1. Gigaom Free Mobileme Alternative: How To Set Up Google Sync For Mac Windows 10
2. Gigaom Free Mobileme Alternative: How To Set Up Google Sync For Mac Mac

In early February, a free utility that lets you sync your Google calendar and contacts wirelessly with Apple iPhones, RIM BlackBerrys, and phones running Windows Mobile. (Currently, Symbian OS phones are limited to syncing contacts only.) I like what I see after two weeks of use, though there's some room for improvement.

The Back Story Google Sync for Mobile, like practically every Web-based service the search giant offers, is technically in 'beta.' (Introduced in 2004, Gmail is still in 'beta,' too.) Google Sync for Mobile lets you wirelessly sync your Gmail contacts and up to five Google calendars with the address book and calendar programs on supported handhelds. Your phone will need a data plan in order to sync over the air with Google Calendar and Gmail contacts. The concept is similar to and Microsoft Exchange, which is often used in corporate environments.

In fact, Google Sync for Mobile uses Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync technology to sync contacts and calendars. Here's how it works: If you make a change to your calendar on your handheld device, that change is automatically pushed wirelessly to your Google Calendar on the Web.

You don't have to physically connect your handheld to your computer in order to sync the change to your master calendar. The same is true with contacts. If you change someone's phone number in your Gmail address book on the Web, the new phone number will be automatically added via Google Sync for Mobile to that contact on your handheld, too.

Pros and Cons Google Sync for Mobile does for free, at least in terms of syncing calendars and contacts, what Apple charges you US$99 a year for with MobileMe. MobileMe does more than that, of course, including file storage and photo sharing. But if syncing your calendar and address book is all you care about, Google Sync for Mobile is a worthy alternative. Setting up Google Sync for Mobile on my Apple iPhone 3G was easy, thanks to Google's.

The process is a bit intimidating, however, because it wipes out your iPhone's existing contacts and calendar appointments to make room for the synced data. I was given ample warning about the deletions, however, and I didn't lose any data. As of this writing, Google Sync for Mobile doesn't sync e-mail. However, I don't see that as an issue for most people. For example, whenever I launch the Mail app on my iPhone 3G, Mail automatically downloads any new Gmail messages.

If I read or delete a Gmail message in Mail on my iPhone, that message is automatically marked as read or is deleted in Gmail on the Web, and vice versa. Also, you can set up two-way syncing between Gmail on the Web and your smart phone e-mail client using Gmail's feature I'm not enamored with Gmail's address book, however. It feels a bit like an afterthought, compared to Outlook's Contacts.

For instance, unlike Gmail Contacts, Outlook contacts let you assign tasks, flag for follow-up, and has fields for anniversaries, birthdays, assistant's name, manager's name, and spouse's name, which you don't get with Gmail Contacts. So for the time being, at least, I'm still syncing my iPhone's address book with Outlook on my PC.

The good news is that Google Sync for Mobile gives you that option: You can choose to sync only your Google calendar with your handheld, or only your Gmail Contacts with your handheld, or both. Another minor complaint: When you create a new appointment in your iPhone's native Calendar app, you can set up two reminders-one for, say, a day before the event and a second one for 15 minutes before. I've found this feature extremely useful. However, when you use Google to sync your Google calendars with your iPhone's native Calendar app, you lose the ability on your iPhone to set up two alerts for the same appointment. You can set up to five alerts for one calendar entry within Google Calendar on your computer, however. The Wrap Up With Google Sync for Mobile, Google has some competition from Microsoft, as always.

The software giant's, also in beta and also free, wirelessly syncs your Windows Mobile phone's contacts, calendar entries, photos, and other information with a Microsoft-hosted site. So if you're a Windows Mobile user, you might want to give My Phone a try. Otherwise, I recommend Google Calendar and Gmail users at least give Google Sync a chance. It's not perfect, but it's a great start. And given Google's tendency to continually add features to its services, it's bound to get better.

Mobile Computing News, Reviews, & Tips New MSI X-Slim Laptop: MSI's X340 Pro laptop is a skinny MacBook Air competitor. It features a 1.4-GHz version of Intel's new ultra-low voltage Core2 Solo processor and is expected to retail for $700 to $1000, much less than the Air. For a closer look. Cut Your Cell Phone Bill: Rick Broida has plenty of tips for. Among the suggestions: Try using Truphone, a VoIP application for BlackBerrys, iPhones, and Nokia handsets that lets you make international calls using a Wi-Fi network for just 6 cents a minute.

Or give Cherple a try: It's a free program for Mac and Windows PCs that lets you send and receive SMS text messages. Stroll Through our iPod Museum: Remember what the first iPod looked like? If not, take a trip down Memory Lane with our, showcasing the evolution of the popular media player. Contributing Editor James A.

Martin offers tools, tips, and product recommendations to help you make the most of computing on the go. Martin is also author of the.

Sign up to have the to you each week. Suggestion Box Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket?. However, I regret that I'm unable to respond to tech-support questions, due to the volume of e-mail I receive. This story, 'Sync Your Phone Wirelessly-for Free' was originally published.

As, Apple has begun notifying at least some MobileMe users of a new upgrade program offering a free copy of Mac OS X Snow Leopard. The offer is being made to provide users of machines running older versions of Mac OS X with a reduced-cost pathway to upgrade to OS X Lion, which is required to take full advantage of the features of iCloud. With OS X Lion being distributed via the Mac App Store, users need to have Mac OS X Snow Leopard installed on their systems in order to access the store. Consequently, users still on Mac OS X Leopard or earlier would have to pay $29 to upgrade to Snow Leopard via disc and then an additional $29.99 to upgrade to Lion via the Mac App Store in the absence of the new upgrade program. With MobileMe set to be discontinued in favor of iCloud as of June 30, Apple is clearly seeking to encourage MobileMe users to move their accounts to iCloud.

In an article sent to MobileMe customers, Apple has recommended that potential customers get in touch with Apple to receive a free DVD of Snow Leopard so that users can upgrade to Lion, and move to iCloud. All you have to do is, log in to MobileMe with your Mobile Me account, and fill out your mailing information. Apple will then send you a Snow Leopard DVD for free. Mac OS X Snow Leopard in the Apple online store for $29, suggesting that the offer is a targeted program intended for MobileMe members who need to upgrade their systems in order to move to iCloud rather than a general price cut for all purchasers of Snow Leopard.

Just because it works fine for YOU, doesn't mean it works fine for EVERYONE. Just go to the Lion and Mountain Lion forums and you'll see a lot of complaints about bugs, lag, etc. Oh come on, are you telling me people didn't post a lot of complaints in the Leopard/Snow Leopard forums? Back when snow leopard was 10.6.0-10.6.3 (the same number of iterations as Lion today), I saw a lot of problems about crashes and bugs and people complaining about how SL was not a 'better Leopard'. Same with the Leopard release. You wouldn't believe the amount of Time Machine issues people had.

People rarely post about good experiences on those threads. More people will post if they actually have a problem. The rest of us are too busy enjoying Lion to post our experience.:). I have a 4 year old Macbook Pro. Lion works just fine for me on 4GB of ram. The fact that you compare it with Vista tells me that you didn't experience the enormous amount of troubles the consumers and especially the businesses had to go when they upgraded to Vista. My only criticism of Lion is Mission Control.

It sucks compared to Expose but I doubt people who have never tried Expose will notice. And it's not terribly surprising Apple wants more people on iCloud.

ICloud to me is a more complete package than Mobileme ever was. Plus, if the customer has iCloud, Apple can just download their data off of the cloud to make replacements/repairs easier. The consumer in turn benefits from the better experience as well. That's hard when you don't have iCloud. He's only kidding. No one could post that with a straight face.

Wow, they are really committed to this pretty convoluted update path. The majority of customers will go along with this upgrade path, but can you imagine what it will be like walking through helping customer's back up their Macs (prudent before any software update), helping them install Snow Leopard, then assisting them in updating to the latest SL version, then helping them log into the Mac App Store to download Lion? It may be hard to believe given the proficiency among users here in Mac products, but for some customers, just figuring out how to sign into the Mac App Store will be a 30-minute phone call to Apple: 'My Apple ID, is that what I use on the Google? Or is that my 3G password?' When MobileMe shuts down, there is going to be a 'bag of hurt,' including for the people taking phone calls related to supporting these customers. I can imagine the calls right now, Customer: 'I have to back-up my computer and install this Snow Leopard just so that I can keep my e-mail I've been paying a $100 a year for for the last 10 years?!?!' Advisor: 'Actually after backing up your computer, installing Snow Leopard, you'll need to buy Lion, and after installing that you can keep your e-mail service.'

Customer: (supernova exploding) Personally, I finally gave in and updated to Lion, but before I did, I frequently contacted Apple to verify my MobileMe (and later iCloud) e-mail would continue functioning with Snow Leopard. I was given cagey answers, but the general consensus was that it would not. I don't believe that is the case, but nonetheless, how difficult would it have been for Apple to update Snow Leopard to work with the iCloud e-mail service and the calendar, contact, syncing, etc? After all, Apple is supporting Windows Vista! Windows Vista is the operating system Apple spent hundreds of millions of dollars lambasting on television. If it's capable of using iCloud, why not Snow Leopard, the OS which Apple advertised as being so much better than Vista? Apple has historically been pretty bad with maintaining any sort of online services for any length of time (the exception being the iTunes Store).

They deprecate services before there's even a fully functional alternative. I have accounts with Tripod from the late 90s and they are still storing all of my files without interruption.

Gigaom Free Mobileme Alternative: How To Set Up Google Sync For Mac Windows 10

I have a Gmail account as a back-up e-mail, and I don't have to worry about losing e-mail if I don't switch to a renamed service or if I am using a slightly older operating system. Apple should care a little more about polishing Lion rather than trying to get everyone onto it.

With Apple everything is supposed to 'just work.' But honestly, the upgrade path to iCloud would be more simple if Apple sent all these users a copy of Windows Vista and had them install it via Boot Camp. It would probably require about the same number of steps! She's not missing out on anything.

Lion is laggy as hell and it chews up RAM as well. If she wants a computer that just works, she'll appreciate Snow Leopard far more, even at 10.7.3, Lion still feels like a Beta test. It really is Apple's vista. The fact that Apple is pushing for people to get a free copy of Snow Leopard to get Lion is proof of that, they badly want people to switch to Lion, but the consumer knows better. I have a 4 year old Macbook Pro. Lion works just fine for me on 4GB of ram. The fact that you compare it with Vista tells me that you didn't experience the enormous amount of troubles the consumers and especially the businesses had to go when they upgraded to Vista.

My only criticism of Lion is Mission Control. It sucks compared to Expose but I doubt people who have never tried Expose will notice. And it's not terribly surprising Apple wants more people on iCloud.

ICloud to me is a more complete package than Mobileme ever was. Plus, if the customer has iCloud, Apple can just download their data off of the cloud to make replacements/repairs easier. The consumer in turn benefits from the better experience as well. That's hard when you don't have iCloud. Yep, same here. Apple, I might have upgraded to Lion by now if you hadn't axed Rosetta. I do not need to upgrade my current Quark 6 software on 2 Macs and a Laptop.

Gigaom Free Mobileme Alternative: How To Set Up Google Sync For Mac Mac

So, in axing Rosseta Apple is telling me to pay for an additional 3 x Quark 9 licences for software I do not need, or lose out on planned future services. Also probably the ability to own and sync a future iPhone or iPad. I qualify this statement with the fact I had to upgrade from Tiger when I purchased my iPad. I am not even clear if I can even upgrade from Quark 6.5 to 9 in any case, but paying £897 or £2397, is not an option for the basic usage we need this software. You CAN technically run iCloud on SL or any other previous carnation, if they wanted you to.

There is NO argument for me to consider from any fan boys in Apple's defence, when you can run the latest version of iTunes 10.6.1 and iCloud on any old ropey PC running Windows XP. So please., unless you or Apple are now telling me that Windows XP is a better and more powerful OS than Snow Leopard, Leopard, Tiger etc, save it. Apple want to keep the millions of potential and prospective PC based iPhone/Pad/Pod users happy, but are content to screw over their loyal existing Mac community. This is not what Apple was about when I 'switched' in 1996. In fact it was Apple's unique selling point that all software was backwards compatible and in contrast it was Microsoft that was forcing premature upgrades to software and hardware.

Big unfunny joke.