Droid X sync with Outlook

[wmscottmc]

A 3rd party developer shouldnt even have to create this. This should be part of the Android OS.

Each time we have this discussion about 3rd party apps to sync to Outlook, we never get many real positive reviews about the 2 or 3 apps that exist now. Other phones Ive used just used Active Sync and it was that simple. And we didnt have all of these issues about missing event data, duplicate tasks, security issues with the outlook data, poor UI.......ect.

Id pay $40 for an app if it worked. If somebody could created a real solution to this Outlook sync problem, and sell a $40 app a million times, I think there is some insentive there.

But as I said earlier, this should be part of the OS, like it is on almost every other smartphone out there. Outlook is so widely used, that just trying to ignore it is insane.

When the iPhone is finally sold by Verizon this problem will finally get fixed by Google. Until then, I think we are hosed as long as we want an Android phone.

 

[sandiegorealestate]

hookbill, I was a little hesitant to let go of updating from Outlook but so far the last few hours of doing everything with Google, email, Imported my POP accounts, Imported my Outlook Calendar and all of my contacts, I have to say this is really awesome.

You can do everything in Google that you could do with Outlook and some. Even the calendar and reminders, merging contacts is so much easier to do!

 

[HolstonRiverVOL]

Concern about switching to Google

My law office uses Amicus for case management, calendaring, contacts, etc. Amicus syncs only with Outlook.
Why does the android platform refuse to sync directly with Outlook
Would get rid of my BB Curve in heatbeat if there was a true reliable solution

 

[grundei]

hookbill, I was a little hesitant to let go of updating from Outlook but so far the last few hours of doing everything with Google, email, Imported my POP accounts, Imported my Outlook Calendar and all of my contacts, I have to say this is really awesome.

You can do everything in Google that you could do with Outlook and some. Even the calendar and reminders, merging contacts is so much easier to do!

Sandie et al - I use Outlook as primary tool - When I log on to Google (gmail) directly I see hundreds of contacts that are people copied (cc) by my uncle on jokes etc etc. ie they are not MY contacts and never will be. So when I let Google manage contacts how do I prevent these "trash" contacts from creeping in?? (Constantly deleting them is not acceptable.) Advise thanks

 

[wmscottmc]

hookbill, I was a little hesitant to let go of updating from Outlook but so far the last few hours of doing everything with Google, email, Imported my POP accounts, Imported my Outlook Calendar and all of my contacts, I have to say this is really awesome.

You can do everything in Google that you could do with Outlook and some. Even the calendar and reminders, merging contacts is so much easier to do!

Here are a few things that google cant do that Outlook does

1) Memo's
2) Displaying todo/tasks on the calendar
3) Keeping personal info private, rather than in the cloud

 

[charlesstrouss]

You guys are so naive! The only person who figured it out so far was IT_Admin... This was a calculated effort by Google to control your data... they probably had the Outlook Sync code all written and debugged, but strategically chose not to include it because they knew so many people would just punt and tie themselves to hosting their contacts/calendars on Google!

What if you want to switch to a brand new smartphone os in a few years? Will you have to translate your contacts database to a different format and store it on THEIR servers? Or will you just take the easy path and stick with the GoogleOS?

Welcome to the big time software biz... everyone's just playing turf wars... rather than trying to make stuff work for their customers, they are more interested in keeping you captive, or severing you from your current providers.

This is the crap that people at Microsoft/Google/Real/Apple/Etc... sit around all day thinking about.

 

[questech]

I agree,

This is really unfair business practices if you look at the long view. Microsoft tried to dominate the market and restrict our choices, and Google is following in their footsteps, even though they profess to be nothing like them.

So why don't all of us here write a letter the Attorney General, and then join other forums & newsgroups and spread the word to do the same??

We have a collective voice, we just don't point it in the right direction.

What say you?

 

[charlesstrouss]

probably not illegal

I don't think letters to the AG would do any good... this is just business as usual. The only time it rises to the level of legal scrutiny is when there is a monopoly... in this case, one could claim that Google is just trying to bust Microsoft's virtual monopoly on handling contacts & calendars.

The anti-trust laws are very nebulous... Microsoft got away with a lot of pretty crazy **** for a long time until the Feds came down on them... and even then the Feds' case was actually pretty weak... mostly it all came down to PR. Bill was probably pretty pissed after all the money he gave Clinton and Gore. Apparently the EU came down on Microsoft even harder -- but I doubt they would take any interest in this case.

The most effective way is to try to not patronize manufacturers who play this game... which is probably what will make me go with a WinPhone instead of a Droid... but remember that everybody does it. If Microsoft spent half as much energy trying to innovate as they spend trying to defend their turf, we'd all have much better software.

 

[fluffsabouttown]

I've now lost my gmail sync. I miss by BB outlook and feel vulnerable to a "crash" and loss of my contacts. I like the phone, but hate the g mail calendar. I'm looking for a local tech to add a software and fix my problem. Frustrated is putting it mildly. Do I keep the phone or go back to my bb??

 

[wmscottmc]

This is by far the best hardware, and most stable OS that Ive used (palm, win6, BB Storm...). However after using google calendar for a while now, I miss Outlook. Google is ok for a personal calendar, similar to what is found on most dumb phones. But it doesnt compare to Outlook.

iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows mobile, and WebOS phones all sync with Outlook, and while I see what Google is trying to do, I think itll be a mistake in the long run. I cant see google replacing outlook anytime soon. Those that claim that google is as good as Outlook probably arent heavy Outlook users.

This issue, and the fact that the (unrooted) DX cant be backed up, are making me consider a Win 7 phone next year.

This is a great phone, and Android is a very good OS, unless you plan on using it as a PDA.

 

[Aximtreo]

I had the Droid 1 and the Droid X. I tried every possible solution to Outlook direct to Droid without any luck. I finally sold the X and am now back to a vanilla phone LG Chocolate. I'll wait till Verizon starts offering WMPhone7 phones. Now watch, MS will require us to use Windows live to interface with the phone and Outlook screwing up a good thing. Time will tell.

 

[questech]

Face it, these phones are made for kids, not business people.

The lack of respect that the phone manufactures give to business people is amazing.

I love my DroidX. It is the best phone that I ever had!

It is also the worst calendar tool I've ever used... Period.

I still believe that we need to send out letters, and make some noise... it might not be Class action worthy, but the negative PR will certainly get someones attention.

And they may actually listen!

 

[Bobe57]

What did you do to make this work?

Okay, I just did some more research, and it appears that the Droid X (AND the Droid) both synch with Microsoft Exchange, so for any business users who use an exchange server (like my company) then you will have seamless synching without a third party app.

I'm pretty damned relieved now, and can't WAIT to get my phone!!!!!!!

Did you have to do anything on the phone to make this work? I get email but not contacts or calendar and my helpdesk is no help

 

[Michlo]

I'm trying MyPhoneExplorer which seems to be working so far. It is free on the Market (with 5 stars, BTW) and free from http://www.fjsoft.at for your desktop.

Cheers.


Edit - In fact, this is a VERY powerful application which allows us to do much more than USB or WiFi syncing with our Outlook. We can browse the 'phone completely too.

 

[wmscottmc]

I'm trying MyPhoneExplorer which seems to be working so far. It is free on the Market (with 5 stars, BTW) and free from http://www.fjsoft.at for your desktop.

Cheers.


Edit - In fact, this is a VERY powerful application which allows us to do much more than USB or WiFi syncing with our Outlook. We can browse the 'phone completely too.

You are using MyPhoneExplorer to sync to Outlook on your pc? What app are you using on the DX to view/maintain your calendar, and where can the phone app be downloaded from? Are you syncing tasks, contacts, and memo's also?

Is anybody else using this app to sync to Outlook? If so, please give a quick review.

Thanks.