Google has launched a free service to synchronize calendar and e-mail contact information between its popular online  applications and Apple iPhone and Microsoft Windows Mobile-equipped smartphones automatically by using cellphone signals, with the Monday announcement of its new Google Sync offering. The new service, aimed at eliminating the need for manual synchronization of calendar and contact information, was rolled out as a test version. Apple iPhone And Microsoft Windows Mobile Device Users Offered New Google Service Overcoming the frequently-frustrating process of keeping appointments and contact information up-to-date on both traditional computers and handheld mobile devices that are often replaced every few months was the task at hand for Google, which offered its solution Monday in the form of Google Sync. "One of the hardest parts about switching phones
is getting your address book and calendar to your new device," Google Mobile software engineer Bryan Mawhinney wrote Monday in a message announcing Google Sync posted on the Google Mobile blog. Google said the new automated Google Sync service can replace old manual synchronization processes for users of compatible smartphones who maintain their calendars and contacts with its online appointment tool Google Calendar and Web-based e-mail service Gmail. "For all of these devices, synchronization happens automatically over the air, without having to manually sync your phone," Google Mobile product manager Marcus Foster noted Monday in a message posted on the Mountain View, California-based Internet titan's corporate blog. Users of Apple's iPhone and smartphones running Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system were offered both the calendar and contact synchronization features, while mobile devices supporting the Synchronization Markup Language, or SyncML, were given more limited support allowing only contact synchronization. Google Rolls Out Automatic Wireless Contact And Appointment Synchronization Google Sync gave all of the supported smartphones an "always-on" method to transfer the contact or calendar information back and forth between Google's Web services and the devices, with any changes made on one platform  automatically updated on the other within a matter of minutes, Google said. "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," Foster noted in the Monday announcement of Google's latest mobile initiative. "For phones that support SyncML, the tool will allow you to get your Gmail contacts onto your phone," Foster added. The two-way nature of Google Sync will bring relief to users who have in the past had to jump through various digital hoops to keep their appointments and e-mail contacts updated, Google said. "Since Sync is a two-way service, you can make changes on your phone or in your Google Account," Mawhinney noted. Beta Test Users Urged To Work Around Several Known Issues In order to bring the Google Sync functionality to Windows Mobile-based smartphones, Google has licensed several patents from Microsoft, relating to Google's "implementation of the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol on Google servers," according to a statement from Microsoft. Microsoft has also licensed the protocol to Apple and other vendors. SearchEngineWorld makes a brief Google video demonstrating the new mobile synchronization service available below. Keeping calendar and contact information updated is important to users of the online services that Google provides, the Internet company said Monday. Having pertinent data at the right time could be "the difference between winning and losing a big deal," according to Google Apps representative Debbie Leight, in a message posted Monday on the Google Enterprise blog. Business users were not the only ones the new Google service targeted. "This will be a particularly handy improvement for people who regularly use Google tools, like corporate employees, university students, and busy families," Google's Foster noted. Google Sync Service Automates Smartphone Calendar And Contact Updates Leight joined Foster and Mawhinney in noting the test state of the Google Sync release, and urged users to "review some syncing limitations we're aware of with the iPhone and Windows Mobile devices." The capabilities and instructions for using Google Sync varied among supported smartphones according to Foster, who said that the service had "a few known issues for the iPhone and Windows Mobile devices." The most severe of those potential issues could cause first-time users of the new Google service to overwrite all of the calendar and contact information on their mobile devices or hosted Google services, and Foster urged users anxious to try Google Sync to first safeguard the information by making a backup before beginning to use it. "Google Sync will replace all existing contacts and calendar information on your phone, so make sure to back up any important data before you get started," Foster said. Another limitation in the initial version of Google Sync limiting iPhone users to synchronizing a maximum of five calendars will be removed in a future update to the service, Google said. Both Apple and Microsoft have worked on services with similar aims, with Apple's Mobile Me service already publicly available and Microsoft's Me Phone expected to be released sometime this year after a current private testing phase has concluded. With Monday's release of Google Sync, the leading search engine firm expanded on a limited version of Google Sync for Research In Motion's Blackberry mobile devices made available last year. Related Links :
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