Google Sync Beta: Sync your Google Calendar and Gmail Contacts to your iPhone Over the Air

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Filed Under (Apple iPhone, Smartphones, Softwares) by admin on 23-02-2009 >> 71 views

Tagged Under : Apple, Gmail Contact, Google Calendar, Google Sync, iPhone

Google seems to be on a roll. They had recently released their lightweight to-do list manager, Gmail Tasks for the iPhone, followed that with the announcement that they will be releasing their new feature in Google Maps called Latitude that allows users to share their location with their friends and family for the iPhone, and towards the end of last week released the optimized version of Google Books for the iPhone (which unfortunately we have not had the time to write about).

And if that was not good enough, Google has just released Google Sync Beta for the iPhone which lets you sync your Google Calendar and your Gmail Contacts to your iPhone over the air.

Google has just solved the problem I had with iPhone’s Contacts and Calendar app by launching Google Sync Beta for the iPhone which will allow me to keep my contacts and calendar in sync with your computer and iPhone.

Marcus Foster, Product Manager of Google Mobile wrote:

We’re offering more people easy access to their information on the go with two-way calendar and contacts sync for iPhones and Windows Mobile devices, and two-way contacts sync for mobile devices that support SyncML.

They go on to explain how Google Sync will work:

“For iPhone and Windows Mobile devices, Google Sync allows you to get your Gmail contacts and Google Calendar events onto your phone. Sync uses push technology, which means that any changes you make to your calendar or contacts from the browser or phone will be reflected on your device within minutes. For phones that support SyncML, the tool will allow you to get your Gmail contacts onto your phone. For all of these devices, synchronization happens automatically over the air, without having to manually sync your phone. The connection is always on, which means your information is always up-to-date, no matter where you are or what you’re doing.”

However, before you get excited, you should be aware of some of the limitations of Google Sync which is currently in beta by following this link.

You should also be aware that that Google Sync will replace all existing contacts and calendar information from your iPhone, so as Google has advised please take a backup of any important data before you get started. They have also provided instructions on how to take a backup of your contact and calendar information for PC users or Mac users.

You can find out more about Google Sync in the video below:

Setting up Google Sync Beta on your iPhone appears to be quite simple, you can follow the instructions provided at Google’s Help Centre.

Apple already offers MobileMe which keeps your email, contacts and calendar in sync with your computer and iPhone for $99 per year whereas Google is offering Google Sync for free. Interestingly, Microsoft had also recently announced limited invite-only beta of its own cloud service called My Phone which will allow users to sync critical information (e.g., contacts, calendar appointments, tasks, text messages, photos, video, etc) on a user’s mobile phone to a password protected Web site for free (though it works only on phones that run the Windows Mobile 6+ operating system currently).

As always, please let us know what you think about Google Sync Beta for the iPhone in the comments below.

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