Your Droid X may not wear a pinstriped suit and a rep tie, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a good corporate citizen. In fact, the Droid X can easily hook into enterprise-wide resources like your corporate email account and calendar.
A big reason is the Droid X’s ability to work with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync servers. These systems are the backbone of many corporations, and they can automatically and wirelessly keep smartphones updated with email, calendar information, and contacts. So when you’re hundreds or thousands of miles away from the office, you can still be in touch as if you were there in person.
First, let the IT department know that you’d like to use your Droid X to work with the company’s network and computers. They’ll set up the network to let your phone connect. Then all you have to do is add the company account to your phone, which works much the same way as adding a new email account.
To get started, in the Application Tray, tap My Accounts. At the bottom of the screen, tap “Add account”, and then select Corporate Sync.
From the screen that appears, enter all the information that your IT folks supplied you—the domain name and user name, password, email address, server and so on.
Tip
Make sure to enter the information in exactly the same way as the IT staff give it to you, including whether letters are capitalized. If you make even a single mistake, you may not be able to connect.
Ask the IT department exactly what you should use as your user name. If no one’s around, here are some things you can try:
The first part of your work email address. If your email address is goodguy@bighonkingcompany.com, your user name may be goodguy.
The first part of your work email address, plus the company’s Windows domain. For example, honkingserver\goodguy. If this looks familiar, it may be what you use to log into the company network at work.
Tip
When you type your domain name and user name together, make sure you use the backslash key, not the regular slash. On the Droid X, it’s not easy to get to. On the standard keyboard (Using the Multi-Touch Keyboard), tap the gray key on the lower left labeled 123 with a gear icon, and on the screen that appears, tap the Alt key. Tap the backslash in the third row from the top. If you’re using Swype (Using the Swype Keyboard), tap the Sym key at the lower left, and on the screen that appears, tap the Shift key in the second row from the bottom. The backslash key is then on the same row as the Shift key.
When you’re done, tap Next, and you’re set up and ready to go. If you run into any problems, check with the IT staff.
As with your Gmail account, you can choose whether to have your Droid X sync your mail, calendar, and contacts. When your new corporate account shows up in My Accounts, tap it and you’ll be able to turn each of those on or off. For details see Accounts. You may now use your corporate account the same way you use your other accounts for email (Setting Up Email Accounts), contacts (Managing Contacts), and your calendar (Using the Calendar).