tech-tag

How to easily sync Outlook calendar with an ordinary cell phone

June 28th, 2006

A week ago I discussed the possible ways one could sync the cell phone with an external calendar. Here I will show more specific how syncML can be used to synchronize a standard cell phone calendar with Outlook. The advantage by this is that that once it is up and running it is much easier (or at least on the phones I’ve tried) than using infrared or bluetooth, thus giving the user a calendar which is always close by, and backed up on a remote server if the phone should be lost, or your Dell laptop should explode.
In order to achieve this, a few thing are required:

• A syncML compatible cell phone (most newer phones, and a lot of the older is)
• A working WAP connection (GPRS, 3G or similar)
• Outlook (this is possible with other applications too, but this guide is about Outlook).
• An account at a syncML server
  

From here on there are two ways to go, this can either be done for free but with a little more hassle in the setup. Or this can cost a bit of money and then have an easier setup.

The free solution

The only way I could make this work for free, is by using Funambols free syncML plugin for Outlook. Since this is the only free syncML plugin I could find. It seems that this plugin has some issues since I could only make it work with Scheduleworld.com. I would have preferred to use it with zyb.com, since I prefer them to scheduleworld, but I could not make the connection.

The first thing to be done is to make the synchronization between Scheduleworld and the cell phone work. In order to do that one need to start by going to Scheduleworlds website and set up an account. Then the phone needs to be set up (this is very different from phone to phone) with the following values, I can take some time to make it work.

• Server url: http://sync.scheduleworld.com/sync4j/sync
• User name: (this the costumer number which can be seen by logging in on the website and select preferences)
• password: (the same password as selected for the website)
• Application URI (often called a variety of things):
• calendar:cal
• contacs:card

When the synchronization is working between the phone and Scheduleworlds syncML server, it is time to focus on Outlook. The first thing which needs to be done is the installation of Funambols free syncML plugin for Outlook. The next time Outlook is started it will have on more menu called sync4j. In this menu configuration is selected and communications settings, synchronizations settings and Remote settings are set up as shown. With the “xxx..” in the username being the same user number as used when setting up the phone.

The problem with cyb.com’s server with Funambols plugin, was that the plugin crashed every time I tried to sync. If someone else can make that work I would like to know.
The paid way

The first thing needed is to setup an account at cyb.com, and get the synchronization connection between the phone and the cyb server. This was actually easier done than said for me, all I had to do is go to zyb.com, and they helped me identify the phone and sent me the settings for the phone by text message.

The next thing to be done is to install and configure a plugin for Outlook. Since the funambol kept crashing, I’ve downloaded a 15 days trial version Nexthause’s Outlook plugin, the full version costs 29 dollars.

Like with cyb things a just a little smoother with this plugin. The first time Outlook is started after installing this plugin, a wizard is started.

At the dialog, shown above, the server is url is set. After that the password and username hs to be set.

In the third dialogue box I choose to test the server setting. When this is choosen the server found the remaining settings itself like shown below.

After pressing “Finish” Outlook starts normally with a synchronize icon appears in the toolbar.

No matter which of the paths has been chosen, at this point one can now get Outlook and the cell phone in sync very fast. Just remember that it is an ecternal server, meaning that if you have made some changes on the cell phone since you last used Outlook you have to start by syncing aswell as end by doing it, and vice versa so that the external server is always up to date.

Entry Filed under: Calendar, Cell phone, Mobile, syncml, tech