Unlike Pedro, Google has made “all [my] dreams come true”. Just recently, Google announced a public beta of a new sync product for mobile devices. Not only do they have cool online services, but now my iPhone can easily take advantage of those services.
Some of you may wonder why this makes me so happy. Let me explain.
For a while now, I’ve been using Google Email and Calendar. I recently posted about switching my domains to Google Apps. The one main problem with using online services is the inability to use them offline. Google recently partially remedied this with an offline version of their Google Calendar, but I still had no way to sync it with the only device I carry with me at all times, my iPhone. Sure, I could view my calendars and contacts through their web-based (and iPhone formated) version, but I couldn’t set alarms for my appointments and it’s quite a bit clunkier than a native iPhone application.
The new Google Sync leverages built-in Microsoft Exchange functionality in the iPhone. What this allows me to do is make a change to an appointment in my online Google calendar and within seconds that change is synced down to my phone, over the air. Although that’s impressive, the really cool part is that my wife and I actually have a shared calendar (the family calendar). So when I create a new appointment/event on my iPhone in the family calendar, within seconds, my wife can be aware of it. Not only does it appear on her iPhone calendar, but also within her Google Calendar (which can also display as a widget within her Google Email).
But you don’t have to be an iPhone user to take advantage of Google Sync. It’s also available for:
All I can say is: Saaaaweeeeeet!
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Dan Wilson is a self described computer geek with an opinion on too many things. Regardless of whether the topic is politics, computers, gadgets or social engineering, you can bet he's got an opinion and tends to share. He's currently employed as a software engineer and excels at web development using open-source technologies. 