app was going to be fine, but I then discovered after doing some testing that it doesn't support message push (apparently because of its lack of support for Exchange ActiveSync).

So, that said, what do you all think is the best mail client for OSX that supports Exchange+push these days, and is <$20 or free?

Click to expand...

The answer to question depends on your version of your Exchange Server. If you need access to Exchange Server 2007 or later, then you have two options. Mail/Address Book/iCal are free with every installation of OS X. Microsoft Entourage EWS is a free upgrade from Entourage 2008. Microsoft Outlook 2011 is part of Office 2011.

If your Exchange Server is older than above, then your only option with an Intel-based Mac is Entourage 2008. What follows is a difficult concept for many people to grasp. Here goes: Every installation of Exchange Server is different. If the setup wizard does not get you a working connection, then you need to contact your IT staff.

That said, the Exchange Server setup in iOS just works. If you access your Server from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, then you don't have to worry about which version of Mail you have or which version of Exchange Server your firm uses.

MisterMe said:

The answer to question depends on your version of your Exchange Server. If you need access to Exchange Server 2007 or later, then you have two options. Mail/Address Book/iCal are free with every installation of OS X. Microsoft Entourage EWS is a free upgrade from Entourage 2008. Microsoft Outlook 2011 is part of Office 2011.

If your Exchange Server is older than above, then your only option with an Intel-based Mac is Entourage 2008. What follows is a difficult concept for many people to grasp. Here goes: Every installation of Exchange Server is different. If the setup wizard does not get you a working connection, then you need to contact your IT staff.

That said, the Exchange Server setup in iOS just works. If you access your Server from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, then you don't have to worry about which version of Mail you have or which version of Exchange Server your firm uses.

Click to expand...

I seem to remember that the installer for Office 2008 requires Rosetta, and hence won't work in Lion or later. Office 2008 still works in Lion, isn't just that the installer doesn't.

mathcolo said:

apparently because of its lack of support for Exchange ActiveSync

Click to expand...

IIRC desktop clients don't support ActiveSync.

mathcolo said:

So, that said, what do you all think is the best mail client for OSX that supports Exchange+push these days, and is <$20 or free?

Click to expand...

First of all, define "best". Don't just assume that your notion of the best Exchange client is the same as everyone else's. Second, what version Exchange server?

Outlook 2011 works great for me but many here seem to dislike it and it certainly doesn't meet your $20 budget unless you have HUP as an option.

RickyB said:

I seem to remember that the installer for Office 2008 requires Rosetta, and hence won't work in Lion or later. Office 2008 still works in Lion, isn't just that the installer doesn't.

Click to expand...

I don't believe that's true. Office 2008 is an intel program, not PPC. Office 2004 required Rosetta to run on intel macs.

That said, Entourage is wonky. I wouldn't recommend using it. I've also heard of issues with Outlook 2011.

Mail has been good enough for me with my school exchange email. It pushes to my iPhone, and I can fetch when necessary on my MBP.

What about Mail Maverics?

Will the next version of Mail in Maverics tackle this issue?

I've been waiting for it to be solved for years...

I'm not a developer so I don't know.

Thank you, in advance.

I have never found anything wonky about Outlook 2011. Used it since it came out and I don't ever remember any significant glitches. I never liked using any of the OSX apps with Exchange, though I now use Kerio on the back end for my small business (20 users) and it has been flawless, and soooo much easier to admin. I would never return to Exchange. I actually have to thank MS for killing SBS and forcing me to see the light!

KUguardgrl13 said:

I don't believe that's true. Office 2008 is an intel program, not PPC. Office 2004 required Rosetta to run on intel macs.
.

Click to expand...

Office 2008 runs on Intel and PPC. The installer required Rosetta, at least for the first release. According to http://www.mactalk.com.au/11/72330-install-microsoft-office-2008-snow-leopard-without-rosetta.html there is a workaround.

RickyB said:

Office 2008 runs on Intel and PPC. The installer required Rosetta, at least for the first release. According to http://www.mactalk.com.au/11/72330-install-microsoft-office-2008-snow-leopard-without-rosetta.html there is a workaround.

Click to expand...

Hmm well I originally installed my copy on Leopard and then later upgraded to Snow Leopard.

KUguardgrl13 said:

Hmm well I originally installed my copy on Leopard and then later upgraded to Snow Leopard.

Click to expand...

And upgrading to Lion would have been fine too. It's just that early versions of the installer had issues if Rosetta wasn't installed.

Miguel Cunha said:

Will the next version of Mail in Maverics tackle this issue?

I've been waiting for it to be solved for years...

I'm not a developer so I don't know.

Thank you, in advance.

Click to expand...

I have just download TouchDown by NitroDesk and this works! Hope this helps you

JamersPad said:

I have just download TouchDown by NitroDesk and this works! Hope this helps you

Click to expand...

TouchDown looks interesting. What's weird is it's ActiveSync-only thus one wouldn't be able to add IMAP or even POP accounts if one so desired.

I'll stick to the OWA in a tab.

Airmail app

Highly recommend you have a look at Airmail - http://airmailapp.com/. It is a VERY nice email client with native Exchange EWS support (Exchange Web Services explained). If you have at least Exchange 2007 on the back end it works pretty darn well, even better with Exchange 2010. You do have to know your EWS URL in order to get connected but thats USUALLY something like:
Airmail is under constant development, they are releasing updates all the time. The beta version is free and I am REALLY excited to see it get better and better. It's really fast, very clean interface, spam sieve support, lots of really nice features that I miss terribly when forced back to Outlook. IMHO it's not quite ready for primetime (meaning I'm not ready to put it out to my clients and friends/family) but soon..