It’s announcement day! Notes/Domino 8.5.2 and LotusLive 1.3 are here

Ed Brill has dropped hints, the announcement has been previewed at User Group events and on podcasts, now the day is here…  

Notes/Domino 8.5.2 has been formally announced this morning (ah, the delights of being based in Europe!), along with the latest release of the LotusLive suite of cloud-based collaboration and messaging applications.

IBM Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.2 delivers new features and enhancements for end users and developers

At a glance

IBM Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.2 provides enhancements for both the end user (Lotus Notes, Lotus iNotes and Lotus Notes Traveler) and developers (Domino Designer). Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.2:

• Allows Lotus Notes to take advantage of improved instant messaging and unified telephony services provided by Lotus Sametime
• Contains usability and productivity enhancements to the Lotus iNotes mail and calendaring experience
• Supports the Apple iPad and new features of the Apple iPhone with Lotus Notes Traveler
• Has new XPage features and extensibility APIs, as well as Lotus Domino Designer enhancements that provide developers with additional capabilities

Overview

IBM Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.2 delivers powerful new features for your messaging and collaboration infrastructure. There are many new features and enhancements that improve the end-user experience, mobile access, and application development capabilities for Lotus Notes and Domino.

The Notes client improves real-time communication by taking advantage of the latest instant messaging and unified telephony services provided by Lotus Sametime 8.5.1. Improved integration with IBM Lotus Quickr means you can more easily store files in Quickr. The Notes client also complies with 2009 Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC) requirements.

Lotus iNotes delivers productivity gains with improved performance when creating mail messages, and the ability to create Lotus Sametime meetings from within your calendar invitations. iNotes Ultra-light adds Android support for Nexus One and support for Apple iPhone 4.0.

Mobile users get more device options with the addition of Apple iPad support for Lotus Notes Traveler, and added operating system support for Apple iOS 4, Windows Mobile 6.5, and the Lotus Notes Traveler server for Linux. Additional Traveler enhancements improve security support of HTTPS for push notifications and Apple iPhone and iPad security policy enforcement.

Lotus Domino and Domino Designer 8.5.2 continue to deliver innovation for developers. XPages ships the CKEditor for enhanced rich text editing on the Web including in line images and tables. XPage and Domino Designer extensibility APIs allow developers to add new XPage controls to simplify development and increase the functionality of the collaborative applications they build. Developers can also take advantage of Domino in the cloud through developer and test images on Amazon Web Services.

Notes/Domino 8.5.2 is scheduled to be available for electronic download on 24th August 2010, with physical media and documentation following in October.

A more detailed list of enhancements is available in the announcement letter.

Also announced today is the latest release of the LotusLive suite, LotusLive 1.3:

IBM LotusLive 1.3 adds e-mail services for both new and existing Notes Domino customers

At a glance

LotusLive Notes, as part of IBM LotusLive 1.3, is designed to:

• Enhance the security, integrity, and availability of the messaging system
• Keep costs lower by using automated processes and an integrated platform
• Support a faster implementation with an established infrastructure and a team of subject matter experts

 
Overview

IBM LotusLive 1.3 delivers cloud-based online technologies for business that combines Web conferencing, messaging, and collaboration services with social networking capabilities.

IBM LotusLive Notes, an addition to LotusLive, is a messaging service for both new and existing Notes Domino customers. LotusLive Notes:

• Provides industry-leading messaging, robust calendar and scheduling, and contact management features that are used by the world’s top enterprises and is backed by 24×7 monitoring and IBM support.
• Includes both the service and the software via the Lotus Notes client or Web browser (via LotusLive Notes Web).
• Features standardized services that are designed to deliver faster deployment and competitive pricing via a cutting-edge infrastructure built to improve the efficiency and cost containment of your messaging environment.
• Introduces bundle for IBM LotusLive Notes, which includes LotusLive Engage for Enterprise Deployment.
• A team of IBM experts, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and established processes and controls help to create a highly available, security-rich messaging environment, including built-in antivirus and antispam protection.

In addition to LotusLive Notes, you get:

• Enhanced calendaring support in LotusLive iNotes that allows free and busy time lookups when scheduling meetings

Overall, LotusLive offerings (file sharing, e-mail, instant messaging, activities, Web conferences, surveys, and social networking) help companies focus on growing their businesses, and finding and working with the right people by providing essential software for getting the most out of every collaboration in a simple to acquire service.

The addition of full calendaring and scheduling support within LotusLive iNotes will be a major enhancement for customers looking for low-cost cloud-based messaging, and the bundle of Lotuslive Engage and Notes provides a cohesive suite of collaboration and messaging abilities for those looking for a more feature-rich service. LotusLive 1.3 is also scheduled for availability on 24th August.

I’m sure more details will be forthcoming today – check Ed’s blog and PlanetLotus for the latest news.