Hi forum,

I'm a BB BES user, and I have a few friends who are looking to get BB devices for personal use. What is the best option out there for synchronization (i.e. Yahoo mail, Gmail, etc.)? Ideally I'd like to recommend a solution that allows them to sync not only their email, but also contacts and calendar. Are there any BIS options out there these days that have those kinds of sync capabilities?

Carrier is probably VZW in case that matters at all.

Thanks in advance.....

Gmail + Google Sync for calendar and contacts.

Outlook is one of the supported applications in BIS. Works great. Google sync is also good.

Thanks for the info. A couple questions on these options:

- Looks like Google Sync is a standalone application. Is the sync one-way or two-way? Sounds like people are using it and it "just works"?

- How does the "Outlook" sync work? Is that a wired sync through Desktop Manager? I was hoping for a wireless sync option, similar to the BES experience.

- Any plusses / minuses between Outlook and Google Sync?

Thanks...

Yes, Google Sync is a third party app that you install on your BlackBerry. It's middleware between your device address book/calendar and Google Address Book/Calendar.
It provides two-way wireless sync of calendar and contacts only.

Outlook sync is wired via USB cable and BlackBerry Desktop Software.
You can sync calendar, contacts, tasks and memos with this setup.

Got it. Sounds like Google Sync is the best option.

Now, after browsing around a bit on the forum, it looks like there's also a "Gmail application" that google offers. Is that completely separate from Google Sync? Right now I have my gmail account activated on my BB through BIS (in addition to BES). I would probably recommend this setup, using the BB native email system, as opposed to a separate Gmail application.

Are there any issues with getting mail through BIS (as opposed to Gmail app), and using Google Sync for contacts / calendar? And is there any reason why someone would want to use the Gmail app instead of going the normal BIS/gmail route?

I don't use the GMail Application, so I can't make any intelligent post about it.
Sorry.

Do you use Google Sync with Gmail through BIS (and not gmail)? If that works, that's probably all I care about.

And as a side question, can Google Sync happily co-exist with BES on a device? Will it effectively sync my calendar/contacts three-ways (i.e. BB, Exchange, and Google)?

Yes.


Yes.

If you want that... yes. You can also keep separate calendars on for Google and Exchange if you don't want them mixing.

Interesting. How do the two separate calendars work? Is one the built-in calendar, and one maintained separately within the Google Sync app? Or can the BB calendar application maintain two separate calendars?

The BlackBerry calendar app can support multiple, separate calendars. (With OS 4.5 and above.)


EDIT... maybe 4.3 and above. I can't remember.

I'll have to give that a try one of these days...

Thanks for the info.

One more follow up question after talking to my friend. Apparently they are a big Outlook user. Is it possible to continue to use Outlook, and somehow sync Outlook with Gmail/Gcalendar/Gcontacts, while also synchronizing between G/G/G and the blackberry? Basically a three-way sync between Blackberry, Google, and Outlook (without using BES for Outlook/BB sync)?

There are a few aftermarket products as well. I'll do my best to explain.

1) AstraSync.com / NotifySync.com - if you have Exchange, it does a good job at using the ActiveSync protocol to sync your data wirelessly using existing BIS plans. This is about as close to BES as possible if you have an Exchange server and don't really want to spend thousands....

2) ThinkPost.net sync - (our product) / syncing contacts/calendar/notes/tasks between the PC and the BB OTA - does not support email sync however - but you do retain your existing email address. This particular product does not require Exchange.

3) Google Sync - based on reviews, it's hit and miss for problems. However, it's free, so give it a shot first!! =)

4) BBerrySync BBerrysync - OTA Sync

I started using Google Sync a few days ago. The appointments I enter into Google Calendar at my computer are showing up on my BB but appointments entered on my BB are not showing up on my Google Calendar.

Any ideas why?

Are you entering your appointments in the BlackBerry default calendar, or another calendar associated with a second BIS account? I can only get Google Calendar Sync to track stuff added to the BlackBerry calendar.

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