Google Sync For Your Windows Mobile Phone

[Ed Hansberry]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/02/google-sync-beta-for-iphone-winmo-and.html' target='_blank'>http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/20...-winmo-and.html</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"One of the hardest parts about switching phones is getting your address book and calendar to your new device. We're making that process a little easier by releasing a beta version of Google Sync for the iPhone and Windows Mobile phones as well as a contacts-only version for phones that support SyncML."</em></p><p>Google has just added what appears to be Exchange Sync functionality to your Windows Mobile phone. The iPhone, Blackberry and Sybmian is also supported. It supports&nbsp;contacts and appointments, but not email and tasks. If I had to bet, I'd say push email is just around the corner. I've not tried this out yet as I already have an Exchange account, but for those of you that don't, this could be what you've been waiting for. As is usual for Google, this is free, at least for now. There is a brief video at the Google blog explaining the service.</p>

[RogueSpear]

Works as advertised on my iPhone 2G. Pretty dang quick too! I have several hundred contacts and I'm a heavy Google Calendar user. Everything transferred over in about 20 seconds on an edge connection.

[digger]

This functionality has been available for some time via NuevaSync and has been working really well. They added multi calendar support a while ago as well. Still it is nice to see Google making this available directly.

[murph]

this is awesome....unless you are already using Activesync for your business email/contacts/calendar :(

[crimsonsky]

Been waiting for this for WM devices. I already use it on my Blackberry and now with this on my Wing, I'll have a cloud sync solution for both my mobile devices. Fantastic!

[doogald]

I've been using NuevaSync (https://www.nuevasync.com/) to do the same thing for the last 6 weeks or so on my WM phone, and I'm pretty happy with it. One major difference that I noticed is that Google supports only 5 calendars, while NuevaSync supports up to 8.

[Deslock]

Works as advertised on my iPhone 2G. Pretty dang quick too! I have several hundred contacts and I'm a heavy Google Calendar user. Everything transferred over in about 20 seconds on an edge connection.

It syncs only my primary Google calendar (and removes the rest from my phone). Is there a way to sync more than one calendar?

[Ed Hansberry]

It syncs only my primary Google calendar (and removes the rest from my phone). Is there a way to sync more than one calendar?

Don't think so. My understanding is this is like Exchange - uses the Exchange Server ActiveSync app on the device. Whatever you sync with this, you cannot sync with anything else.

For this to be beneficial to me, I need to find a solid sync solution between Outlook and Google so all 3 - outlook, Google and WinMo phone - are in sync. I've found a Google Calendar sync tool, but nothing for contacts.

[Deslock]

Don't think so. My understanding is this is like Exchange - uses the Exchange Server ActiveSync app on the device. Whatever you sync with this, you cannot sync with anything else.

For this to be beneficial to me, I need to find a solid sync solution between Outlook and Google so all 3 - outlook, Google and WinMo phone - are in sync. I've found a Google Calendar sync tool, but nothing for contacts.

Yeah I've read elsewhere that up to 5 calendars are supported, so I'm not sure why I only get my primary. Either way, I have over 10 calendars so this isn't gonna work for me. Likewise, Google's contact syncing doesn't bring over everything so i'm sticking with syncing to the desktop for both (no biggie as Busysync works nicely for Google calendar).

I've tried various push calendar/contact syncing solutions for the iPhone, and the only decent one appears to be MobileMe. It's actually pretty slick (my wife uses it in conjunction with BusySync), but I'm not willing to shell out $50/year for it.

[Ed Hansberry]

Likewise, Google's contact syncing doesn't bring over everything so i'm sticking with syncing to the desktop for both (no biggie as Busysync works nicely for Google calendar).
Seriously? Is there a contact limit, or do you have contacts in different folders, or is it taht not all fields are sync'd?

[doogald]

If Google sync doesn't sync all of your contacts, NuevaSync does. Seriously, give it a try.

[Deslock]

Seriously? Is there a contact limit, or do you have contacts in different folders, or is it taht not all fields are sync'd?
There isn't a limit of the number of contacts, but my photos are all in OSX's Address Book, not google (so I'd have to manually move them all) and there are field limits. From Sync : Known Limitations - Mobile Help (http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=139635):

"The iPhone can synchronize up to 3 email address. Phone number synchronization is limited to 2 Home numbers, 1 Home Fax, 1 Mobile, 1 Pager, 3 Work (one will be labeled 'Company Main') and one Work Fax number."

On the plus side, my calendar issue can be solved by selecting 5 calendars to sync at m.google.com/sync.

If Google sync doesn't sync all of your contacts, NuevaSync does. Seriously, give it a try.
I tried NuevaSync months ago and it was too limited for my needs... maybe I'll give it another shot.

[Ed Hansberry]

Deslock, those are just Exchange/Winmo limits. That is the basic Outlook contact form. Don't think they were aiming for the iCal users with Windows mobile devices.

[Kacey Green]

I set this up today and really like it, just wish it would use the email side of exchange for the push email.

While they're at it hook tasks up to Google tasks beta.

[Rob Alexander]

Sure, I wait for over a year for a good free syncing solution, then just a couple of weeks after I break down and open a personal Exchange account, MS and Google just can't wait to offer all sort of other options. :rolleyes:

[Deslock]

Deslock, those are just Exchange/Winmo limits. That is the basic Outlook contact form. Don't think they were aiming for the iCal users with Windows mobile devices.
It's been a while since I used WinMo, but Exchange doesn't allow for custom fields and additional emails and phone numbers per user? (Please pardon the tangential posts... initially I was responding to RogueSpear, but I should probably take my questions over to Applethoughts)

[Ed Hansberry]

It's been a while since I used WinMo, but Exchange doesn't allow for custom fields and additional emails and phone numbers per user? (Please pardon the tangential posts... initially I was responding to RogueSpear, but I should probably take my questions over to Applethoughts)

Exchange only syncs over the fields that WinMo has in Contacts. Exchange to Outlook allows custom fields as Outlook supports that. WinMo doesn't.

[rookcnu]

On the plus side, my calendar issue can be solved by selecting 5 calendars to sync at m.google.com/sync.

I tried NuevaSync months ago and it was too limited for my needs... maybe I'll give it another shot.


You must be having success with syncing more than one calendar, because you are using an iPhone. I cannot get this to work on my Touch Diamond (6.1). I go to m.google.com/sync as you suggest and there is nothing there for me to do. The only links are at the bottom of the screen for "Home", "Privacy Policy" and "Terms of Service."

If anyone can give step by step instructions on how to select more than one calendar on a WinMo device, that would be great. Otherwise, I will have to be jealous :cool: of an iPhone user and what they are able to do.

[doogald]

If anyone can give step by step instructions on how to select more than one calendar on a WinMo device, that would be great. Otherwise, I will have to be jealous :cool: of an iPhone user and what they are able to do.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, go to NuevaSync.com, sign up for a free account, and you can easily select up to eight calendars to sync.

[rookcnu]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, go to NuevaSync.com, sign up for a free account, and you can easily select up to eight calendars to sync.

I appreciate the point,... but for various reasons (which I will not go into here) I cannot use nuevasync.com. I need to use the new google tool.

Help would be greatly appreciated.

[Deslock]

You must be having success with syncing more than one calendar, because you are using an iPhone. I cannot get this to work on my Touch Diamond (6.1). I go to m.google.com/sync as you suggest and there is nothing there for me to do. The only links are at the bottom of the screen for "Home", "Privacy Policy" and "Terms of Service."

If anyone can give step by step instructions on how to select more than one calendar on a WinMo device, that would be great. Otherwise, I will have to be jealous :cool: of an iPhone user and what they are able to do.
Not sure what to tell you... to clarify, I go to m.google.com/sync on my phone (while logged into google on my phone) and I see this:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Tn3ph2hIrNU/SZNT0tlblSI/AAAAAAAAAIw/xsfiMGyUzvQ/s800/IMG_0001.jpg

From there I tap iPhone and it brings me to a screen that lets me choose my calendars.