The smartphone/outlook problem

Lleucu

Hi all, posted this problem on the mobile phone thread, thought some here may have some thoughts.

The problem: want to replace my blackberry, shortlisted to BB, Iphone and Samsung Note, after advice on thread added Nokia Lumia. Key issue for me is the ability to sync with Outlook for contacts. After research, I have found that all these apart from the BB require you to put this data on a cloud eg gmail and then sync with phone, a bit like going to Builth Wells via Bulgaria. Apart from the sheer clunkiness, I strongly object to putting my data on any cloud. The BB is a simple matter of plugging the phone into the laptop with a USB cable, and the special software does it for you. I do also like Outlook very much, as it integrates with Word.

I do find it amazing that the Nokia does not do this given the partnership with Microsoft, the Nokia forum is full of people complaining.

There are also serious data protection issues in this arrangement, I was hacked on my Yahoo account on Monday and if all my contacts had been on the account they would have received all kinds of rubbish. Fortunately the yahoo account is not used for anything important, and this account had a password which I thought was pretty good.

Rant over, bless the blackberry and RIM long may they continue for small businesses they are brilliant. Though they might not provide the toys or the large screens, security is much better than the competition.

Maybe someone from Nokia/Microsoft could come on here and defend this ridiculous configuration??

bingo_bango

Lleucu wrote: »

Maybe someone from Nokia/Microsoft could come on here and defend this ridiculous configuration??

Why? To defend the fact that they have moved with the advance of technological innovation, and RIM haven't?

heyjim

iPhones will sync with contacts etc with iCloud, not sure how much data is actually stored in the cloud but it works really well. Unfortunately (for you at least ) the cloud is becoming the norm these days.

debitcardmayhem

A lot of Android phones can sync with outlook and thunderbird too , using MyPhoneExplorer , free using USB or Wifi

Not a cloud in sight here , 31 degrees (87.8 in old money)

RobTang

Lleucu wrote: »

Apart from the sheer clunkiness,.....

I do find it amazing that the Nokia does not do this given the partnership with Microsoft, the Nokia forum is full of people complaining.

I dont see how its clunky, I add contacts in outlook and it get pushed to my phone through the remote server and visa versa. I dont have to do anything to have my emails contacts and calendar events on all my devices.
If I change or loose my phone, I plug the server details into the new phone and I have everything without messing around with syncing.

They dont do it beacuse the majority of outlook users are MS Exchange users, which builds in all this functionality. Andriod, iPhone and Win Pho all support exchange.

Lleucu

bingo_bango wrote: »

Why? To defend the fact that they have moved with the advance of technological innovation, and RIM haven't?

Many small businesses have MS Outlook without exchange including me. I am also registered for Data Protection. If my web mail contained all my contacts and was hacked as mine was the other day, all my contacts would be vulnerable. I could be prosecuted by the DP Registrar as well as compromising my contacts.

The point is about RIM is that it is secure, I am not the only person complaining about this issue see http://discussions.nokia.com/t5/Nokia-with-Windows-Phone/How-to-sync-a-Lumia-Windows-Phone-with-Outlook/td-p/1393393.

I would be interested in any suggestions of Androids which can link directly with Outlook.

debitcardmayhem

debitcardmayhem wrote: »

A lot of Android phones can sync with outlook and thunderbird too , using MyPhoneExplorer , free using USB or Wifi

Not a cloud in sight here , 31 degrees (87.8 in old money)

Look here http://www.fjsoft.at/en/ and here http://www.fjsoft.at/en/downloads.php all android phones from 1.6 should work