Microsoft has launched dedicated native apps for Outlook Web App for iOS, available for iPhone as well as iPad.
Through the app, enterprise users will be able to get email, calendar and contact functionality that they get in Outlook Web App on their web browsers, provided they subscribe to Office 365 that includes Exchange Online support.
Microsoft says that the apps will also offer additional capabilities that are only possible through native integration of the app with mobile devices.
The app can be downloaded from the App Store and after signing in with their Office 365/ Exchange credentials, users can switch between Mail, Calendar, People and Options by tapping on the icon in the bottom left corner of the app. The button brings up a navigation screen that features Windows Phone/ Windows 8 like tiles for Mail, People, Calendar and Settings. In fact the Calendar tile is a live-tile that features details related to upcoming meetings.
The same button when pressed for a longer time brings voice input, which can be used for giving commands for performing actions like opening the calendar and writing a new email.
The app icon also offers a badge for unseen mails in addition to push notifications that the app offers for new mail.
The mail inbox in Outlook Web App for iPad offers a two-column view, taking advantage of the iPad's bigger screen real estate, displaying the list view and reading pane with the folder pane collapsed.
The inbox in the iPhone app offers a one-column list view and features controls to switch to the folder pane and reading pane. The app offers a touch optimised user interface with support for gestures like tapping and swiping.
In addition to these, users can read and create Information Rights Management (IRM) protected email in the app. The app also displays out-of-office messages and other MailTips in the header of the compose section, in addition to apps like Bing Maps for Outlook.
The app also offers offline use functionality allowing users to read, delete and flag messages, and compose new messages or reply to messages in their inbox. They can also view and edit calendar and contacts offline.
The Calendar in the iPad app offers day, week, work week and month + agenda views and allows users to swipe from day-to-day, week-to-week or month-to-month. The calendar app for iPhone offers day, month and agenda views. The app also offers full delegate access to the calendar, and access to multiple and shared calendars.
The app also offers contact integration of Outlook contacts with the iPhone's caller ID. The ability to sync these contacts to the device can even be controlled by the company's IT department.
Outlook Web App for iOS also offers remote wipe capability enabling IT departments to delete email and calendar data in the app from the device in the event that the device gets lost or the user leaves the organisation.