I’ve received a number of hits regarding my previous Google Sync post so I felt that I needed to give an update.  I am no longer connecting my iPhone to a corporate Microsoft Exchange server so I am now able to use Google Sync to manage my calendar and contacts.

Setup

Setup was extremely easy.  It requires no special software on your computer or phone.  All that is required is to set up an Exchange Activesync account using one’s Google email/calendar credentials.  Before doing this, however, it is important to back up contacts and calendar on the device and upload this information to Google.

Functionality

If I create a new event on my Google Calendar online I am able to see it on the iPhone calendar application within a few seconds and vice versa.  I noticed that changes to contacts seemed to take a few minutes to sync.  I now keep my calendar and contacts in sync without 1) having to pay for a service to do this, 2) connecting to the office and 3) connecting my iPhone to my computer for synching.

Limitations

Google Sync currently only synchronizes contacts and calendar items.  It does not synchronize mail through the Microsoft Exchange Activesync protocol but instead though IMAP, so two accounts have to be set up on the phone to get both mail and calendar/contact information.  The only features that I would like to see added are the ability to sync notes and tasks.

If you still use Outlook you will need to download a separate tool to synchronize Outlook with Google Calendar.  The verdict is out on syncing contacts directly, however.  Plaxo will synchronize calendar, contacts, notes and tasks with Outlook for a fee, however.

Google Sync is a good tool for businesses and individuals that cannot afford to run Microsoft Exchange in house especially when used with a Google Apps hosted domain.  Google Sync is available on iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia and Windows Mobile phones.

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• Google Sync is Useless for Me