Chicago (IL) - If you have been patiently waiting for the arrival of your G1 today and you hoped to use the smartphone at work, you may be in for a huge surprise: The Android platform does not allow any kind of contacts syncing beyond Gmail. But then, we know that Android is an open platform and developers have been at work creating applications without the restrictions of the iPhone’s AppStore. Luckily, the openness of the operating system allows programmers to develop all kinds of applications without the tight leash that of the iPhone's App Store. The strategy is already paying off: Just in time for the release of the phone, there is a free application to copy business contacts on an Exchange server account to the address book of the G1.
One of the most significant drawbacks of the G1 is a lack Microsoft Exchange support to sync business emails, calendars and contacts, which essentially disqualifies the phone as a viable business tool. Android is tightly integrated with Google’s services and enables only Gmail contacts syncing out of the box, which seriously limits users who store their contacts in other places. Google said developers are free to add missing features, but we really did not expect that the solution to this major user challenge will in time for the rollout of the device.
Wrike and Intermedia released a free wireless contacts synchronization application for G1 called ContactSync that enables wireless syncing of Microsoft Exchange and Outlook contacts with the G1 address book. "Our CEO ordered a G1 phone and then learned that T-Mobile supposedly thinks he is going to retype hundreds of contacts using G1's keyboard," said Daria Petrova of Wrike, developer of web-based project management software that sponsored the development of ContactsSync. Since Wrike has been working on syncing technologies for both email and mobile for quite a while, they were able to quickly deliver syncing solution for the G1 phone.
There are some restrictions you need to be aware of, if you are planning on using this application. ContactsSync does not install as a background service, which means that real-time contacts syncing is not possible if the application is not running: You are required to run the ContactsSync each time you want to initiate a sync. It also does not merge the same contacts residing both in G1 address book and at the Exchange server but rather creates duplicate contacts in the G1 address book.
Contacts syncing is a one-way solution. It recognizes contact changes made on the Exchange server and updates the G1 address book. Contacts that are changed manually in the G1 address book do not sync back to Exchange. The company told us that a future version will support a two-way synchronization, from Exchange to the handset and back, in addition to merging Exchange contacts with the G1 address book instead of creating duplicate entries.
The application does not sync Exchange calendar items and email messages. Wrike’s Daria told TG Daily that calendar syncing will be added "as soon as the API is officially released". The company has no plans to add email syncing, "as an Exchange email account can be used successfully via IMAP."
ContactsSync is offered free of charge and available for download here.
One of the most significant drawbacks of the G1 is a lack Microsoft Exchange support to sync business emails, calendars and contacts, which essentially disqualifies the phone as a viable business tool. Android is tightly integrated with Google’s services and enables only Gmail contacts syncing out of the box, which seriously limits users who store their contacts in other places. Google said developers are free to add missing features, but we really did not expect that the solution to this major user challenge will in time for the rollout of the device.
Wrike and Intermedia released a free wireless contacts synchronization application for G1 called ContactSync that enables wireless syncing of Microsoft Exchange and Outlook contacts with the G1 address book. "Our CEO ordered a G1 phone and then learned that T-Mobile supposedly thinks he is going to retype hundreds of contacts using G1's keyboard," said Daria Petrova of Wrike, developer of web-based project management software that sponsored the development of ContactsSync. Since Wrike has been working on syncing technologies for both email and mobile for quite a while, they were able to quickly deliver syncing solution for the G1 phone.
There are some restrictions you need to be aware of, if you are planning on using this application. ContactsSync does not install as a background service, which means that real-time contacts syncing is not possible if the application is not running: You are required to run the ContactsSync each time you want to initiate a sync. It also does not merge the same contacts residing both in G1 address book and at the Exchange server but rather creates duplicate contacts in the G1 address book.
Contacts syncing is a one-way solution. It recognizes contact changes made on the Exchange server and updates the G1 address book. Contacts that are changed manually in the G1 address book do not sync back to Exchange. The company told us that a future version will support a two-way synchronization, from Exchange to the handset and back, in addition to merging Exchange contacts with the G1 address book instead of creating duplicate entries.
The application does not sync Exchange calendar items and email messages. Wrike’s Daria told TG Daily that calendar syncing will be added "as soon as the API is officially released". The company has no plans to add email syncing, "as an Exchange email account can be used successfully via IMAP."
ContactsSync is offered free of charge and available for download here.