Good Technology unveiled GoodLink 4.0 today, the latest salvo in its battle against mobile messaging and data access market leader Research In Motion. The offensive takes the form of new features and a broadened distribution channel.

With GoodLink, Good touts what it calls zero-desktop, which means all synchronizations can occur over-the-air without a connection to a PC. Version 4.0 expands on this concept with Zero-IT-Touch for the remote management of GoodLink and all other smartphone applications by an enterprise's technology division.

Good told SmartPhoneToday, enterprises with GoodLink-enabled devices can now completely setup, upgrade, and maintain these smartphones and handhelds over-the-air. No cradle is needed and IT never has to touch a device again once it is deployed.

You can even upgrade an existing application or deploy a new application from a third party to a GoodLink device in this manner. Not only that, an employee who purchases his own device can tell IT they've got it and be setup for the network without a technician ever handling the handheld or smartphone.

To help enterprises better address security, Good now enables Secure OTA distribution and management of corporate security policy updates; Secure OTA erase and restore for lost or stolen devices; and Secure OTA distribution of all of the leading anti-virus, firewall and device security software applications for Palm and Pocket PC smartphones. Other improvements include a more intuitive Outlook-like interface and Wi-Fi support.

Global Connect
In the past, you had to sign with a carrier that Good had a relationship with to use Good's system. A new program called Global Connect bypasses that relationship to allow companies to run GoodLink on any of the over 400 carrier networks around the world.

Good expects Global Connect's largest impact to be with multinational corporations. So these companies can avoid the current need to cobble together different mobile data access and messaging solutions by going with one Good implementation.

According to Good, Global Connect improves on the RIM model, where initial connectivity is setup through a particular carrier that RIM partnered with to enter a market.

Good 's VP of Marketing said, "GoodLink 4.0 empowers enterprises to do more with less. Without ever leaving end users' fingertips, IT can ensure that handheld devices on any carrier anywhere in the world are fully up-to-date with the latest security policies and productivity enhancing wireless applications."

Host with the Most
With GoodLink Hosted Edition, companies that provide hosted Microsoft Exchange services can use GoodLink to deliver mobile access to data and messaging. The host company doesn't have to touch the devices, as it implements that same Zero-IT-Touch as the GoodLink standard, so there is no need for geographic overlap with the customer.

GoodLink 4.0 supports palmOne's Treo 600 and Treo 650, Audiovox's 660 and its clones (T-Mobile XDA III and Siemens SX66), Hewlett-Packard's iPAQ 6315, and Samsung's i700 smartphones. Although Good certified these devices after extensive testing, the system should work with other Palm and Pocket PC-based smartphones and handhelds. Good can only guarantee these devices, however.

Good also announced a distribution agreement with Ingram Micro to offer a combined GoodLink/Treo solution to providers in the United States. "Enterprise resellers and customers have been asking for a convenient, bundled GoodLink/Treo solution," asserts Mark Kuta, Ingram Micro U.S. Senior Business Manager for Mobile.

Authorized U.S. resellers can purchase the bundled solution in one place, and package it with device activation for their customers. Kuta said "Solution providers have access to a comprehensive wireless offering from Ingram Micro, which helps to streamline the purchase of leading-edge wireless enterprise systems. With one-stop wireless shopping, solution providers can efficiently and quickly meet the growing demand for wireless messaging and corporate data access on powerful, standards-based devices