Synchronizing your Contacts and Calendar across multiple devices (Android and iPhone)

With the advancement of technology, phones are becoming more and more advanced to the point that they can be considered computer themselves (Pocket PC that can also function as a phone). You can now check your email, browse the web, interact on social media, play music, or watch videos wherever you are as long as you have your smart phone and an internet connection.

There is a problem that affects users that have more than one device and that is synchronization of their contacts and calendar appointments. If you are suffering from this problem, don’t worry there is a solution:

There are some ways to approach synchronization between your phone and other devices, but by far the easiest is to keep your data remotely stored via “the cloud” (aka the Internet) and sync everything with that, there are security concerns of course unless you are using a trusted vendor like Microsoft, Google, Apple, etc…

For Android Users, see the video below:

Android for Gmail:

Android for Google Contacts:

[flashvideo file=wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Android-Contacts.flv /]

Video credit to “Google for Android“

For iPhone users you can find more:

Setting up Google Sync with your iOS device

Using Google Sync with iOS Calendar

Update:  There is a cooler way to setup your google account on iphone to support IMAP as well as sync your contacts, check it out here

For those that feel paranoid about leaving their data in the hands of a corporation, there are other solutions:

All-in-one solutions

If you don’t have or don’t want a Gmail account, or simply want to sync stuff directly between your computer and phone, there are other options available to you. These will vary in complexity depending on your setup – Microsoft Exchange users, for example, will have a fairly easy time of it, while owners of some handsets will find they have a “sync mode” which presents itself as an option when connecting to their computer via USB (using this will usually involve downloading and installing a small server program on the computer from the phone’s SD card – visit the manufacturer’s website for more details).

Syncing with Microsoft Exchange

Setting up your phone to use Exchange ActiveSync with your emails, calendars and contacts is simple. You can do by choosing “Exchange ActiveSync” under Menu >; Settings >; Accounts & sync >; Add account. From there just enter your email address and password (if you experience problems, select Manual setup and enter your server details). If your older Android handset that doesn’t have this ability built in, you can use an app like Exchange server, Touchdown, RoadSync, or ContacsCalendarSync to sync your data.

Third-party sync solutions

If your phone doesn’t come with its own built-in USB sync option, there are a few apps on offer that will ease the syncing of contacts and calendars. One of the more comprehensive options available is the “Missing Sync” app which can sync calendars, notes, text messages and other files between your phone and computer. The app is free but the corresponding program for Mac or PC (here) will set you back $40.

Tip: If you’re an Outlook user and want to sync with a Google account, but need more robust capabilities than those offered by the Google Calendar Sync option, including full contacts, calendar and mail syncing, it may be worth investigating a subscription to Google Apps Premier Edition, which allows you to use the Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook application.

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