In PCUser Jan12 pg 89 you talk about the difficulties of syncing Outlook with iPhone. This alerted me as I am in the market to upgrade from my trusty old Nokia N95 to a smart phone pretty soon. As I use Outlook intensively as PIM for addresses, email, diary, appointments etc and also it syncs perfectly in my current set-up via Ovi.
I have no direct preference for my next phone wether Android Galaxy 2s or Nexus or iPhone, maybe even Win based, but I need easy sync possibility. Judging by your article it would preclude iPhone as my option. Could you please elaborate on the sync options for the other operating systems and phones. I guess many of your readers will be facing the same predicament and only realising the problem too late after the purchase. I have asked this question at our local shops, but the answer has always been: no problems which ever way you go!
Syncing Outlook with smart phones
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Ah, I remember my good old Palm PDA which synced with Outlook beautifully. Unfortunately for you, downunder, most modern smartphones assume you want to sync with an online service. For example, Android phones work nicely with a Gmail account. In a way, that makes things easier because your phone's data is automatically always up-to-date. However, you then need to get your Gmail data syncing with Outlook on your desktop. Email is easy, but you need additional apps such as Google Calendar Sync and Outlook4Gmail for syncing calendar items and contacts.
If you want more direct Outlook syncing, or you use a conventional POP email account (eg your account with your ISP), it may be possible with a third-party Android app (https://market.android.com/search?q=sync+Outlook) though I haven't tried any of them.
The other option may be a Blackberry phone. I think I remember my old Blackberry coming with Outlook syncing PC software, but can any Blackberry users out there confirm if this is still the case?
Well my org uses Exchange delivering Outlook by imap and https and the iPhone is able to use it perfectly. Your desktop Outlook will have the server settings needed to put in iPhone's email settings but if not then your IT dept could help if this is a work account.
However I'd suggest the Windows Phone 7 for full compatibility, HTC Mozart is good.
Hi Glen,
Thanks a lot for your great info. I still have not decided which way to go, Probably I push my decision in front of me hoping to see iPhone 5 coming along. I am not sure which way to go either Android or iPhone. There seems to be a working sync solution for the iPhone via CompanionLink for Outlook. The S/w costs about $50, but that wouldn't bother me. So I am still procrastinating, even though that is normally not my nature.
Thanks again
Mike