2. Of course there’s a built-in method to sync Google Calendar to Symbian^3 smartphones, it’s called Mail for Exchange, an implementation of Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol by Nokia. But in my experience, it drains battery faster, not in a significant amount but my experience taught me that leaving Mail for Exchange in the background to sync data, does have an impact on battery life.

3. So, if Google Calendar is very important to you, and you dont want to use Mail for Exchange (for whatever reasons), what will be the options? To sync Google Calendar to your Symbian smartphones?

4. There are a couple of methods, free and paid. You can use GoogaSync, an app that syncs multiple Google Calendar to Symbian smartphones. Or you can use GooSync, a paid service that utilises SyncML capabilities. Or you can choose Memotoo, another powerful commercial solution which also uses SyncML.

5. But they are all commercial, either one-off payment or annual fees.

6. So, how? Isn’t there any free solution to sync Google Calendar to Symbian smartphones without using Mail for Exchange?

7. Before I proceed, please take note that I am not a Windows person. Yes. I’m aware that there are methods to sync calendar to PC or Mac (which syncs to Google Calendar) via Bluetooth or USB cable but I’m not going to write about that. I want to sync Google Calendar to my Symbian smartphones without using any intermediary local agent or PC. In a nutshell, cloud-synching without PC.

8. After digging, and googling, not to mention testing one after another, I came accross a free service offered by Lorenc Consulting Inc. It is called SyncMe.

9. You can visit the website http://www.syncme.se to find more information.

10. This is the method that I use to sync my main Google Calendar (I use Google Apps For Domain) and it works without problem. I dont have multiple calendars, nor using complicated calendar functions such as invitation, or adding recipients. I also dont use Tasks (todos). My calendar is simple. It’s a place for my appointments and meetings, reminders and some important notes.

11. This method has been tested to work on Symbian^3 smartphones namely the N8 and the E7. It might or might not work with older Symbian smartphones.

***DISCLAIMER***

If you are worried about submitting information to 3rd party service provider who lives 3 million miles from you, then DONT use this service. We at i-Symbian.Com are not responsible for any data loss or any other bad consequences if you use this method.

Step 1

Go to Settings – Connectivity – Data Transfer – Sync

Step 2

Options – New Sync Profile

Step 3

Write the name of this sync profile. I use Google Calendar. You can use whatever name you want.

Step 4

In Server Version, select 1.2

Step 5

In Applications in Sync, select “Calendar” only.

Step 6

In Calendar database, write Calendar with Capital C.

Step 7

In Data bearer, choose Internet

Step 8

In Host address, write https://syncme.se (Note the https)

Step 9

For Server ID, write syncme.se

Step 10

In the Username field, write your Google username. It’s your full Gmail address. Something like yourname@gmail.com. If you are a Google Apps For Domain user like me, write your full email address . After that, click Next.

Step 11

Write the password for your email address that you use in Step 10.

Step 12

Click Next. It will notify you to Activate the profile you just created. Select Yes if you want to. Otherwise, select No.

You are almost done. If you want to activate automatic synching, you need to configure the auto-synching parameters. Please refer to my previous article, jump to number 16 to set auto-synching.

Done!

Remember, only one Sync Profile is allowed to use auto-synching. For me, I set my Google Calendar to sync automatically using this method because I am more comfortable to check and enter my appointments and calendar entries using my trusty Symbian smartphones. I move around a lot. I sync my contacts manually once in a while if there are changes I made to my contacts database.

There you go. A free method to sync Google Calendar using SyncML to your Symbian smartphones. If you have tried this, share with us your experience.

Cheers!

@asrialbaker

2. Nowadays, unlimited internet plans on mobiles is so common. Even WiFi is included as standard in all Symbian smartphones. So, synching contacts database WITHOUT the need to use PC is achievable.

3. I use Google Apps for Domains under i-Symbian.Com and my main contacts list is using Google Contacts. It’s the master list. Meaning, I edit and keep all my contacts updated in Google Contacts.

4. There are many ways to sync Google Contacts to Symbian smartphones, sans PC, among them are :
- Using Mail for Exchange (Exchange ActiveSync Protocol)
- Use any compatible 3rd party SyncML providers such as GooSync, Memotoo, and a bunch of others. Mostly paid services.

5. Google actually offers SyncML to sync Google Contacts to Symbian smartphones for free. But for Contacts only. Not for Calendar. You can refer to the instruction at Google Mobile. But the instruction is a bit outdated.

6. I am actually quite disappointed with the implementation of Exchange ActiveSync in the new Symbian^3 via Mail for Exchange. I dont know whose fault was it. Whether Google’s or Nokia’s but I experienced some duplicates and deleted contacts if I use Mail for Exchange to sync my Google Contacts to my Nokia N8 directly. And I found that Mail for Exchange drains more battery if used, even if the sync interval is set at only once in every twelve hours.

7. Hence, I choose to try this SyncML method and I found my Nokia N8 battery life improves when Mail for Exchange is not used AT ALL!!!.

8. And the SyncML method here, is not that bad! It pulls all my Google Contacts with all details including contacts notes and thumbnails.

9. Here are the instruction, for Symbian^3 devices which is also can be used for older Symbian^1 devices (But there maybe some changes in the interface here and there and some functions may not be available in the older devices).

10. Your experience may vary. I am not saying this is the best method to sync Google Contacts to your Symbian smartphone but it is the one that I use at the moment, which gives me no headache at all. Good Luck!

DISCLAIMER : I am not responsible should you experience contacts duplicates, deleted contacts, or worst, your Symbian smartphone explode when you attempt to sync your Google Contacts using this method. At the time of writing, it works perfect for me. The best way to do it is when your contacts database inside your Symbian smartphone is empty e.g. new phone or after a factory reset This is not for the faint-hearted. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

1. In your Symbian^3 samrtphones, go to Settings – Connectivity, and select Data Transfer.

2. Inside Data Transfer, select Sync.

3. Press Options, and select New Sync Profile.

4. Bla bla bla… Select Start.

5. Give a name to this new profile. I put Google. You can put whatever name that you desire. Something that can be understood easily.

6. In Server Version, select 1.2. Why? I dont know…

7. In this one, select Contacts only. The other options are irrelevant.

8. In Contacts database, type contacts (please type EXACTLY like shown in the screenshot. No CAPITAL letters.

9. Data bearer, select Internet.

10. Host address. Type exactly like shown : https://m.google.com/syncml. Note the https.

11. In Server ID, type Google. Use capital “G”.

12. Username. Your Google username. It’s your full Gmail or Google Apps email address.

13. Password. It’s self explanatory… anyway, your Gmail / Google Apps password.

14. Blablabla… Your new SyncML profile has been created. Press Yes to activate it.

16. You will be brought back to the main Sync page. Now, you can configure to sync automatically. If you prefer, you can also sync manually. If you want automatic sync, press Options and select Automatic Sync.

17. In here, define which sync profile and data that you want to use as automatic, as well as the sync interval and the time to sync automatically.

18. You can also choose to sync manually.

19. When it is synching, you can see a little sync icon at the notification bar.

20. It is also possible to view the log after successful synchronisation.

21. This is a notification of the next scheduled synchronisation.

Asri al-Baker, January 5th 2011.

2. Knowing that Nokia/Symbian devices are also using an internet browser based on WebKit, I thought, maybe I could try…

3. With my limited HTML skill, I wrote this very simple WRT Widget to launch Gmail iPhone web interface on Nokia/Symbian built-in Web browser, without the need to enter the long URL. Just click on the icon and the page will be opened. It’s just a shortcut to the correct Gmail GP (Grand-prix : the codename for Google iPhone interface) URL.

4. It is compatible with WRT enabled devices only (S60 3rd Edition FP1, S60 3rd Edition FP2, S60 5th Edition and Symbian^3). The screenshots below was taken from Nokia N8.

5. If you use supported Symbian devices from Samsung or Sony Ericsson, you can tell us whether it works or not

Enjoy! Oh!… It’s free… as in air, and seawater

Instruction :

1. Download the ZIP file from : Our Download Page

2. Please extract the ZIP file, there’s a “Gmail.wgz” file inside. Transfer it to your device and install.

2. On Nokia N8, and other Symbian^3 devices, a software simply called Email is included to manage emails. While it may be enough for normal users to check emails once in a few minutes (it does not do push email, by the way), it does not fulfill my needs. It’s slow, takes forever to download attachments and 1001 other reasons that put me off from using it.

3. I searched, researched and tried a couple of solutions to get real mobile email, with push, such as (among others) :
- Profimail (great software but not for me and it’s pricey)
- System Seven (RAM hungry)
- Gmail J2ME client (it’s Java…)
- RoadSync from Dataviz (doesnt even run on Nokia N8)

4. Finally, headache after headache, I choose Mobile Documents developed by Visiarc. It has everything I need for an excellent mobile email client.

5. It offers push email with a different approach. It handles attachments very well. It accepts multiple email accounts and it is reliable.

6. I will talk more about Mobile Documents in the upcoming weeks. For now, enjoy some screenshots of Mobile Documents running on my Nokia N8. More information about it at http://www.mobiledocuments.com.

7. Oh… I have been informed by Peter Lindgren that an optimised version of Mobile Documents for Symbian^3 devices is coming our way very soon with some enhancements onboard. Cant wait

8. Have you used Mobile Documents? What do you think about it? Do you like it?

- Asri al-Baker, November 15th 2010

Documents are streamed, progressively downloaded while it is viewed. Below, a DOC page is rendered in landscape mode on Nokia N8. Notice how the half of the page is readable, while the other half is being processed.

If you dont want to view the page layout, you can strip all page contents, leaving only raw text to be dislayed, for easy readability, as shown below.

A couple of Mobile Documents related videos :

Visiarc’s “Mobile Documents” for S60 – exclusive from Mobile Industry Review on Vimeo.

2. Have you ever experience one (or more) of the following situations? :
- Your phone is stolen. All information in the phone are lost. Including phone numbers, important text messages containing your girlfriend’s birthdate (and her number!), as well as your landlord’s phone and bank details and your house payment is due anytime.
- OK, maybe the above scenario is too extreme How about after buying a new Symbian phone, you want to transfer your contacts list from the old phone to the new one? Sure, there are some ways to do it like using the PC Suite, or Mail for Exchange or using Bluetooh or using an application inside Nokia phone called Phone Switch? But can you really transfer all the information without a glitch?
- You left your phone at home and you need to access a very important information which is in the text inbox. Nobody is available at home to ask for assistance…

3. Actually, you can free your mind with an application for Symbian smartphones called SyncLion. It’s a small utility that’s designed not to be obstrucive, it runs in stealth mode in the background and you dont have to interact with it all the time to make it work.

4. SyncLion is one of those applications that can be left untouched after it’s been configured. It can be trusted.

5. All you need to do is to specify your email address and password (make sure it’s IMAP compatible), the type of data that you want to be sent to your email server (messages, notes, contacts) and the schedule time for automatic synchronisation. And you are done!

6. You can choose from the pre-configured email server (Gmail, OviMail, AOL) or you can also enter your own IMAP server details.

7. I use my Google Apps email address which is the same as standard Gmail and SyncLion works without problem.

8. In my Gmail Inbox, SyncLion creates 3 Labels to store data that are sent from mobile phones. They are Mobile/Contacts, Mobile/Notes and Mobile/Messages. This is a convenient solution because the data are not mixed with the existing emails in the inbox. They are separated and it’s good to see all synchronised data from phone are organised.

9. Here are screenshots of Mobile/Messages label which contains the text messages including the sender details and (the list and the message contents) :

10. Here are some screenshots for Mobile/Notes label. It is the placeholder for all data synchronised from the built-in Notes app in Symbian smartphones, not Active Notes :

11. For Mobile/Contacts label, it was created to host contacts data synchronised from the phone into Gmail. The good thing is, it doesnt mix itself with the existing Contacts database in your Gmail system. SyncLion exports contacts database into some readable details, with tables for easy glance.

12. Being able to access phone’s data without even touching it is very convenient.

13. I use text messages for all kinds of things, e.g. to send addresses, or to receive bank numbers, or products request and orders.

14. And I am very happy to be able to backup and sync my notes. Many articles (for this blog and my other blogs) and ideas are written using Symbian Notes.

15. SyncLion ranks as one of the must have apps for my Symbian smartphones (in league with Gravity, Pixelpipe Send and Share, SwissManager Pro, Free-iSMS, Opera Mobile 10, Best ScreenSnap and last but not least, SPB Mobile Shell).

16. The developer, Trismer Technologies, is a newcomer into the Symbian application world but they produce a useful and high-quality app. Lets hope they will produce more apps for us in the future.

17. If you fancy getting your phone’s text messages, contacts and notes into your email boxes, I highly recommend SyncLion.

18. It can be purchased from Ovi Store at only USD3.89 and a 7 days fully functioning trial is also available.

19. Last but not least, it’s compatible with most Symbian smartphones on the planet (S60 3rd Edition, S60 3rd Edition FP1, S60 3rd Edition FP2, S60 5th Edition & Symbian^1).

Get it NOW!!!

Asri al-Baker

1. Cloud synching is the future. More and more services offer cloud synching to backup, sync and feel safe without worrying many things.

2. Enter SugarSync. A cloud synching service with a comprehensive mobile support. It announced the availability of it’s free Symbian S60 5th Edition (Symbian^1) app. This makes it the most complete cloud synching service with support for most major mobile platforms i.e. iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, and now for Symbian.

3. The free Symbian app can be used with the the free 2GB account. Registration is free but there are some limitation for the free 2GB account.

4. It is also compatible with the paid SugarSync services which is offered at various price range for various storage from 30GB at $4.99 month to 250GB at $24.99 a month.

5. A 30 days trial is available for the paid services.

6. Get the free Symbian app from www.sugarsync.com/symbian

Press Release

Announcing the first all-in-one sync, backup and sharing service for Symbian users

Today we have some great news for Symbian enthusiasts: SugarSync is now available for Symbian smartphones. This is the first all-in-one sync, backup and sharing service for Symbian phones! This new, free app powered by the cloud gives you an easy way to easily access, manage, and share files at anytime, and anywhere.

SugarSync for Symbian features the ability to remotely access, open and easily share files via your mobile phone. This means documents, photos, music and more stored in a SugarSync account can be tapped anywhere you have phone service. Plus, with an appropriate document editor, files can even be edited and synced back to the original. You can finally feel comfortable leaving your laptop behind when you go on vacation.

As our CEO Laura Yecies proudly points out in our press release: “No other cloud company offers such a broad range of mobile applications for consumers. We’re working hard and fast to build an all-inclusive ecosystem to ensure our customers can choose to work from virtually any location, on any device.”

The free SugarSync for Symbian app can be downloaded using your phone at www.sugarsync.com/symbian. SugarSync’s app supports Symbian S60 5th Edition.

Welcome to the family, Symbian OS users!

https://www.sugarsync.com/
http://www.sugarsync.com/blog/2010/08/18/announcing-the-first-all-in-one-sync-backup-and-sharing-service-for-symbian-users/

1. With Opera Mobile 10 Beta 2 for Symbian, a new function is added. It is called Opera Link.

2. This brought a new level of internet experience for Symbian users.

3. Opera Link is a service to synchronise bookmarks, speed dials, web history, notes and more. It is available for free.

4. Before Opera Mobile 10, Symbian users can use Opera Link by using Opera Mini 4.2 or via the web interface at http://link.opera.com.

5. In most cases, Opera Link saves a lot of time from typing URLs. And in my case, other than the bookmarks, the Notes functions is really handy.

6. If you havent use Opera Link yet, why not register an Opera Account for free at http://link.opera.com or http://www.operalink.com

Opera Link Web

1. The web interface for Opera Link is hosted at http://link.opera.com and it is accessible from ANY internet browser, desktop or mobile.

2. The advantage of the web interface is you can access your Opera Link data from any computer using any browser. Very handy if you travel and visited internet cafe or using your friend’s laptp to access the internet.

3. You can view your bookmarks, notes, speed dials and edit them from the web interface.

4. It is integrated tightly to your Opera Account.

5. Here are some examples of Opera Link in action using Google Chrome on Ubuntu Karmic Koala.



Opera Link Desktop

1. In order to use Opera Link on your desktop computer, be it Linux, Mac or Windows, you need to install Opera Desktop Browser.

2. Once Opera Link is activated, it will automatically synchs in the background and keeps your data updated.

3. Whatever changes you do to your bookmarks or notes or speed dials will be synchronised to Opera Link’s server.






Opera Link Mobile

1. For Opera Link to be accessible from mobile devices (other than using the internet browsers), the easiest way is by using Opera Mobile or Opera Mini.

2. At the moment, only Opera Mini 4.2 can synchronise bookmarks, notes, speed-dials and browsing history.

3. Opera Mobile 10 Beta 2 for Symbian and Opera Mini 5 Beta 2 only supports partial Opera Link, i.e. Some of the bookmarks (in the Opera Mini folder) and the whole speed dials. There’s no synchronisation of notes nor browsing history nor bookmark folders.

4. I hope future version of Opera Mobile 10 will integrate full Opera Link with bookmarks and bookmarks folder, speed dials, notes and browsing history.

5. Are you an Opera Link user? What is your experience in using Opera Link?

- Asri al-Baker

2. You can also use Opera Mini, Opera Mobile and also other 3rd party internet browsers such as Skyfire, as well as Bolt Browser, and Ozone Browser.

3. Another way to view Gmail is by using the Messaging application, using POP3 or IMAP. And also Nokia Messaging, as well as other push email solutions like System Seven and Emoze.

4. There’s also an official J2ME Gmail client. A capable solution which supports multiple Gmail and GAFYD accounts in one place. But it’s Java.

5. Last but not least, those who want to experience Gmail using Exchange protocol, can use Mail for Exchange or RoadSync.

6. For viewing Gmail using internet browsers, normally it will default to the simplified mobile version which doesnt have many functions, but if you are one of the warriors out there who likes to explore and do things differently, there’s another way to view Gmail.

7. Viewing Gmail, as it appeared on iPhone is an alternative. A cool alternative I can say. This is because it is different than the mobile version. It is designed more intuitively and looks slicker.

8. All you have to do is to use the following URL on the address bar, and you will get the iPhone view :

For normal Gmail : http://mail.google.com/mail/x/gdlakb-/gp/

For Google Apps For Domain : http://mail.google.com/a/yourdomain.com/x/gdlakb-/gp/

9. I know, some of you will just say “I dont need this”… or maybe “I knew it years ago”…

10. For me, sometimes, when things didnt work as expected, I have to use alternative ways to do my stuff. This is one of them.

11. And recently, on Symbian S60 3rd Edition smartphones, Opera Mobile has been a great overall browser compared to the abysmal-half-hearted-stupid-and-clumsy built-in S60 Web.

12. Viewing Gmail iPhone version on Opera Mobile is easier and better than using S60 Web. It loads faster, the display and Javascript functions all work beautifully and did I say fast?…

13. What do you think? Have you tried viewing your Gmail this way?

2. This is the version that can be installed to any Nokia S60 3rd Edition smartphones (older ones) to experience pseudo push email from different accounts.

3. I have used Nokia Messaging since it’s beginning accross different devices (E61, E61i, E71, E90, E63) and the current version is almost perfect for my needs.

4. It fetches email without me telling it to do, it syncs my read status, and I can remotely manage my emails without powering on my laptop.

5. I have used many email solutions for Symbian in the past like Profimail (it’s a great software, but not my cup of tea), System Seven (another excellent product, but also not my cup of tea), Emoze, the built-in S60 Email/Messaging and I can say at the moment, I prefer a combination of Nokia Messaging (multiple emails support) and RoadSync (to sync my GMail & PIM). Oh, and the setup is a no-brainer, just remember your email address and password

6. One of the highlights of Nokia Messaging is the online account management at http://email.nokia.com.

7. In the web interface, you can define your email addresses to be used in Nokia Messaging client on the phone.

8. It is very handy especially if you change phones a lot (Nokia Symbian S60 3rd Edition and 5th Edition only). Because once you have everything configured, you only need to enter your Nokia Messaging userrname and password on the new phone and all your email accounts will appear inside Nokia Messaging client automagically. No more messing with POP server, IMAP folders and Secure Logins, those stuff. Nada. Zilch!

8. On the client itself, Nokia Messaging version 9.6.0.12 is really improved compared to the earlier versions.

9. I like the ability to view email body in HTML format. Finally!

10. I can also define which email address I want to use to send email out.

11. And there’s the Standby Screen plugin which gives a summary of the inbox contents for a quick glance.

12. As a mobile email client, Nokia Messaging comes pretty handy and delivers what it should.

13. There’s always room for enhancement. For example, the font can be made adjustable. Sometimes it’s pretty hard to read the email list because the font is too small: or maybe because I’m old already? HAHAHA!

14. It will be great too if Nokia Messaging can be optimised and uses less resources. On phones with limited RAM, it suffocates or doesnt work at all.

15. I really hope and wish Nokia will continue polishing Nokia Messaging in the future and bring it to the new Symbian UI. Please Nokia, dont you N-Gage Nokia Messaging

- Asri al-Baker

2. However, they did not announce the compatibility with Symbian devices, making Symbian users anxious.

3. The good news is, Google Sync works pretty well for Symbian S60 and UIQ smartphones as long as the proper application is installed to connect to Google’s Server. If you own one of these, or one of the o2 mobile phones, it is worth giving it a shot. There are so many free downloads out there that you are bound to find the application you need. Please scroll down for more information.

4. For users of Symbian S60 3rd Edition and S60 5th Edition smartphones which dont have Nokia Messaging built-in, they can install the free Mail for Exchange.

5. However, those with E52, E55, N86, and some other newer S60 3rd Edition FP2 smartphones, Nokia Messaging version 2.0 is included in the ROM and installation of Mail for Exchange is blocked.

6. To make things worst, the built-in Nokia Messaging v2.0 included a Mail for Exchange but in a so-so condition and not ready for primetime.

7. Enter RoadSync by DataViz. It’s not free, it will cost you USD49.99.

8. But RoadSync works so much better on S60 smartphones. It syncs with Google Contacts, Google Calendar and pushes Gmail without a glitch.

9. Those who are looking for alternatives to Mail for Exchange, you can give RoadSync a shot.

10. Before you made your purchase, do take a look on some of RoadSync’s features.

11. I really recommend RoadSync to those wanting to sync their Exchange Server with their S60 smartphones.