How I sync Outlook (Standalone) to DROID ( or any cloud based email)

[dkelley033]

I've seen hundreds of pages of people wanting a simple way to sync their droid with home outlook.
many people offer bloated software, that doesnt really work, for an exhorbitant fee.
this solution DOES use a gmail account for an intermediary transport.
I DO use google calendar.
I exported my outlook contacts to a CSV and imported into my gmail account.
Fast, worked perfect, copied my notes, etc.

After hours of searching, I decied the simplest way is probably the easiest.
I leave my computer at my office on all the time, and need email pushed to my phone 24/7.
you can adjust your sync timetable as needed.
I have my pop account also set up on my droid, so if needed i can manually sync to my pop account.
I have outlook set to only delete messages after 1 day or manually deleted so in case my office pc crashes/power outage/etc. and i am not at the office to reboot Im not completely out in the cold.
I have NOT yet found a way to (for free) sync BACK any contact changes made on my phone or in gmail to outlook.


Here's how I did it.
First, create a gmail account, and configure outlook to access it using IMAP (enable it first in google email settings)

then (optional)
create folders in your gmail imap inbox for your various accounts, if desired or needed.

create rule as follows
**********************************
Apply this rule after the message arrives
through the yourname@popaccount.com account
and on this machine only
move a copy to the (inbox in gmail imap folder) folder
************************************

you can create several rules to only forward emails FROM your work, etc.
you can opt to move messages, instead of moving a copy - if you dont want to retain a copy in your local PST.

I use google calendar sync to keep my calendar synced - works great.
this allows me to get my pop email wherever I am. delay is whatever you have your outlook set to check your accounts for messages. Mine is set for 2 minutes. after I receive a message it pops up on my droid (synced through imap to my gmail account) within seconds.
I set my gmail to address messages from my pop address (yourname@popaccount.com)
this can be accessed under your gmail accounts settings

Please let me know if you find this useful or have found a better way of syncing a standalone outlook with your droix on the go for free.
dkelley033@gmail.com