smartphones, Google says.
(Click here for a larger view of GoogleSync)According to Google, users who want to access events stored in their web-based
Google Calendar, or contacts stored as part of their
Gmail accounts, could previously do so on a mobile device only via a web browser. That was a relatively slow process, and meant that offline access to contact or calendar information was impossible, the company concedes.
Now, thanks to the new GoogleSync service, contact and calendar information can be synchronized between Google's servers and smartphones using Microsoft's
Exchange ActiveSync protocol, according to the companies. GoogleSync has the following touted features and benefits:
- Contact and calendar information is accessible on a phone using its native applications and databases
- It's possible to look up information even when a phone is not connected to the Internet
- Changes to calendar events or contacts are sent OTA (over the air) to a phone when alterations are made using the Google website, or vice versa
Rather than requiring new software to be installed on a phone, GoogleSync merely taps into Microsoft's existing Exchange ActiveSync protocol. Exchange ActiveSync was originally designed to allow mobile devices to synchronize contacts, calendars, tasks, and emails with Microsoft's Exchange Server products. According to Microsoft, the protocol has already been licensed to companies including Motorola, Nokia, Palm, Sony Ericsson, and Symbian, and is available on more than 170 different smartphones.
Naturally, Exchange ActiveSync is an integral part of Windows Mobile. But, more surprisingly, it also runs on Apple's iPhone, thanks to a March 2008 agreement billed as a "true collaboration between Microsoft and Apple."
GoogleSync requires signing into a Google account (left) and specifying that contacts and calendar information be synchronized (right)
(Click either enlarge)According to Google, therefore, using GoogleSync on Windows Mobile devices or iPhones requires only simple changes to a device's settings. On Windows Mobile, for example, users need only open their ActiveSync applications to specify m.google.com as a server (see first photo, at the top of our story), sign into their Google accounts (see second photo, above left), and select Contacts and Calendar as the data to be synchronized (see third photo, above right).
Google says GoogleSync does not address syncing tasks or emails -- though, of course, mobile device users can already access Gmail messages via IMAP, a mail scheme that stores mail server-side, for a consistent experience from multiple devices (and maddeningly slow performance, compared to POP, which caches mail locally). Other limitations to the service, described as being still in beta, are currently said to include the fact that if the list of invitees to a meeting is changed on the mobile device, these changes will not be reflected on the server after synchronizing.
BackgroundMicrosoft's "ActiveSync" moniker actually has been used to denote two related, but separate software offerings. The first of these is a synchronization program -- first called Handheld PC Explorer, then renamed
ActiveSync for Windows XP, and
Windows Mobile Device Center for Windows Vista -- designed to trade information between a Windows CE or Windows Mobile device and a desktop computer. This product only works via a serial cable, USB, Bluetooth, or other local connection.
The second offering is the synchronization and push messaging component, Exchange ActiveSync, that made its debut with Microsoft's
Exchange Server 2003. Exchange ActiveSync, which has been steadily enhanced, now pushes messages to mobile devices, allows searching through email that's resident on enterprise servers, and provides task synchronization, according to Microsoft.
Though, as noted above, Exchange ActiveSync has been licensed to many companies, this week's announcement apparently is the first time Microsoft has licensed technology to Google. In a statement, Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's vice president of intellectual property and licensing, called the Google license "a great example of Microsoft's openness to generally license our patents under fair and reasonable terms so long as licensees respect Microsoft intellectual property."
Further information According to Google, GoogleSync is offered not only for Windows Mobile and Apple's iPhone, but also for BlackBerry, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson devices. On some devices, such as those using the open
SyncML protocol, only contact information will be synchronized, the company adds.
For more details about the GoogleSync beta, see Google's website,
here, and Gmail blog,
here.
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