looking for the best way to sync gmail contacts with my BB

You can merge your Gmail contacts with Outlook. Use the export function in Gmail and create a CSV file; from there you can import them into Outlook and use Intellisync to get them into your phone.

Is there anyway to sync your gmail / google contacts OTA? I see there are a couple of applications for syncing Google's Calendar gcal with the blackberry, but nothing for contacts.

If I can just figure out this step, I can finally get myself off of Exchange and Outlook for good.

There isn't way to sync. But Gmail does have a downloadable app. It's slow, but works. Not sure if it loads the contacts in your Gmail account or not.

I'll jump in again with my SyncML ideas -- if RIM had just put this in the firmware, so many people would not have problems like this. They're the only manufacturer stuck in the dark ages (in more ways than this ) with regards to SyncML.

1) export contacts from GMail in CSV
2) create http://mobical.net login, import contacts from #1

See this post here for the rest:

http://www.blackberryforums.com/gene...tml#post422050

Once you start using SyncML, you can continue using it with every device (Nokia, Moto, Samsung, LG, etc.) without problems again. I've used all the previous named devices just fine with the same set of contacts (using a Treo is next up in my tests).

edit: cross your fingers and maybe someday Google will give us SyncML access to our contacts/calendar.

I synched my BB with a mobical account, but mobical doesn't seem to like my gmail CSV files. Arg.. I simply want to reconcile gmail/BB contacts without a 3rd piece of software.

Alas, I hear your pain -- I also would like that, but Google has not (yet) opened their doors to allow SyncML with the databases to us mere mortals. GCalSync is a great start, so we can only cross our fingers and hope. (and write email suggestions!)

(...insert pause and elevator hold music...)

OK here's the situation -- Google exports contacts in CSV format (two styles), but Mobical wants vCard files for import. BUT, some Dude on the Web(tm) has you covered -- here's an online tool written in I guess javascript? that will convert it for you:

CSV to vCard

I just pasted in the first three lines of a "Outlook CSV Export" from GMail (not the default export for another GMail account) into this web tool, and it worked perfectly to create a vCard output I could save and import. Give it a shot, it may be what the doctor ordered for you.

PS: you can save that web page to your hard drive and run it locally! It's all self contained, no external links (CSS, JS, etc.) are present. woo! I love good code.