Syncing phones, computers and other devices

So here’s the problem I noticed. I was browsing Facebook on the weekend, and noticed a friend of mine had recently purchased one of the new 4G phones, the Samsung Epic 4G. He posted that he had finally managed to be able to transfer his contacts over.

A colleague that I am assisting make some acquisitions in London, had problems syncing his laptop and iPhone, and managed to lose all his contacts and corrupt the database. He was most embarrassed as he had no backup solution and was having to slowly re-contact everyone.

Another colleague I had breakfast with last month was having difficulties with Mobile Me, the Mac specific iPhone/Mac syncing solution that costs $99 per year. Every time he syncs, his contacts double up.

The basic mobile phone concept that most of us, who have had mobile phones since the early days, work with is “your phone is paired with a computer, and every once in awhile you sync your contacts and calendar”. This worked well when we all had one computer, one mobile and a handful of contacts. But now that life is more complex, that solution just doesn’t cut it.

I regularly use one Windows desktop, one Windows netbook, one iPhone, one iPad and occasionally login to my files using other peoples desktops. I have around 2,500 contacts and regularly check nine different calendars. I’m not exactly a basic user, however my issues, and how I solved them, appears to have a bit of currency with other people.

The reason the old solution doesn’t cut it is that:

1.     It’s generally a manual process, so likely to not happen as regularly as I would like (due to my laziness).
2.     It’s a lot more time consuming syncing multiple devices.
3.     You may need to purchase additional software, especially in the windows mobile world, to sync contact systems and calendar with a variety of calendars, contacts systems and email systems.
4.     It’s an individual solution, not a collaborative solution.
5.     With 2,500 contacts, failure is a lot more painful.

So because I am a technologist, a tight arse and lazy, I worked out a solution that works for all my devices, costs nothing and works automatically for both myself and other members of my family.

Here’s what I did:

1.     I created a GMAIL account on Google, which I used to manage my contacts, but I rarely use for email.
2.     I created a CALENDAR account on Google.
3.     Conceptually, I see the Google Accounts as the “source” for all my information.
4.     I then set-up each device I use to Sync to GMAIL and Google CALENDAR.

The specific steps of doing this will be the subject of next weeks post, but here’s the benefit of the new system.

1.     Syncing happens automatically. If I enter someone’s contact details into a web browser, they “automagically” appear on my phone and every other configured device later that day.
2.     Every piece of software I use on every single device has its own free piece of software to sync with Google.
3.     There are no charges from Google for this service, and the Mobile phone data charges are negligible, ie. it’s always been well under my cap as we are talking less than 1MB at most of data transfers a month).
4.     My wife’s calendar also syncs onto my phone and mine on hers, so we know what each other is up to for planning purposes.

I have been running this solution for around two years and never, ever had an issue.

• If I lose my phone I don’t lose any data.
• I don’t have to worry about the technology, it just works.
• Google, a multi-billion dollar company is doing my backups for free.
• It’s not some weird, edgy solution. Everyone wants to interface with Google.

Next week I will go through the configuration mechanics, but I thought it was best to get the idea out first.

To read more Brendan Lewis blogs, click here.

Brendan Lewis is a serial technology entrepreneur having founded: Ideas Lighting, Carradale Media, Edion, Verve IT, The Churchill Club, Flinders Pacific and L2i Technology Advisory. He has set up businesses for others in Romania, Indonesia and Vietnam. Qualified in IT and Accounting, he has also spent time running an Advertising agency and as a Cavalry Officer with the Australian Army Reserve.