[Q] Keep contacts and calendar offline (and backup them to dropbox) - General Questions and Answers

Hi. First of all I'd apologize twice: once for me english the other for the probably noobish question. Now let's see if you can help me with my problem.
I have just got a samsung galaxy s (after some flashes, it now has android 2.2.1). I temporary imported my old phone contacts to gmail. Now I wanna import those contacs to the phone but not through syncing since, after having imported them, i want to delete them from google contacts and avoid the phone to sync the contacts again (for security reasons I dont feel comfortable leaving so much info on the email account). I'm not sure how to do that.
I'm also nor very sure how the stock calendar works. If I have a facebook/google accounts, does it sync with them?
In short, I want to know how to maintain my contacts/appointments only on my phone, but leting other fucntions (like syncing emails) keep working as normal.
Also I want to ask other thing. I used to use PIMBackup on my windows mobile phone. I'd like to know if there is a similar app for android. My idea is ti let the app do sheduled backups of contacts,appointments... and if possible, upload them to Dropbox.

google is not free
you use their software
they sell your personal data

Related

Active syncing through work- Can I still merge google contacts/calendar?

I have to activesync through work, but miss my google contacts/calendar updating- Is there a solution? Free would be great! Thanks in advance.
might wanna play around with seven beta
www.community.seven.com
they have some software you can run on your desktop system that will let you get your email im not sure if it will let you sync multiple calendars and contacts
but it does let you do a global search on contacts from all the email accounts you plugin
i'm a big fan of google contacts/calendar and use it with this software along with two other gmail accounts and exchange account from work
should check it out only thing is they charge you international text message everytime you set up the software
but after reading around i was able to figure out how to get around it setup all the accounts that you want and then if you are a heavy flasher like myself back up the sever directory in /application data on your phone (i use pim backup)
then when you flash restore the folder with pim backup or whatever you use and then reinstall the cab give it a few minutes after you reinstall should see your email accounts and you might have to refresh the data to get everything to sync back up it takes a while but it's better then payin for an international text message in my book
Honestly, I had my work calendar and tasks syncing with my Gmail email and Contacts for the longest time. Accidentally, I merged my work calendar into Gmail, and it RESENT EVERY SINGLE APPOINTMENT ON MY CALENDAR WITH ME AS THE ORGANIZER AND EFFED A TON OF MEETINGS UP. I havent done it in a while. let me get the process down and Ill let you know how i did it.
If there is a solution out there I would like to try it or at least know.
Its driving me crazy trying to keep up with my Google contacts ever since I stopped syncing them. My ideal situation is:
Sync Google contacts only
Sync work calendar and Google calendar
Access work email and Google( able to do this)
Thanks in advance

Good (WiFi/3G) Outlook Sync APP, does it exist?

I don't use Outlook but my dad does. As his android tech advisor I am at a loss trying to find a good solution for syncing his Outlook to his phone.
It seems like there would be a good solution for this but everything I've found is either a half-baked email-and-contacts-only job and requires paying for Exchange service (paying for apps or Exchange service is not a problem if it works well, but the reviews are not favorable)
If a good reliable Outlook sync option does not currently exist what would be involved in making one?
I don't understand the need to sync with outlook when one can sync with Google automatically.
The htc sync software syncs with outlook. It comes with new phones on the sd card or can be downloaded from the htc site.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
[email protected] said:
I don't understand the need to sync with outlook when one can sync with Google automatically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand your point. It sounds like you're suggesting he stop using outlook and switch to google for email, contacts, calendar, notes, tasks, etc.
He uses Outlook (as many people do) and does not see google as a comparable alternative.
While it works fine as the account he uses to manage the phone he has no intention of migrating away from Outlook, at least not to Google, not for such business critical purposes.
johncjenc said:
The htc sync software syncs with outlook. It comes with new phones on the sd card or can be downloaded from the htc site.
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Click to collapse
I edited the thread title..
nebenezer said:
I don't understand your point. It sounds like you're suggesting he stop using outlook and switch to google for email, contacts, calendar, notes, tasks, etc.
He uses Outlook (as many people do) and does not see google as a comparable alternative.
While it works fine as the account he uses to manage the phone he has no intention of migrating away from Outlook, at least not to Google, not for such business critical purposes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think what he was trying to say is that you can use Google Sync to sync between Outlook & your android phone via Google's cloud. Something that I do as well. But it may not be as in depth as you're seeking.
Here is an article from PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/200654/sync_outlook_with_your_google_calendar.html
For a paid app that does it all, here's a review of an app in the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/15/AR2010071504701.html
Hey Nebenezer,
I realize this may be a bit late for you but maybe better late than never.
I'm in the same boat as you (advisor to my brother).
I found and tested Deja Office by Companionlink (Companionlink USB @ $39.99 - did not see need for pro @$99.99.)
After testing it a bit it looked like it fit the bill. I put my brother on it and he's used it thru the trial well enough and so bought it. I think it's about 3 weeks now. He's happy with it.
I didn't have the same need to stay with outlook but since I tested these are the main points I noted:
Requires using their own suite of apps on the phone
Does not use the stock phone's DBs
DOES sync contacts [optionally] with the phones contacts
NOT SURE if it syncs CALENDAR to phone's calendar (I suspect it does but I didn't test and my brother does not need/want it)
It's up to the user to make sure contacts/calendar dont get sucked into the google cloud (if you don't wan't that as in my brother's case) as a result of syncing with the phone's contacts/calendar
USB cable sync (not wifi as you asked for)
The using of their own apps (which are really a suite in one app so has it's own "launcher" screen) turns out to be less of a pain in the ass than I thought it would be (I found shortcuts to each individual 'app' so no need to deal w/ their 'launcher' screen). My brother does not find it bothersome at all.
The apps also hove a bit more of an Outlook-centric feel and fields mapping so he liked it (you can see the android apps, btw, for free from the Market - search Deja Office - you only pay for the PC Sync side)
I should note that my brother spends most of his time in Outlook on the the desktop rather than on the phone (my usage pattern is the inverse) so let your dad use it and decide if he likes it. As always, ymmv.
Hope that helps you and your dad. It's at least worth giving a look.
Btw, I forgot to mention, it does NOT deal w/ email. Only Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes. I liked that model because email can be easily handled using IMAP or Gmail (which my brother uses) and so no requirement for Exchange.
Conversely, it does not support Exchange iirc, so Exchange users my need a different solution.
hth someone,
J.

WinMo to Android - Moving Outlook Contact

For those of you who have been looking for a way to transfer your contacts from your Windows Mobile phone to the Captivate, I found that Sprite has a way to do this.
I didn't want to post all my contacts on Google because they don't belong there since, in my case, they belong in Outlook. Outlook being the standard business client for the majority out there. I was looking for a way to get my contacts from the old phone (HTC Tilt2) to the new phone (Captivate) without posting it to Google.
I ran across this:
http://www.spritesoftware.com/Products/Migrate/Migrate-Your-Data-Now/How-To-Transfer
Make sure you have sync'ing turned off prior to loading the contacts to the phone for your primary account so you're semi-assured to not sync them to Google.
It worked well for me. I wish that Google would have had the thought to meet the needs of businesses as well as the personal side of using Android. I use my phone for both business and pleasure and am a little tweaked at the Android OS for not making an Outlook client that sync's with the standard contacts list. Yes, without having to load seperate software to store them in like I've seen being released.
Let me know what you guys and gals think about using Sprite....
I keep reading that phone contacts sync to Google. From what I can see, Google only syncs your contacts from Google to your phone and not your phone cantacts to Google. If there is a way to sync your phone contact to your Google account, I would like to know how to do it?
In other words when I got my Captivate AT&T transfered my contact from my old phone to the new phone. I then added my Google account to my phone and the Google contacts were added to my phone but the phone contacts did not go to my Google account. Phone has Google and phone contacts and Google has Google contact only.
LBCaptivate said:
I keep reading that phone contacts sync to Google. From what I can see, Google only syncs your contacts from Google to your phone and not your phone cantacts to Google. If there is a way to sync your phone contact to your Google account, I would like to know how to do it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a Outlook plugin/app you need to install in order to sync contacts from Outlook to Google. Search and you will find it. I don't know the name of the plugin or app becaue I don't use it.
Microsoft also have Outlook Connector that you can install to sync contacts from Outlook to Windows Live accounts. Then you can setup your Android phone (or Windows Phone 7) to sync with your Windows Live account using Exchange ActiveSync. Or you can setup GMail to import contacts directly from your Live account.
I use Kies to keep them sync'd

Android without Google Cloud (or only for Market) - How to?

Hi All,
I did some researches but could not find any detailed answer so I decided to create a new topic.
As mentioned in some other threads, I have been using WinMo for years but since WM6.5 is dead, I am looking for other alternatives. I don't see any future in WM7 and I think that Android OS is the most promising
Unfortunately, I am not very comfortable with the "Google Cloud" for some privacy reasons. I do not want to upload all my contacts and calendar to Google and thus, I would like to keep my private data between my Outlook (both personal and professional) and my Phone (as for WM6).
I know that using Android without Google Cloud will remove a lot of convenient functions but I still prefer going for a longer and slightly less convenient process to sync my contacts and calendar.
I understood from some readings that we can disable the synchronization for Google contacts and Calendar, which sounds good to me! The only function I would keep is Google Market as it seems to be compulsory for a good use of Android.
I am now wondering how I could synchronize my Outlook with Android. I am used to organize my personal and professional data on Outlook with the Contacts, the Calendar, Notes and by using Categories. Do you know any solution that would help me to sync my data from Outlook with an Android phone?
I heard about Android-Sync, is it good? Does it sync the data properly? Does it keep the Categories?
Do you know any other solution to sync Android with Outlook without the use of Google Contacts/Calendar?
Thanks a lot for your expert advices
I agree with you 100%
That is my total turn-off in using android phones.
I do not want and I do not like the "cloud". Firstly for privacy issues and also for roaming charges and/or low internet coverage. I do travel a lot and when I travel my android has 50% functonality working, the other half I cannot use: ridiculous
With android it has to go on the cloud too many of my infos (contacts, calendar, tasks etc) and it seems that almost all good apps want to do the same.
I doubt you will find a good solution with android since all their revenue comes from the cloud, they will sabotage any attempt to put good offline use.
Solution?
Will see what nokia/microsoft are going to do with windows mobile 7. Hope is not cloud based , or at least it has decent offline use
Welcome to life in the clouds! LOL
If you are a VZW customer you can use Backup Assistant to copy all your contacts (not sure if it will copy Facebook or other SocNet sources).
Once you do that go into Settings-Accounts and shut off sync with google.
Now go to GMail, delete all the contacts and then restore from backup assistant.
At that point pretty much all of your information will be on the phone only.
This will allow you to use the Marketplace without issue but by turning off Google Sync none of the phone info will go to Google servers.
You might have to go into Google Cal and delete info there too if you want but do not do that before you shut off the google sync in accounts.
If you are not on verizon, most carriers have another tool that will do the work of backup Assistant. They (and VZW) use those when you ask them to transfer contacts from one phone to another system (that may not be android!) so it is a good way to clear the cloud.
EDIT: I forgot to say that you should then shut off syncing with Background assistant and then go to your verizon account tools and export the contacts to a CSV file. Then delete from there as well.
But I don't consider VZW's server to be as cloud as GMail.

[Q] contacts will not sync to google

my wife got a new d2g and the contacts wont sync to Google. this is the second phone she got in less than a week do to other problems, and the phone before this would not sync either. and it is just the contacts, the calender and the gmail sync fine. under the google account on the phone all the options are checked to sync and it shows the arrows that its trying to sync but when i look online there are no contacts. any ideas?
I'm pretty sure that it's considered normal behaviour. If the contacts weren't added manually after setting up a Google account on the phone, they won't sync, or at least that's what I have here.
My dx sync just fine and I set it up the same way. Not sure what the deal is.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
Ok gonna take a wild guess here and say that you had the carrier transfer contacts from the old phone to the D2G and that would explian why they do not sync.
Look at the contacts (might have to go into edit mode) and see what "PROFILE" it says for each contact.
My guess is it says Phone Only.
What you need to do (and I'm going off memory since I am not running stock myself)
Edit each contact and in the menu there should be something that says NEW contact that will take the info from the one you are editing but ask you which account to make the new contact for. Select your GMail acct when asked and save it.
Then fine the gmail version of the contact you just made and select join or link and link it to the Phone only version.
This will give you one contact that has two profiles, phone only and Gmail.
What I suggest for anyone moving to Android for the first time is to get all your contacts into GMail (using above method) Import all your facebook contacts as well (You can do that through Yahoo Mail wizard and exporting to CSV then i8mporting into Gmail) and once your GMail has a complete and accurate contact list wipe the data on the phone and sync with Gmail to get all your contacts back. Be sure to make a backup of all your contacts on GMail once you are done to guard against future corruption issues and to be safe.
Cloud Contacts is not one of the best features of the phone but once you have integrated all your current contacts into GMail and joined them and Facebook into a proper list it is not a problem anymore.

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