Get Two-Way Wireless Sync on Your Mobile Device with Google Sync

Google and Microsoft make it easy to sync your supported mobile device with Calendar and Contact data in your Google Account.

iPhone users relying on Google for email and calendar services who are dissatisfied with Apple’s MobileMe solution for syncing their Calendar and Contact information have a new option, thanks to Google and Microsoft. The two companies teamed up to offer a solution based on Microsoft’s ActiveSync that will allow iPhone users to sync Calendar and Contact data with Google Calendar and Gmail contacts.

Google Sync was released in a beta version last week, and is available on supported devices, including the iPhone for free. MobileMe, by comparison, charges its users $100 a year for access to the service. For iPhone users this is a welcome alternative to what is perceived by many as a cumbersome and costly service provided by Apple.The service provides users with supported devices, and who rely on a Google Account for their calendar and contacts, with two-way wireless sync. This accomplishes a few things:

• Synchronization services run wirelessly in the background so Contacts and Calendar events are always up to date.
• Google Sync allows mobile users to update their contacts or their Google Calendar entries while on the go. When an update is made, Google Sync wirelessly updates Calendar and Contact information in the user’s Google Account, so data is up to date when they view it from their computer. The reverse is also true.
• If the mobile device is lost or destroyed the user only has to install Google Sync on a supported replacement device. Google calendar and contact information data is stored on the web in the user’s Google Account, so Google Sync will automatically update Calendar and Contact information on the new device.

iPhone users are not the only group of mobile device consumers who will benefit from the collaborative efforts of Google and Microsoft. Devices that support Google Sync include:

• iPhone
• Blackberry
• Nokia s60
• Nokia standard
• Sony Ericsson
• Windows Mobile
• Android phones (T-Mobile’s G1)

T-Mobile’s Android-based G1 phone works a little differently. As this device’s operating system is provided by Google, the phone’s contacts, calendar, and IM chat sessions are always in sync between the mobile device and the web.
For more information see any of the following:

• For the official Google Mobile blog post about Google Sync, click here.
• To visit Google’s page dedicated to Google Sync click here.