Android, Google, Desktop, Sync.

[mckinleytabor]

We've all seen the info-porn video by Google staring Eric Chu (in bicycle shorts) showing off Android Syncing with Google Apps. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7qbPa1O8Ys[/ame]

So, this now begs the question, how do you get your desktop to sync with Google?

One of the great advantages (maybe only advantage) of Windows Mobile is it tight integration with Exchange, and through that to Outlook on the Desktop. If Android integrates with Google Apps as tight as it seems, then we may have ourselves the first real competitor to MS Exchange. Provided that we can get our Desktops to Integrate with Google Apps.

I know with Email, IMAP is the best way to do this, and almost all Email clients support IMAP.

Calendar/schedual. Google Calendar now supports CalDAV, so if you have a CalDAV compatible program it works quite well. I've been using Apple's iCal for several months, and it works great. I must confess I've not found nor used a Windows or Linux CalDAV Client.

(Side question, does anyone know if Android will let you "subscribe" to and overlay shared Google Calendars? I.e. co-workers calendars for event calendars.)

Contacts, This one gets squirrelly. Google has an API for accessing Contact data, but I don't think it's based on a generally accepted open standard like SyncML or LDAP. Now as an Apple user, I know that Apple's Address Book will sync with Gmail Contacts, but it requires an iPod Touch, iPhone, or an iPod Hack. Then you either have to "sync" you iPod to sync your Gmail Contacts, or create a "sync" profile for MS Exchange or Yahoo so as to force iSync to "sync" on command. Confused? Do worry, it took me a couple of weeks to figure it out.

However, specifically with Apple's Address Book, the "sync" is incomplete, data such as the Contacts Picture does not get synced, and some other data fields get mangled if not done quite right.

I know there are some kludy third party hacks or apps to Sync contact data on Mac, Windows, and Linux, but nothing directly/current from Apple, Microsoft, or Google.

Has anyone put any thought time into this, and does anyone have a currently work solution? I closest I have is a partial Apple solution using Apple Mail with IMAP, iCal with CalDAV, and Apple Address Book with the iPod/Exchange Hack. It works well except for the Contacts. Any input from the great wisdom of the masses would be interesting.

Thanks.

[insight spinner]

It's really a different philosophy -- moving to a new era of information management in the cloud.

MS Exchange/Outlook, etc.; Palm and all management software that resides on the desktop were developed when access to the internet was not convenient for most folks. They have a dial-up mindset, that people will need to have information absent a live connection.

Now that has changed for many, and moving toward most. It's becoming commonplace that if you have a computer, you have a connection and it's on when you are on.

So the approach of Google in developing ANDROID OS (and this is my take as a total will-be consumer) is to create a system that takes advantage of the ideal, always on internet.

We've all seen the info-porn video by Google staring Eric Chu (in bicycle shorts) showing off Android Syncing with Google Apps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7qbPa1O8Ys

So, this now begs the question, how do you get your desktop to sync with Google?

There is no need to "sync" because the data is immediately stored in the cloud (that drives me nuts, btw...teh "cloud" wooo...ooo).

The data can be accessed from any live internet location, secured by your password. The phone in your pocket/purse is your connection to your info instead of your desktop. (the mindset is that you sync to get info from your desktop that you can carry around with you...I interpret Android as the information you carry with you that you can also access anywhere else).

One of the great advantages (maybe only advantage) of Windows Mobile is it tight integration with Exchange, and through that to Outlook on the Desktop. If Android integrates with Google Apps as tight as it seems, then we may have ourselves the first real competitor to MS Exchange. Provided that we can get our Desktops to Integrate with Google Apps.

That's the weakness for me right now...google apps isn't out the box. We've got a lot of the tools, and those will be really great for me as I moved to google big time last year. Because I have a razr and refuse to deal with the stupid internet on it (although I paid for it), I kept my palm lifedrive for my "mobile" information...so i was working two systems. I can't wait until the ecstatic moment when i give that sad baby brick to my twin daughters --- just a few days to go!!

I know with Email, IMAP is the best way to do this, and almost all Email clients support IMAP.

Calendar/schedual. Google Calendar now supports CalDAV, so if you have a CalDAV compatible program it works quite well. I've been using Apple's iCal for several months, and it works great. I must confess I've not found nor used a Windows or Linux CalDAV Client.

(Side question, does anyone know if Android will let you "subscribe" to and overlay shared Google Calendars? I.e. co-workers calendars for event calendars.)

Yes...you can subscribe to/share calendars. You go into settings to make the adjustment. You can make some of your calendars public and some not -- so say you are on a board of an agency and you are in charge of pr, you can post events for that calendar publicly, subscribe your assistant to your personal calendars so they can see all the times you are available, subscribe clients to the calendar for their activities, so they know when you are planning on site visits, etc. I don't use this nearly as much as I should because of the dual calendar thing and because I lack the time to do this all myself (I'm looking for some good VAs...).

Contacts, This one gets squirrelly. Google has an API for accessing Contact data, but I don't think it's based on a generally accepted open standard like SyncML or LDAP. Now as an Apple user, I know that Apple's Address Book will sync with Gmail Contacts, but it requires an iPod Touch, iPhone, or an iPod Hack. Then you either have to "sync" you iPod to sync your Gmail Contacts, or create a "sync" profile for MS Exchange or Yahoo so as to force iSync to "sync" on command. Confused? Do worry, it took me a couple of weeks to figure it out.

However, specifically with Apple's Address Book, the "sync" is incomplete, data such as the Contacts Picture does not get synced, and some other data fields get mangled if not done quite right.

I know there are some kludy third party hacks or apps to Sync contact data on Mac, Windows, and Linux, but nothing directly/current from Apple, Microsoft, or Google.

Has anyone put any thought time into this, and does anyone have a currently work solution? I closest I have is a partial Apple solution using Apple Mail with IMAP, iCal with CalDAV, and Apple Address Book with the iPod/Exchange Hack. It works well except for the Contacts. Any input from the great wisdom of the masses would be interesting.

Thanks.

Can't help with the last except to hope that contacts gets a lot more robust.

Hope this helps a bit. Good luck!

[Gary.Lavin]

So the debate is still open, stick with Outlook or switch to Google and I need to decide next week. From what I hear the Contacts piece of Google's solution just does not cut it. Yea the Calender is cool but mail is only good if you have gmail so overall I'm not convinced it's time to switch. Anyone?

[NetCom]

So the debate is still open, stick with Outlook or switch to Google and I need to decide next week. From what I hear the Contacts piece of Google's solution just does not cut it. Yea the Calender is cool but mail is only good if you have gmail so overall I'm not convinced it's time to switch. Anyone?

My decision is to switch to what I have started to use already long time ago even with my WM device. I did have push service that had numerous malfunctioning. After being sick and tired of it I just stopped using it.

G1 will fit my lifestyle much better with it's way of sync-ing. However, have in mind that I do not intend to use G1 in business corporate manner as many people use BlackBerry for instance.

[mumbles]

So, this now begs the question, how do you get your desktop to sync with Google?

Despite the clear vector towards keep-your-data-in-the-cloud, it seems like a possible tight integration between Android and Google Desktop could revive hope for ubiquitous mobile access to the desktop (which Orb went furthest towards a couple years ago)

What do folks think?