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View Full Version : How Do You Sync With Google Calendar?


Kris Kumar
03-18-2007, 05:40 PM
One of the tasks on my to-do list for this weekend was to setup Google calendar sync on my wife's Smartphone. As the resident gadget guru and Smartphone expert, I had been bragging about how it would simplify my dear wife's calendar related tasks. I had expected it to be a quick 15 minute task, but in practice the experience has been harrowing. Not to mention right now while I am writing this post, asking our readers for help, my wife is giggling at me and taunting me with - "smartphone expert, eh!" :oops: So folks, please help me out. Can I setup up the Smartphone or the Outlook to sync with Google calendar? If so, what tool or tools do I need to use? Of course, I would prefer something that is free. I have checked quite few posts and tools but haven't found anything that worked. Please if you are using Google calendar and syncing it to your Smartphone, help me out!

pfb
03-18-2007, 06:53 PM
try goosync. It works for me. Sync google calendar directly to MS Smartphone. From there synch to your outlook through Activesynch if you have stuff in outlook.

vincenzosi
03-18-2007, 07:03 PM
Kris:

Try Companionlink (http://www.companionlink.com/products/companionlinkforgoogle.html). I've seen a few people using it (one of whom I work with) who had no problem paying the $15 for it after the trial was over.

Kris Kumar
03-18-2007, 07:37 PM
try goosync. It works for me. Sync google calendar directly to MS Smartphone. From there synch to your outlook through Activesynch if you have stuff in outlook.

I had tried the GCalendarSync. It bombed. Researched the Internet and our site, got confused. I did see GooSync but somehow after battling with GCalendarSync, I didn't have the patience to register for GooSync and give it a try. Now that I know it works for someone I will give it a try. On the Net I found conflicting views, lots of users seem to have trouble with GooSync. BTW..the name is a bit funky.

Thanks pfb, and welcome to our site.

Try Companionlink. I've seen a few people using it (one of whom I work with) who had no problem paying the $15 for it after the trial was over.

I hadn't heard about this one. If push comes to shove, I might have to pay for the service I guess. Again, good to know that people are using it and it works.

Thanks for the information, vincenzosi.

I would like to hear from more readers about their experiences.

Kris Kumar
03-18-2007, 08:17 PM
Wow, this post is proving to be really helpful for me. One of my wishes has been a FREE tool for syncing my Outlook/Exchange calendar with Google, so that I can share it with my wife.

gMigrate can do that.
http://www.companionlink.com/products/gmigrate.html

I am giving it a try on my work system right now.

Thanks once again, vincenzosi.

brandon
03-18-2007, 08:57 PM
I've been using the free version of Oggsync. It's not automatic sync (pay for version is), but so far it's been excellent.

http://oggsync.com/

Mark Larson
03-18-2007, 09:12 PM
Is it possible to...

1. Sync Google Calendar with Outlook so you can sync your smartphone through the PC (is this what you are trying to do, Kris?)

2. Sync Google Calendar directly over the air (wifi or EDGE/EV-DO).

robertgbl
03-18-2007, 09:56 PM
this is indeed an interesting topic. I have been working with goosync for a few weeks. There have been many problems but the latest version is pretty good. Occasional appts fail to show up in google calendar and there are a few issues revolving around the DST mess.

I would recommend a try of goosync. It isn't perfect but it is getting substantially better everyday.

If there is a better solution I would love to try it.

chucky.egg
03-18-2007, 11:39 PM
OggSync runs over the air (good if you have unmetered internet access, bad if you dont), which for me was the best solution.

Sync'ing via Outlook is fine, but if I don't turn the laptop on for a day or two then Google is out of date.

I have WM5, and Exchange account and unlimited data, so sync'ing direct from the device to both Exchange and Google makes most sense.

brandon
03-18-2007, 11:45 PM
OggSync runs over the air

Sync'ing via Outlook is fine, but if I don't turn the laptop on for a day or two then Google is out of date.



Which is why I went with Oggsync as well. I rarely if ever do email on my laptop anymore. I would say 90% of my email and calendaring is done on my BlackJack. I don't have the time to do all the syncing to the desktop/laptop, sync to google, etc. I launch Oggsync on my BlackJack and press Go. No extra steps, no fuss. :)

Kris Kumar
03-19-2007, 04:45 AM
Thanks guys, for the awesome feedback.

It seems like I just got stuck with worst sync application in my initial attempt.

I have tried the gMigrate application on my work desktop to sync (one-way) the Outlook calendar with Google. And it worked well. A bit slow but it worked. The only hassle is that I cannot set it up to sync automatically each day and I believe I will have to enter the settings each day as well.

I am still holding off on the trying out the sync setup on my wife's smartphone until I have read thru on all the competing options. Taking it slow this time. ;-)

ctmagnus
03-19-2007, 05:34 AM
Kris:

Try Companionlink (http://www.companionlink.com/products/companionlinkforgoogle.html). I've seen a few people using it (one of whom I work with) who had no problem paying the $15 for it after the trial was over.

Sounds good, except it's now $30. But I may still spring for it.

ds2021
03-19-2007, 02:43 PM
gsyncit is free and reasonably quick. It can run automatically so long as Outlook is open.

SimpleSmartphone.com
03-19-2007, 04:44 PM
Does anyone know if Google is working on a solution....? It seems to me that if they provided the solution for syncing calendars and contacts that the holy grail of gmail would come to fruition.

http://www.simplesmartphone.com

Mark Larson
03-19-2007, 06:36 PM
OggSync runs over the air (good if you have unmetered internet access, bad if you dont), which for me was the best solution.

I don't have an Exchange account, but this information helps me a lot. I'll try out Oggsync. Usually I just sync with my desktop and Outlook, but this should be even better. Is there a way to sync contacts OTA with Google?

dbob
03-20-2007, 02:33 AM
300,00 responses from a google search:

outlook +sync +"google calendar"

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=H2m&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=outlook+%2Bsync+%2B%22google+calendar%22&spell=1

Kris Kumar
03-20-2007, 03:24 AM
300,00 responses from a google search:

outlook +sync +"google calendar"

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=H2m&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=outlook+%2Bsync+%2B%22google+calendar%22&spell=1

Please! There may be 311,000 entries, but Google search is definitely not helpful in identifying helpful entries. It may find popular entries, but sometimes popular entries are not good. I remember trying Remote Calendar (the two most popular entries in the search you provided) and guess what, it blew up my Outlook calendar entries. Luckily I had backed up my calendar otherwise I would have been lost at work. :)

That is why when I ran into issues the second time, I decided not to experiment and get user opinion. It is always good when the community comes together to help out a poor helpless guy. And I am impressed with this community.

dbob
03-20-2007, 03:41 AM
I'll be interested to find the answer to your question too.

frenzy
03-20-2007, 01:06 PM
just tried the gMigrate it worked fine with lotus notes and my gmail, easy to setup, but as the site says it is only one way

Kris Kumar
03-21-2007, 02:56 AM
I am also trying out gMigrate, seemed the most harmless of all the applications mentioned in this thread. :-) Since it syncs only one way from Outlook to Google. No way it will mess up my Outlook calendar.

Anyway, gMigrate has been working fine for me. 8)

Now I need to find the strength to try out the application that I was really after, the one that will enable my wife's phone to sync with Google calendar. I am still a bit scared. :worried: :confused totally: Since there are multiple options, I think I should run a poll to find out which one is the most popular Google calendar sync application. ;)

Fitch
03-22-2007, 05:48 AM
I do not have a data plan for my Blackjack, so I needed a PC Solution.

RemoteCalendars (http://remotecalendars.sourceforge.net/) was a headache, the latest version wouldn't even show up in Outlook, and the 2nd to newest dissapeared after I used it just a couple times. It was a headache to install, as I had to install a few MS companion doohickeys just to get it to install.

gSyncit (http://www.daveswebsite.com/software/gsync/) worked great! Recurring appointments, notes, reminders, all synched, and even after I had synched with RemoteCalendars earlier (but had added appts. on both sides) A couple hiccups, like error messages and just one or two duplicated appointments within just this week, but he promises to work the kinks out, and it works great otherwise. Only requires .NET Framework 2.0.

Kris Kumar
03-22-2007, 12:04 PM
I do not have a data plan for my Blackjack, so I needed a PC Solution.

You can still use the smart phone based solution, and use the ActiveSync pass thru Internet connection for the calendar sync. ;-)