Natively Sync Google Calendar with iPhone/iPod Touch [Yay]

Update: Google's OTA Syncing

Google has released its own Over-The-Air syncing method for the iPhone/iPod Touch by licensing Microsoft's ActiveSync technology. Reportedly, it works like NuevaSync but restricts you to 5 dedicated calendars. NuevaSync doesn't do this, as far as I know. I will have a write-up on this pretty soon.

Continued...

NuevaSync (free) utilizes the built-in Microsoft Exchange support in the iPhone to make native synchronization of Google Calendar possible. Most importantly, the service actually uses PUSH (really this time) to propagate changes issued to the calendar immediately. Finally this has been made possible at no cost, without extra software.


Support for anything other than Outlook on the iPhone has been a long standing issue ever since the marveled mobile device was released. As I described earlier on the subject, one had to go through an irritable/expensive rigamarole to get Google Calendar events synchronized with the iPhone or iPod touch. And if you got it working in the end, you either had to make due with some missing data or pay good money for a third-party application to get the job done.

Comments

[Doug]

Thanks for the info, this is exactly what I was looking for. It works perfectly so far on my iPod touch.

[Doug]

Thanks for the info, this is exactly what I was looking for. It works perfectly so far on my iPod touch.

[Ace]

@Doug
You're welcome. I've never understood why they [Apple/Google] made it so difficult to achieve in the first place, since Google Calendar adheres to the iCal Web Calendar standard.

[Ace]

@Doug
You're welcome. I've never understood why they [Apple/Google] made it so difficult to achieve in the first place, since Google Calendar adheres to the iCal Web Calendar standard.

[Patrick]

Also had stellar results with my iPod Touch 2nd gen. Still using native iPod Touch mail app to access GMail, but using NuevaSync for calendar and contacts. Thank you!

[Patrick]

Also had stellar results with my iPod Touch 2nd gen. Still using native iPod Touch mail app to access GMail, but using NuevaSync for calendar and contacts. Thank you!

[Jon]

Patrick,

I see you are using an iPod Touch (I'm thinking of getting one) with Google Calendar. Can you answer a couple of questions for me?

1. Are the calendar entries available when you don't have wifi, so you can see what was last sync'd?
2. Can you add calendar entries on the iPod and have them sync next time you have internet access?

Cheers,

Jon.

[Jon]

Patrick,

I see you are using an iPod Touch (I'm thinking of getting one) with Google Calendar. Can you answer a couple of questions for me?

1. Are the calendar entries available when you don't have wifi, so you can see what was last sync'd?
2. Can you add calendar entries on the iPod and have them sync next time you have internet access?

Cheers,

Jon.

[Ace]

Calendar entries are stored on the iPod Touch, so yes, you can access them offline. You can also edit your calendar without a connection, since the iPod Touch uses Push to propagate changes. That means that once you get online, any changes are made instantaneously, upstream (from the Touch to the calendar) & downstream (from the calendar to the Touch).

--Ace

[Ace]

Calendar entries are stored on the iPod Touch, so yes, you can access them offline. You can also edit your calendar without a connection, since the iPod Touch uses Push to propagate changes. That means that once you get online, any changes are made instantaneously, upstream (from the Touch to the calendar) & downstream (from the calendar to the Touch).

--Ace

[Npod]

Thanks for all the great info Ace. I'm thinking of getting an iPod Touch as well. If I have multiple calendars in G-Cal (viewing other friends shared calendars) can I push those calendars to the ipod as well?

Thanks

N

[Npod]

Thanks for all the great info Ace. I'm thinking of getting an iPod Touch as well. If I have multiple calendars in G-Cal (viewing other friends shared calendars) can I push those calendars to the ipod as well?

Thanks

N

[Ace]

@Npod:

Just subscribe to your friends' calendars in Google Calendar, and make sure it's enabled by ticking the calendar's box in the calendar list. Your new calendar should be pushed to the iPod soon thereafter. I'm sure this works since I used this feature myself.

Thanks for visiting!

Ace

[Ace]

@Npod:

Just subscribe to your friends' calendars in Google Calendar, and make sure it's enabled by ticking the calendar's box in the calendar list. Your new calendar should be pushed to the iPod soon thereafter. I'm sure this works since I used this feature myself.

Thanks for visiting!

Ace

[sam]

Hi Ace,

Thanks for the tip! I'm also thinking of purchasing a 2Gen ipod touch and using it as a PDA.

Now that you've been using neuvasync for over a month, have you noticed any reliability problems with the syncing/pushing? i.e. lost events, mis-translated fields, etc? I want to sync my calendars, but the data is critical and I would prefer that the sync software doesn't corrupt it :)

thanks!

sam.

[sam]

Hi Ace,

Thanks for the tip! I'm also thinking of purchasing a 2Gen ipod touch and using it as a PDA.

Now that you've been using neuvasync for over a month, have you noticed any reliability problems with the syncing/pushing? i.e. lost events, mis-translated fields, etc? I want to sync my calendars, but the data is critical and I would prefer that the sync software doesn't corrupt it :)

thanks!

sam.

[Ace]

@sam:

Much obliged!

In fact, NuevaSync is so good and reliable I've forgotten I was using it. I have yet to see anything go wrong with this service. Stability like this is pretty rare.

Note that if you're planning to have sensitive information synced to your iPod Touch, it would be smart to switch on the PIN-code feature in case the device gets into the wrong hands. Other than that, I don't see any reason to not make the jump.

Thanks a lot for visiting!
Greets,

Ace

[Ace]

@sam:

Much obliged!

In fact, NuevaSync is so good and reliable I've forgotten I was using it. I have yet to see anything go wrong with this service. Stability like this is pretty rare.

Note that if you're planning to have sensitive information synced to your iPod Touch, it would be smart to switch on the PIN-code feature in case the device gets into the wrong hands. Other than that, I don't see any reason to not make the jump.

Thanks a lot for visiting!
Greets,

Ace

[Sam]

Thanks Ace!

[Sam]

Thanks Ace!

[Nick]

Thank you soooo much!!! Finally!! A gcal sync with my ipod!!! So stoked!!

[Nick]

Thank you soooo much!!! Finally!! A gcal sync with my ipod!!! So stoked!!

[rob]

I assume there is no way to use NuevaSync for those of us with a microsoft outlook account already pushing messages through "exchange?" Any other suggestions?

[rob]

I assume there is no way to use NuevaSync for those of us with a microsoft outlook account already pushing messages through "exchange?" Any other suggestions?

[Ace]

Apple has added over-the-air podcast downloading with the iPhone/iPod Touch 2.2 software update.