How To Sync Outlook Contacts & Calendar to Google

[Wiiiindy]

I've been trying CompanionLink (CL) for a couple of weeks. It seems to work fine, such as it is.

Pros:
-Contact/Calendar seems to work both ways (Android and Outlook).
-Have not run into the merge issue with Android Contacts but that isn't a CL issue anyway.
-The sync between Google and Outlook (and therefore Google and Droid) can be automatic and configurable as long as your computer is on the internet (you need to download their Goodsync product as well but it is free).
-Direct sync by cable available (without Google in the middle) - have not tried it yet.

Cons:
-$39.95
-Kludgy handling of Memos and Tasks (put into Contacts and Calendar respectively).
-$39.95
-Google in the middle (your data in the cloud)
-$39.95
-Had a few strange things happen but minor (example: change in Droid didn't showup in Outlook - made the same change a 2nd time and it did.)
-$39.95 - ok I'm cheap. I'll probably buy it anyway - grumbling all the way. Google should have supplied full Outlook sync to start with - like everyone else. If I had known this I might have gone with the PrePlus which was my 2nd choice - and I could have ported all my long time Palm apps as well. Otherwise I love the Droid.

Hope that helps someone.

 

[jdmba]

Well, patience (and smart phone shopping) has won out. For those who did not take the 1/2 powered droid, or the have-to-deal-with-3-different-companies Nexus One; the Incredible awaits. I have read the manual for The Incredible, and it has HTC Sync, which will sync to Outlook (contacts and calendars) as well as install programs ... basically, ActiveSync!

I fully anticipate taking the plunge!

Thanks all!

 

[PittNet]

Well, patience (and smart phone shopping) has won out. For those who did not take the 1/2 powered droid, or the have-to-deal-with-3-different-companies Nexus One; the Incredible awaits. I have read the manual for The Incredible, and it has HTC Sync, which will sync to Outlook (contacts and calendars) as well as install programs ... basically, ActiveSync!

I fully anticipate taking the plunge!

Thanks all!

I stmbled across some stuff about the Incredible last night. Do you have a link to the manual you saw? The Incredible sounds cool. Only thing it's missing is a slide out keyboard.

 

[jdmba]

I stmbled across some stuff about the Incredible last night. Do you have a link to the manual you saw? The Incredible sounds cool. Only thing it's missing is a slide out keyboard.

I had to contact someone to get the PDF; however I suspect that it will be publicly available in very very short order.

A quick google search points to this thread:
HTC Incredible User Guide Leaks [EXCLUSIVE]! | Android Phone Fans

 

[TeamPEZ]

How do I get it to sync both ways (make a date on my Hero and it show up on my PC and vice-versa.) It will NOT let me do this and it's frustrating! Thanks!

 

[f5_again]

Has anyone found an "AndroidMe" version of MobileMe yet?

I wish Notes and Tasks would work.

 

[jhutchins]

I agree with the privacy issues. I have no desire to put my info on Google. But I do like the Android, so I'll keep looking until I can find something. Docs to Go is great for the rest of the office suite.

 

[wb6jao]

I have a new Incredible. So far so good. But HTC Synch is worthless. It times out halfway through syncing and leaves the contact list on the Incredible as a mess. I'm going to try gSyncit next I think.

 

[f5_again]

I have been using Gsyncit for several weeks now. It was hard at first to setup everything the way I wanted, partially my own doing as I wanted Contacts set up a particular way, but the payoff is I haven

 

[wb6jao]

I have a new Incredible. So far so good. But HTC Synch is worthless. It times out halfway through syncing and leaves the contact list on the Incredible as a mess. I'm going to try gSyncit next I think.

So far Gsyncit is working great for me. Got everything (Contacts, Calendars, Notes) synced up the way I like it. Thumbs Up for Gsyncit.

Does anyone know how to delete all the "Phone" contacts, other than one at a time? I'm trying to clean up the mess that trying to use HTC Synch left. If I restore the phone by doing a factory reset, won't my contacts just be reloaded automatically by the Backup process running in the background on the Incredible?

 

[videospy]

I used a site call soocial.com ...works great and free

 

[annjee]

I finally got my eris and outlook to sync both ways. I touched the top of my phone calendar until it turned gray and gave me calendar menu choices. I touched the calendar menu choice and then unchecked all the calendars except outlook. After days of frustration and no answers from any tech people, this worked!

 

[kipling]

I'm using WM since day one, but wanted to go away from it, as it's both buggy and another lousy Microsoft hang-often system.

I'm in the same fate as many, stucked!

Now my phone is due for a change (HTC Diamond), I almost bought 2 Galaxy S, for my wife and myself. But luckily I asked the sales and they replied that Androids are crippled when it comes to Sync'ing. So I got 1 for my wife, since she do not need Outlook Contact and Calendar, unlike my over dependence on them.

Now Deciding between Iphone 4 or Galaxy S? Just dunno why developer's must leave some important features out on purpose?

Galaxy S sales person says it cannot sync with Outlook Contact and Calendar (such a basic requirement). I love it's tethering, Swipe and Live wallpaper.

Iphone 4 - heard from friends it can sync with Outlook Contact and Calendar (basic, but not complete), but no flash for internet and other host of Egoistic approach to loyal customer's feedback or cries.

Heard HTC Android's can sync with Outlook through their own software, but Samsung's Kies can't?

I had tried missin'Sync on Galaxy S, yes, as the name suggested, missin'Sync, itself is MISSING!! not working at all.

Now most probably getting the Iphone 4, but good to see fragile to handle.

Can someone help? I think Android got a bright future, but unfortunately, why it is so darn stupid to exclude a proper sync'ing softwares?

Something is seriously amiss in their marketing strategies!

I'm not an Apply guy, especially with the way they handled the Antenna case, Egoistic guys, no wonder they do not listen to their loyal supporter's feedbacks!

Even Froyo also nothing on they sync, even with ppl like us desperately stucked. Android's behaviour like Apple too, Egoistic? "Buy only if you don't complain"

 

[f5_again]

You need to either look at Gsyncit for a solution or wait for Froyo.

I think you need to re-read a few Froyo reviews. Froyo has enhanced outlook syncing abilities as well as corporate level Exchange wiping and such. Much more improved Outlook capabilities.

Gsyncit has been working flawlessly for me. I will not switch as it does everything I need with no problems.

Good luck!

 

[amolkatkar]

you dont need to buy anything. Here is what you do-
Export contacts from outlook in CSV file.
Go to GMail contacts. Import contacts in Gmail.
Here is link on how to do it Importing CSV files - Gmail Help
Once you have contacts in Gmail, import Gmail contacts with android.

 

[idontknowb]

is it possible to set a ringtone to a group or am i just driving myself crazy for no reason?

 

[f5_again]

you dont need to buy anything. Here is what you do-
Export contacts from outlook in CSV file.
Go to GMail contacts. Import contacts in Gmail.
Here is link on how to do it Importing CSV files - Gmail Help
Once you have contacts in Gmail, import Gmail contacts with android.

That's only if you want to sync once, with no further communication between Outlook and Gmail (android).

I

 

[Johneeee]

Gunner, I just downloaded Companionlink & tried it & it worked perfectly (for 1300+ contacts) so thank you very much for this info. When I first ran it I purged & replaced my contacts in Gmail with my Outlook contacts. Worked great. I then added photos to some contacts in Gmail & then changed a phone number in Outlook & re-synced (note the 'purge' option had automatically been deselected - which is good) and it worked fine & was fairly quick. Note - the initial photos in Outlook were not copied to Gmail.

Lastly, was delighted to see they offered a free 14 day trial as this is the cooling off period I have with my Galaxy S & I fully intended to return it if I could not sync both ways between Outlook & my Android phone.

 

[KayDroid]

soooooo, I have Droid X, I have alywas been an outlook person for so many years my life depends on it. I was happy with companionlinks's promise to sync and was happy that it did!!!! however I use outlook 2007 which has 2 contacts. My personal and my clients which is on "business contact manager" companion link got them on too my x but NOT my personal contacts. Apparently it is one or the other but not both. So I used companion link USB for my BCM and companionlink google for my personal. Companionlink google synched but companionlink usb left my calander on the dejaoffice app in my phone. Also doesn't look like the USB sw does auto synch.

Sooo were do I stand, looks like juggling SW. I prefer the google synch for personal. Although companionlink offers BCM synch I don't see how it could work. For example the "notes/history " for BCM I don't see how it could work and write now I have both databases on my phone and I don't want to try.

I think I will try the gsynch for my personal just cause companionlink synced my BCM effortlessly and I don't wan to mess with that.

I hope I am not forced to go back to WinMo

 

[riskaa]

Thanks Emperor Crusher. great list!
I wonder if anyone's tried the DELL software but not with the Dell Streak. I have a DELL laptop, but a Samsung Captivate phone. Wonder if i want to take that risk..

 

[riskaa]

f5_again,
i have a question for you. You mentioned that the Froyo has advanced Outlook syncing capabilities. Do you mean that we possibly wont need third party apps such as gsync-it or companion in the near future?
I'm working around google calendar/contacts for now, since i have been hesitant to spend money on the above mentioned apps. Are you perhaps saying i may not have to spend money at all when Froyo is released?

Thanks!

 

[f5_again]

riskaa, Crack open your wallet...

I had wrote those things about Froyo based on articles I read BEFORE the release. Now, after having Froyo for a while, I don't see any significant new capabilities. It should have Exchange wipe and a few other goodies but nothing that impacts my daily life as far as seamless transfers or syncing.

I wanted something wireless and effortless. I don't want to hook up a cable or remember to push any buttons. I just wanted it to work without my help. To that end, I'm still using gSyncit and really enjoy the worry free use, it just works. Others are using Companionlink and I have read nothing too terrible about that one. Both have issues and neither one will be able to replicate Outlook exactly the way we have it on our computers.

For me it came down to cost... gSyncit is less $$ and I couldn't find anything that proved to me another software would be worth more money. This is one of the few times I just spent the money up front and am pleased with the results. I HAD to have Outlook (contacts and calendar) sync on my phone or my phone would have been returned. That simple.

Hope this helps you, good luck.

Disclaimer:
I do NOT work for gSyncit nor have any vested interest in the company. I just like this piece of software as it does what it says it will do.

 

[riskaa]

Thanks for your comments f5_again. I will check out gsync it.
Don't have froyo yet though

 

[StarPetito]

Here is another software that sync outlook contacts/calendar with the phone. Then indirectly you can sync your phone with your gmail?
The reason I mention it is because it's free and it also sync/backup your multimedia files, playlists, and applicaiton program with PC. So perhaps someone who come accross this thread will still find it useful.
http://androidforums.com/android-applications/183160-wireless-android-phone-pc-sync-tool.html

 

[cracklin]

Hello From South Africa

I am considering a Samsung Galaxy S a for trip through Africa by motorcycle to Sweden

My most important requirements are to sync ms OUTLOOK 2003 contacts and calendar. If done via Goolge does the final sync reside on the phone or in the clouds with Google?

The reason I am asking is that there will be limited internt connection on our trip and it is therefore important that I can access contacts/calendar without an internet connection once the intial sync and conversion has been done

Is this possible?

Any advice would be appreciated