You don't need to sync Android. Ever.

by Hamish Robertson on Oct 22, 2008 with 45 Comments">45AAA

There’s an interesting post on the Google Mobile Blog explaining Android’s Gmail-based email and contacts system. It’s pretty long and detailed but the basic gist of it is that you don’t need to sync your contacts. Ever.

The moment you use Android Gmail or Contacts, everything gets synced automatically to the Gmail server. Everything you send and receive, as well as everyone you know is automatically saved and accessible from anywhere you can access Gmail.com. This simple idea instantly makes traditional USB connection kits, driver installs, backup programs and PC syncing software look rather archaic.

The downside to all this is that it currently only works with Gmail. Hotmail, Yahoo and Exchange users will have to wait till someone else adds it in.

Benji
Funny how a feature that has been available for years on other platforms is covered as being new and innovative. Convienent? Yes; new & newsworth? hardly

juank
Don’t bother to waste words, time, or life on people who just want to be argumentitive.

juank
Oh and thank you for the tip

Talk2pierre
I have a android flyer and desire s. I installed the sync software the came with the devises, and now. Everything is fu#@%p. Even my wireless network does not work anymore. WM you could also sync your personal folder , but with android, well hello nowhere an option for that. I cannot think that nobody uses this option of outlook. Why is this also excluded. I have to go. Has to format my PC for the second time after installing the droid sync program. I hope to mybe get it working in my lifetime.

http://www.androidauthority.com/ Stefan Frank
Who said it was new? Nobody is claiming that at all. But what is new, perhaps, is that all of this sync is done with a free online service that is in wide use. No Exchange servers or BES servers required. No monthly service fees.
On top of that, the intent of the post was to be informative. Android is a new system, and most people out there aren’t going to be familiar with how it works.
Christian Clark
The title of this article is “You don’t need to sync Android. Ever”, referring to lack of PC synchronization – which is hardly noteworthy. You don’t need to sync windows mobiles, symbianOS or 99.9% of cell phones either.
But the lack of server synchronization, ie push email, on a 2008 phone is just pathetic. Yet this is just brushed off in the last sentence !
Stefan, I think you miss the point. In the same way that windows is the dominant operating system. Exchange is pretty much the standard for corporate email.
http://www.androidauthority.com/ Stefan Frank
I think you are missing the point. The title doesn’t say it is new, it is simply explaining what the case is. The piece is meant to be informative, as I said before. It isn’t meant for people like you who know all about this stuff.
As to Windows Mobile, Symbian, and other smartphone platforms, there is still a difference. They require some sort of corporate email solution, in general, to do the same kind of sync that Android offers consumers at no cost. If you don’t have Exchange or other enterprise type access, then they do require a manual sync on a personal computer. I’d wager that most such devices are not used with a corporate back end. Certainly the case with S60, which is mostly a consumer targeted platform.
Trust me, I know what this stuff is. I use a Windows Mobile phone as my day to day device. I use a hosted Exchange account for my mail, contacts, and calendar. But I also pay $15/month for that service.
Do I personally wish Android had Exchange support now? Certainly.
Will everybody have access to Exchange or be willing to pay a monthly fee to get it? Not a chance. Will the average consumer care that they don’t have Exchange? Nope. Will they like some sort of free service that keeps everything in sync? I’m guessing they will.
Exchange may well be the standard for Corporate Email, as you say, but the vast majority of consumers do not use corporate email.
The G1 is a consumer device. Think Sidekick on steroids. It isn’t supposed to, and can’t, compete with other devices as a business smartphone. Maybe in a year, but certainly not now.
So just because it doesn’t suit you, and you already know how everything works, doesn’t mean that there aren’t other people that might benefit from a bit of an explanation.
That is what this post was.
not-a-moron
wow. it’s so easy to spot the right-brained people in the responses to these types of posts.
talk about missing the forest for the trees.
what’s new is that it should be super easy for anyone in a first world country to have their contacts, calendar, and communications at their finger tips wherever they might go, and share it with others using the same system for dirt cheap.
that’s not microsoft.
that’s not lotus.
that’s not an army of IT staff waiting to help you.
it’s google.
james
With apologies to Blackberry users, I have no knowledge of that platform.
I’ve been a windows mobile user from the start, and now have a touch pro and a G1.
I find this to be a useful article for beginners, but I also believe it is a unique feature among smart phones.
Whether you can set something similar up on WM is irrelevant. Reason being, this is a complete ready to go system out of the box. To me, plugging in a cable to sync is archaic. I have never synced a WM device over the air because a) I can’t be bothered to set it up and b) I don’t have any central, free place to sync to.
Matt
Stephan is correct. Windows Mobile is total crap. You have to own outlook (full version) to sync anything. My G-1 does all that for free without a connection to my computer. There is almost no reason to bother connecting a G-1 to a computer.
With WM you have very few options, and those that you do have are very pricey. Andriod is the complete opposite.
David
What about your privacy?
daski
“What about your privacy?”—-you should not use any wireless device, internet connection or wifi service……wait for it………EVER!
to stay on subject, i have been a pda user for a long time, syncing is something i am use to. i was waiting till i could get a smart phone for nearly free, that had turn by turn gps without cost or subscript fees. after searching and fumbling over which phone to get i chose the G1, an android/google phone. since i use it for personal, i dont have the convenience of a corporation to pay for a email service. FREE is great and to think i dont need to edit my calendar at my desktop then sync it to my pda is awesome! and yes, new to me…..
Kurt Kaufman
Who uses Google mail, It Sucks.
I use outlook on a P.C. and I need it to Sync.
also I am using Roadrunner.com and it wont connect.
I used to have my phone auto sync with verizon but the droid wont do that ?
I sure hope it gets better !!!!!
Kurt
sharpmeadow
I use Gmail. It’s great. Specially for us who travel and are on the go. The best thing is that you can access it from anywhere, on any computer. I’m rarely at home or on a site often enough to have access to my own PC. And searching for wifi is a hassle in many countries. Most of the time it’s more convenient just to access your Gmail from a nearby PC or from a phone if you have access.
For us who want to access our stuff on multiple computers Outlook just doesn’t cut it.
http://www.itsupportguys.com Luy
@kurt do you know who hosts your emails? Syncing with outlook from a droid isn’t very difficult if you have an exchange server as the android 2.0 os supports ms exchange.
And I beg to differ as to google mail: it offers for free what most companies would charge an insane amount for (including ssl!). If you love outlook the google apps premier account offers an outlook sync tool that mimics (and is faster than) an exchange server.
Now if google would just tidy up their contacts and make tasks a standard feature….
Domingus
Giving Googly all my contact and business details in Contacts or Calender apps? NEVER! I do not want all this (partly sensitive) data “in the cloud”.
I need working sync via bluetooth or WiFi, thats all, thanks.
Imagine the $$$ worth of all the contact details google gets from users all over the world that sync their contacts via google.
And other critical data from calendar events? “Meeting with HTC CEO to discuss Google Nexus One killer”.
Woody
Is there anyone who knows of any sync software that will actually work with the Magic??
I don’t so much want to sync my contacts etc, but i do need my PC to see the phone so i can upgrade the ROM.
HTC sync does not see the phone and many other people are having the same problem. HTC don’t have an answer.
Can anyone help?
Cheers
Ciel
I just want the way, that how my old Windows Mobile Phone works. And the Android-Sync seems to be the ActiveSync on android platform. Download it here: http://www.android-sync.com/download/android-sync_setup_v01a.exe
sit2k
first off gmail is pure trash!
if you want to use free email you may want to go with yahooo because it’s actually professional looking.
also windows mobile is for professionals that need the power of the device that no other OS has. Since professionals use it, that means outlook client is what they would be using, not gmail.
also if you upload all your clients to gmail, it becomes their property and they can do what they like with it, like sell it for profit and expose all your clients and family members to more garbage mail.
stavros
“yahooo because it’s actually professional looking.”
That is the funniest thing I’ve heard all week.
Yahoo is a decade behind Google in just about every aspect of technology and user interface design. I’ve used yahoo for throwaway accounts before, but it is absolutely not suitable for real email use in feature set or interface.
If you think Yahoo is great, maybe you could upgrade to AOL circa 1998.
Damien
“The title of this article is “You don’t need to sync Android. Ever”, referring to lack of PC synchronization – which is hardly noteworthy.”
Haters gonna hate, but this player keeps playing.
Another Guy
Great to hear that I don’t need to sync my songs, or photos, or… because it’s already on my, wait, why can’t I find it on my PC? Because Droid is a half-arsed POS. The iPhone comes with syncing built in, but the Droid doesn’t, includes an app store, and calls its second-rate phones “iPhone killers”.
YetAnother Frustrated
I bought a Samsung SCH-i899 in China. This Android comes without gmail app, an attempt to install it failed.
Android-Sync seems to be the way to go. Unfortunately, my phone is not supported.
I could not get Moxiersync (by Samsung) to do the exchange way sync’ing gmail.
The Samsung website let me download an application “New PC Studio” which installs the drivers, and offers to copy contacts through csv files. That seems to be the only way to get contacts into the android (other than typing on the phone).
Unfortunately, the csv-file needs mapping, which is a major task because the NewPCStudio has different fields as the phone or outlook. After everything is done the set of contacts can be copied via USB to the phone… (in my case it failed due to time-out on the USB)
This procedure is far away from modern days synchronization, and reminds me of the old times of the first mobile phones 20 years ago.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Gregg-Eshelman/100000785942223 Gregg Eshelman
You can export a .vcf from the phone then go to your Google account and import it. You can also export a .vcf from Google and import it to the phone, or go to Menu, Settings, Accounts and sync to download contacts to the phone from Google. Do please note that this sync *will not upload contacts from the phone to Google*! FAIL!

Jamie
The fact that it automatically syncs is great – shame the calendar app is rubbish – the week view doesn’t display text it only shows busy periods wiyh no text labels. I’m sorry to say that they could’ve learnt a lot from the calendar from windows mobile!
So, yes, great syncing, terrible calendar!
Jason
Are these people actually serious? Okay…my two cents:
There are so many solutions out there for Android phones that they stack up and exceed any other OS on the market. Apple? Restrictive!!!! Windows Mobile? I’m curious to see what mobile Win 7 devices will offer but I’m not too concerned. Using simple free software like doubletwist you can sync photos, videos, and music. Go through the Android Market and you can (for free and without rooting) turn your phone into a wifi file server. Android phones can tether via USB/bluetooth without rooting.
I agree the calendar could be a little more detailed but I’m comfortable with the way it’s designed now. I hate with Windows Mobile and iPhones being tied down to using sync via a USB cable. Why do I HAVE to use Outlook? Why doesn’t the iPhone come a little more cross-platform compatible out of the box? I could go on for days. I loved my Blackberry until I tried the Evo. Everyone has their preferences. I choose to stick with leading technology.
bob e
I just got a new HTC Evo and my Hotmail is not syncing properly. It adds the new emails but if I delete emails form my PC – they don’t get deleted from the Evo. Seems like only one way which is rather a major disappointment. Yes I have gmail too but I much prefer the live hotmail.
IT support guy
I recommended to management a couple weeks ago that all future phones we purchase should be Android — we had been buying Nokia E71s, before that Windows Mobile phones. I did so based on Android now being the leading mobile OS in the US (we make products for mobile phones), and that Symbian seems to be on the way out, eventually, in favor of Maemo/Meego — I use a Nokia N900 running Maemo.
I made that recommendation before I did the google search that brought me to this article. Now, I’ll have to retract it because there’s no damn way we’re syncing company contacts or anything else to McGoogle. Everyone but the office admin has a phone paid for by the office, that’s 25-odd people, not too many but most professionals I believe have subsidized phones, and Outlook connecting to Exchange accounts. Not having a desktop sync (even to copy data — seriously??) strikes me as kind of asinine, and definitely disappointing. It actually rings sort of like an Apple product lock-in, all about a particular digital ecosystem. Speaking of which, if only we made an iPhone version then we’d be all set :-P

IT Supreme
Good to see at IT person that does not do all their research and then want to blame to product they recommend for making them look dumb.
truth is, you DO NOT NEED to sync anything with Google if you don’t want to. Find an app on the market that does what you want or, God forbid WRITE ONE yourself that does what you want. The platform is open for a reason – to give you maximum choice.

Vedrit
Its nice that all my contacts and apps are sync’d to my GMail account, but its a pain the rear to get pictures off. No, its impossible if the phone wont even see that it’s connected to a PC.
http://www.itsupportguys.com IT Support Guys
@Vedrit you might want to double check the phone after you plug it in, you should get a dialogue which asks you to Turn ON USB storage.
If you’re still having issues connecting you might try a different cable or USB port.
Siju
Hai i’m new to android application.I want to sync my application db with SQLite or MYSQL or some other database i don’t have any idea. Plz give any solution to solve this.
Haekon
@IT support guy:
You don’t HAVE to sync to McGoogle or FaceTrap. It’s an integrated option that is easily turned off. Android offers a lot of enterpise level solutions, and beats the pants off of Symbian.
Somebody running a data center should know to investigate an option before they offer a solution to management, and not run scared when they see some tiny little blog post. Man up, son.
Tony
The down side of all that is? Google has access to much more than your messaging, try to down load Skype mobile you cannot down load without allowing them access to virtually everything you have on your mobile and lap top / PC WHAT HAPPENED TO DATA PROTECTION? You have to say you agree but how many will think about the long term implications?

IT Supreme
THEN DON’T buy or use the apps you don’t like. I wish people would stop bitching about how bad something is and start being part of the solution. The great thing about the Android platform is that you can build whatever you need onto it. All you need is an Android SDK and a bit of Java knowledge and your golden.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Slam-Lander/829908117 Slam Lander
He was complaining about the completely lame and misleading title of the article. Even when you go through gmail, you are syncing. It’s a lame sync compared to what ex-palm users are used to but you are still syncing. Tony just jumped ahead to the next issue.

Rob Ingenthron
I would classify a title “You don’t need to sync. Ever” for an Android platform as “Lame.” Extremely.
Are you kidding? As someone who comes from a several years old Palm platform (having Palm Desktop available), this kind of sync is totally lame. What about my apps? What about my links? What about my bookmarks?
I would change the title of the post to “Unable to sync Android. Ever.”
taty
Hello,
Sorry to disappoint some people here, but it seems that this android is not working for me at least:
Just got an HTC phone with Android and I’ve been wasting few hours already now trying to just sync my gmail contact list into this phone, but it’s just not working!!!
I can log to my gmail account and syn the emails, but it just refuses to load my contact list!!
Any suggestion will be very appreciated!
thank you!
Uluman47
ok but if you dont have outlook on your pc you cant do anything, but lookout security app backs up everything and restore it.
Joseph Licata
Can you sync gmail to phone, delete mail from phone, and still keep a copy on the server? Every time I sync gmail to phone (Android 2.2, LG Revolution) it copies my entire inbox. I just want new messages from now…on. I like keeping a copy of every E-mail for reference, but I want my phone clean. I hate seeing that I have 200 new E-mails. HELP!!!!
Sahoo_biswajit
can i access my office mails through my android smart phone
Dudeguy
My android phone has a broken touchscreen, guess that means I NEED SYNCING nwo doesn’t it? how does it feel to get pwned in the face? so called authority
http://www.facebook.com/people/Slam-Lander/829908117 Slam Lander
I call bulls*t!
When you link to gmail, that is still syncing. It’s lame but it is still a sync.
Albinsx4
your article is totally full of sh&t….nothing syncs whatsoever..sometimes think I should have never switched from iPone
http://www.facebook.com/people/Gregg-Eshelman/100000785942223 Gregg Eshelman
HA! It does not. I just updated my Epic 4G to 2.3.5 from 2.2 and found that NONE of the contacts I’d entered on my phone had been uploaded to my Google account. Fortunately I still had my contacts from my Palm LifeDrive in Palm Desktop. Google’s Market didn’t remember any of the apps I’d downloaded. So much for simply logging in and leaving the phone lay around for a while, while it re-downloads all the apps.
The sync works one way, from google to the phone. What’s worse is there is no way *in contacts* to initiate a sync. The user has to go through the settings menu to do a sync.
It’s a broken mess, Google needs to get some old Palm devices and hand them out to their Android team to study for how to do synchronizing the right way. In other words “steal from the best”.