IOS5 seems to be missing Exchange Server contact access

Question

in iOS4 I could open my contacts app, go to Groups and see Exchange Server Contacts (at the very bottom) where I could do a search for contacts on our exchange server that were not stored locally. I then had the option to call, email or SMS them.
in iOS5 this does not seem to be present, yet in Mail I can enter a persons name who is not in my address book but on on our exchange server and it will resolve them.
has this feature been removed from iOS5? It was one of the most useful features about the phone as a business user.

Answer 1

I can verify that the above workaround does indeed work. Once you delete the contacts in your default .PST on Outlook (and Empty "Deleted Items" folder), then you can search your global address list in Contacts>Groups.
This is a hack-y workaround, though. I would think many people have contacts in Outlook that aren't terribly relevant on a daily basis. For me, my Outlook contacts at work is akin to an old Rolodex business card file. It contains lots of cards that I want to keep but don't need very often (if ever). I put the ones that matter most on iPhone; the rest are kept "just in case."
It would be nice to have the ability to search the Global Address List on Exchange without syncing my Outlook contacts. There are thousands of fellow employees in the phone book and being able to look them up is great.
Consider this a vote for bringing back the iOS4 behavior. I didn't read the release notes, so perhaps this was in there. This is a signficiant change in the way iPhone handles Exchange, and a step backwards in my opinion.