How to sync Samsung Galaxy S6 to Outlook

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The Galaxy S6 is poised to be a departure from the past few generations of the iconic Samsung flagship GALAXY brand. BGR has a breakdown of Galaxy S6 specs that point to a Samsung-powered CPU (abandoning the Qualcomm Snapdragon), Quad HD display, mobile payments supporting magnetic and NFC terminals, and a premium metal body to further drive a wedge between the Galaxy brand and other plastic Android knock-offs. A built-in wireless charging mechanism is also an inspiring reveal that will have people wanting to buy this device for new wireless technology and vehicles that support this.

Will this be the year that Samsung also heeds the demands of the business community that focuses on PC productivity with tools like Microsoft Outlook? Microsoft has made a strong push in recent days to make up ground for PC users of Outlook. They have purchased Acompli’s IP and released an Outlook email app. They quickly followed the encore by purchasing the Sunrise calendar app.

Reports of the limitations of Kies are not greatly exaggerated

People have waxed poetic (here, here, and here) about the challenges with Samsung Kies when attempting to sync Galaxy with Outlook. A USAToday.com columnist also shared his frustration with inadequate support for the core Outlook fields.

For those who need complete Outlook integration to justify their Galaxy S6 purchase as a business tool, our PC and mobile app suite is the one-stop solution. A $50 one-time purchase gets you the #1 Outlook to Galaxy S6 sync suite for calendar, contacts, tasks, notes, and categories. You are not locked in to a particular sync protocol that compromises the security of your data. Instead, you have the freedom to choose the sync protocol.

Secure, connect, and cloud sync options for Galaxy S6 to Outlook Sync

Our CompanionLink suite syncs the following Outlook data:

  • Outlook Contacts
  • Outlook Calendar
  • Outlook Tasks
  • Outlook Notes
  • Outlook Categories

The configuration wizard lets you choose from four sync options. Each option has its pros and cons.

  • USB Sync allows a connected approach to data sync. Your Outlook data is not hosted in the cloud.
  • WiFi Sync allows a connected and wireless approach. Your Outlook data is synchronized using your home/office WiFi network. It is not stored in the cloud.
  • DejaCloud is our private business cloud service that will keep Outlook and Galaxy S6 synchronized at all times. It is designed for multi-device setups where you have a phone, tablet, and a P. Data is stored in our private cloud, making the task of adding/removing devices and PCs as simple as configuring your DejaCloud username and password. The sync is instant and automatic.
  • Sync to Google is an option that uses your Google account to keep Outlook synchronized with Galaxy S6. CompanionLink connects Outlook on your PC with your Google account. Google takes over from there to integrate that data with the pre-installed Contacts and Calendar apps on your Galaxy S6.

For a more thorough list of pros and cons of each option, please visit www.companionlink.com/gettingstarted.

Setup Guide for Galaxy S6 Outlook sync

You will need an app on both your PC and Galaxy S6. Both apps will communicate to keep data synchronized.

  1. Install CompanionLink on your PC. Click here to download it.
  2. On your Galaxy S6, launch the Google Play Store app. Search for DejaOffice and install it.
  3. Configure CompanionLink. Your configuration steps will depend on the sync option listed above that you choose.
    1. Setup guide: Galaxy S6 to Outlook USB sync
    2. Setup guide: Galaxy S6 to Outlook WiFi sync
    3. Setup guide: Galaxy S6 to Outlook DejaCloud sync (automatic)
    4. Setup guide: Galaxy S6 to Outlook using a Google account
    5. If you select DejaCloud sync, the synchronization will begin automatically within a few minutes. If you selected USB, WiFi, or sync to Google, you need to click on the Sync button in CompanionLink on your PC to start the first sync.

Further help for Galaxy S6 to Outlook sync

Call us at 503-243-3400 if you need further help. Support is free to everyone with a Galaxy S6 phone, regardless of whether you do or do not own a license to CompanionLink . You can also access our setup guides online. If you want an advanced configuration help, we offer a $49 RunStart package where our experts will log in to your PC and Galaxy S6 to configure the sync for you. This gives you the peace of mind that your Galaxy S6 to PC sync is fine-tuned to match your needs.

2 strategies for Samsung Galaxy S6 to differentiate by focusing on business users

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Samsung is driving uphill to maintain their lead in the consumer mobile market. Cheaper phones from Xaomi, Huawei, and other manufactures are driving the price of Android devices to $0 while gouging Samsung’s market share. And this is just from their fellow Android manufactures. Holiday sales of Apple iPhone showed resurgence due to iPhone’s bigger screen size.

Why pay 2x as much for a Galaxy device compared to other Android devices that offer the same features?

Why pay 2x as much for a Galaxy device compared to other Android devices that offer the same features? (Phone image credit to phonearena.com)

One area where Samsung has yet to capitalize (and can do so rather easily) is to focus on a more premium and sophisticated buyer – business users. This approach lets Samsung justify a higher price for their devices, differentiate by features and apps, and allow Samsung marketing to focus on a customer willing to open their pocket books for perceived value in an era of zero-cost smartphones.

Strategy 1: Curated pre-installed business apps on Galaxy S6

Pre-install a curated a list of business apps on the Galaxy S6. Business users are pressed for time. Unlike consumers who actually browse mobile app stores, business users will not. Recommendations and reviews are the catalysts for professionals to download apps.

Samsung can lend a hand and establish instant biz cred by partnering with app developers who already have a business following. Ship the Galaxy S6 with select partner apps pre-installed in a separate Recommended Apps section on the phone. Emphasis on the word “separate”. Do not make the same mistake Dell did/does with PCs by bloating the phone with third-party apps that one must painstakingly delete should they not want them. The second-worst thing to happen with a new phone purchase is starting your phone and finding bloatware. The worst thing to happen is paying a premium price for a phone with bloatware.

Strategy 2: Tight integration with PC software that businesses use

What software do business people spend the majority of their day using on their PC? Email, browsing, CRM, scheduling, and task management are some common functions most professionals engage, regardless of the business they are in. Samsung should identify leading app developers in each of these business functions. Co-market or co-promote their apps. Rekindle the great Galaxy vs. iPhone commercials of the recent past (the ads were actually quite entertaining!) to create separation between Samsung Galaxy and the bevy of other Android phones in the market.

The best marketing is education. As part of their training regimen with retail outlets that carry Samsung devices, focus on the business application of Samsung phones and tablets. Make sure carrier store reps are versed in how Samsung devices work with leading business apps so professionals can extend functions from their physical office onto their virtual office on their devices. The goal is to educate people on how to get business done on mobile without skipping a beat or missing your physical office. When a person walks into a carrier store to ask about an Android device, all things business should only point to one direction on the rack – Samsung.

That’s value that business professionals will pay a premium to be associated with.  Pivot the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S6 phone and Galaxy brand to be the business tool that professionals must choose instead of the cheaper no-frills phones that consumers are swallowing in droves. Samsung needs to make the act of showing up to business meetings with a non-Galaxy phone to be perceived as a credibility issue. Remember early last decade when you weren’t a real business professional unless you had a BlackBerry?

Microsoft Outlook is the leading PC business productivity system

Outlook is included with Office, and Outlook is remarkably robust for 80% of everyday business needs. These two factors have given it the #1 Who’s Who rank in desktop business software. Outlook is ubiquitous because it’s bundled with every business version of Microsoft Office.

CompanionLink’s 20-year history with developing Outlook add-on software makes us privy to the choices and desires of the PC business audience. They use the Outlook to manage many aspects of their day. It is first-class software for email, calendar scheduling, task management, and contact management. We see behavioral patterns that Samsung can take advantage of.

Business Outlook users…

…manage both business and personal schedules using Outlook
…care about maintaining their client list with updated information
…rely on Outlook’s robust scheduling system to have an efficient day
…have a system to manage Outlook tasks to prioritize goals
…often use a task management productivity system (ie – Franklin Covey, Getting Things Done, Take Back Your Life)
…use email as a task list
…need to create or assign tasks from their email
…have years worth of client notes stored in Outlook
…have an intricate folder management system for emails that they can’t afford to break or lose
…are very concerned about data security and enjoy that Outlook data is stored locally
…prefer not to paying for a subscription to MS Office when they have been getting Office as a one-time purchase since its inception
…often rely on a shared system of calendars and tasks between their colleagues and/or assistants

How the Galaxy S6 can work tighter with Outlook

  1. Update the Galaxy S6 email app to work more like K9 or Microsoft’s new Outlook app. Email must be a pleasure to manage. It is likely the first app business professionals engage every day.
  2. Pre-install the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps.
  3. Pre-install the DejaOffice app to integrate with and hold Outlook Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and Notes on the Galaxy S6.
  4. Pre-install the Dropbox app for file management.

These simple steps will allow the Galaxy brand to begin differentiating from other Android phones. Apple has notably been the platform that people spend more money on apps for. Why is this? Is it because they attract a more affluent buyer or because they attract a business buyer? Likely, it’s a combination of both.

Samsung Kies is free software that handles rudimentary Outlook integration as an after-thought. The core functions of the software are to transfer video and photos to the PC, apply device software updates, and back up contacts and text messages to the PC. Samsung should take this to the next level by supporting deeper integration with Outlook fields. What Samsung really lacks is a mobile app that is capable of holding all of the rich Outlook data. The Galaxy’s built-in contacts and calendar apps don’t map well with Outlook. Our own app, DejaOffice, on the other hand, offers a one-to-one map with advanced Outlook fields and data like Categories, Notes, recurring reminders, and sort options that match the desktop such as the File-As option in Outlook. This is really what business users are looking for instead of the novice contacts and calendar apps that ship with devices.

Samsung needs the business buyer in order to differentiate and validate a price greater than free for its phones. They need this buyer in order to survive the attack from both ends – cheap no-frills Android phones and Apple’s premium iPhone.

Samsung can start on March 1 with the Galaxy S6.

New Outlook app is great for email, but not the full “Outlook” experience yet

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This is a live document and we will update as we learn more about the new Outlook app.

Summary; TLDR

  • Hit: supports popular cloud email services and file storage
  • Hit: beautiful email UI for email, customizable swipe settings
  • Hit: intelligent “snooze” feature on email
  • Miss: does not support all business IMAP accounts like desktop Outlook does
    • February 16 app update adds support for generic IMAP accounts
  • Miss: no support for Outlook Contacts, Tasks, Notes
  • Miss: no Category support for PIM organization
  • Miss: major security hole by storing email credentials and data in a temporary server

The new Outlook app, a fruition of Microsoft’s acquisition of Acompli, brings renewed hope for Outlook users. The fresh UI and robust compatibility with the popular email services rightfully warrants the 4-star review Microsoft is currently earning. Contrast that to the 2.5-star showing of Microsoft’s prior horse in the race, the app regrettably known as OWA for iPhone.

However, the “Outlook” portion of the name of the app is a bit over-reaching. There are two main reasons for this.

  1. Outlook on the desktop does email, contacts, calendar, tasks, notes, and categories.  The Outlook app does email and calendar. Perhaps the rest is coming in short order.
  2. Outlook on the desktop allows you set up any IMAP or POP account. The Outlook app only allows EAS, Outlook.com, Google, Yahoo, and iCloud accounts. The rest of the business world that uses a private email provider with their desktop Outlook isn’t invited to the dance hosted by the new Outlook app. (Update 2/2015: an app update now allows you to add generic IMAP email accounts.)

no-imap2

outlook-no-imap

Hits

Email never felt this good. Acompli’s reputation prior to their acquisition was for a sexy email client that could blend all of your popular emails services into one app. Multi-account support works beautifully, and their Focused vs. All filters to put an emphasis on email productivity by showing important email and hiding newsletters and other repetitive communications for later viewing. Also, the ability to swipe to Schedule an email to reappear in the Inbox in a few hours or a time of your choosing lets you quickly consolidate your morning inbox so you address only important emails. A very nifty feature!

Misses

Security is the big hole for the Outlook app, as discovered by Rene Winkelmeyer. The hole has always existed when the code base was owned by Acompli. The ire is that people expected Microsoft to fix this security hole before releasing under the Outlook brand.

In short, email account credentials and data are stored on Microsoft’s servers for a “temporary” time frame. This allows the Outlook app to do fancy things like snooze email. However, it also means your email and potentially other PIM information like appointments and recent contacts are privy to Microsoft. I sense an ulcer developing for folks who care about corporate security, HIPAA, and other initiatives aimed at protecting our data.

The app also doesn’t match features found in desktop Outlook.

Contacts make a guest appearance through the limited functionality of the People section in the app. Instead of a real contact list, you are given a list of recently used email addresses. There is no contact manager that holds your records, and you cannot add/update contacts, address, and phone numbers from your device. This is likely due to the fact that email services like Google and Yahoo are not EAS servers. They rely on IMAP, whose protocol isn’t fundamentally designed to handle PIM info like Contact details. EAS, on the other hand, was designed for this. It’s surprising that even EAS accounts in the new Outlook app doesn’t handle Contacts.

Outlook Tasks do not exist. Many business users rely on a task list to coordinate their priorities or implement productivity systems like Getting Things Done or Franklin Covey. Without a task list, users of this Outlook app cannot manage their priorities on the go.

Outlook Notes also don’t make an appearance.

The must-have Outlook Category feature does not exist. Desktop Outlook users rely on categories to organize their daily agenda by appointment type. Without this, business and personal appointments are indistinguishable in the calendar view.

How to sync Outlook between two computers

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Outlook to Outlook sync

DejaCloud is a private sync service offered by CompanionLink. It can keep data from Outlook PST files synchronized between two or more PCs.

If you work with multiple PCs, such as a work laptop and home desktop, you are acutely aware of the frustrations of keeping your Outlook information synchronized between computers. Short of the painful process of exporting and importing Outlook PST files (.pst), you have a couple of paid options that can automate the process. The time and headache you save, not to mention the luxury of working from any PC or Mac, may be worth your investment. Below, we discuss two convenient options that anyone can try. Both options reviewed have a trial period so you can set it up before you purchase.

Option 1 – $150/user per year for Office 365 Business Premium

Purchase an Office 365 subscription that offers Exchange ActiveSync (EAS). This is what Microsoft’s web page calls “Business class email, calendar, and contacts”. EAS keeps email, calendar, and contacts synchronized. Make sure your Outlook clients on both PCs are set up to use the same EAS account.

Option 2 – $60/user per year for CompanionLink

CompanionLink for Outlook is a PC app that does not require EAS technology. It installs on PCs running Outlook and is configured to sync data through a service called DejaCloud. It will keep contacts, calendar, tasks, notes, journal, and categories synchronized between Outlook on two PCs. CompanionLink does not handle email, which you can instead configure separately using your email provider’s IMAP settings. IMAP is a protocol to keep email synchronized across multiple PCs and devices.

CompanionLink’s app installs on both of your PCs and is configured to use a proprietary DejaCloud account to keep data synchronized. This allows you to see/edit appointments or add/update contacts right in the Outlook client of each PC. Changes are then automatically synchronized to the other PC by the DejaCloud service running silently in the background.

Outlook to Outlook sync configuration for CompanionLink

  1. Download the CompanionLink app on the two PCs you wish to sync. The free 14-day trial is available here.
  2. In CompanionLink Settings, choose the DejaCloud Sync option. You will create a DejaCloud account the first time you do this. Note the username and password.
  3. Configure CompanionLink on the second PC with the same DejaCloud account you created in Step 2.

The sync will start automatically in a few minutes. You can make changes to Outlook data on either computer and watch that change propagate to the other PC.

What about Outlook for Mac?

CompanionLink also includes a Mac product with every purchase. Called CompanionLink for Mac, you can install it on your Mac and keep Outlook for Mac 2011 and the recently announced Outlook for Mac 15 synchronized with Outlook on your PCs. This lets you set up mixed environment (ie – work uses a PC while you have a Mac at home) for the cost of just one subscription to CompanionLink’s DejaCloud service.

If you have any questions, you can email or call our support team or leave a comment below.

The Ultimate Outlook Sync for Santa’s Phone and Tablet

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PRESS RELEASE BY COMPANIONLINK SOFTWARE, INC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Advanced features like category management that supports Outlook color-coding, handling of Outlook custom fields, and sort options for Outlook’s File-As field, offer a complete two-way sync utility with the most secure and direct sync options.

DejaOffice, the #1 independent Outlook sync app for Android® and iOS®, offers complete two-way synchronization for Microsoft® Outlook® calendar, tasks, notes, contacts, categories, and journal entries. It supports all the latest phones and tablets that Santa has delivered this holiday season.

Available for Android since 2008, DejaOffice is designed for Outlook power-users who cannot afford to shortcut support of key Outlook data. DejaOffice holds important Outlook contact details that are missing in the native Phone apps such as custom fields, multiple email addresses, and full contact notes. Advanced features like Private memos, Calendar templates, Location and Date pickers make DejaOffice uniquely convenient for people who want to integrate their mobile schedule with their PC Office.

“There is a huge gap between Desktop PC programs like Microsoft Outlook and the native phone list and calendar on Android and iOS devices,” says Wayland Bruns, CTO for CompanionLink Software.  “The DejaOffice App spans the gap and brings the Outlook contact, calendar, and task management experience to phones and tablets. Business professionals do not want a lite version of Outlook on their phones; they demand complete client information, notes and history of interactions, and desktop schedule management features on a mobile form factor.”

A visual tour of the many advanced Outlook features in DejaOffice can be found at www.dejaoffice.com/tour.html. DejaOffice is a free app on Google Play marketplace. CompanionLink’s synchronization software starts at $14.95 per user and can be found at www.companionlink.com/android/outlook. Reviewed by leading journals like USAToday.com and Forbes.com, CompanionLink’s apps have proven over time to be the most complete sync utility for those who demand the full Outlook experience on their Android.

Top 10 business productivity apps to start 2015 efficiently

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Business professionals are always looking for ways to save time or make better use of it. Professionals seek to maximize productivity both inside and outside the office. Productivity apps that aim to get them to this holy grail number in the thousands. The challenge is in applying the Pareto Principle; find the 20% of apps that will improve productivity by 80%.

Productivity apps generally fall under the following categories: storage, calendars, email management, notes, tasks, contacts, follow-ups, documents, and remote deskop access. Apps that shine tend to be those that are efficient and a pleasure to use for every day actions like completing tasks on the go, organizing clients notes, sharing documents. These efficiencies give professionals a competitive advantage.

A recent productivity survey from smartphone provider BlackBerry Limited and research firm GfK found 69 percent of smartphone users are “constantly looking for new ways to get things done as efficiently as possible,” and 67 percent also said they are looking to improve their productivity.

Researchers also note the perception towards smartphones has changed. The majority of survey respondents said they now believe smartphones give them the flexibility to work when and where they want, and can help free up time.

“Smartphones have made a major impact on the way we conduct business and communicate with friends and family, driving our ambitions to be productive in order to change the way we contribute to work, our communities and society,” John Chen, CEO of BlackBerry, said in a prepared statement.

But which apps are the most efficient in helping professionals with their daily actions? Here are 10 productivity apps that every business professional should know about.

OmniFocus (task management)

OmniFocus offers mobile task management. They use “Perspectives” to help people analyze their work and get it done quickly and efficiently. Each OmniFocus Perspective is designed for a specific reason (planning, checking on upcoming tasks, etc.) and brings the most relevant information to the forefront by focusing on folders and projects that business professionals need to see at any given time. The app can be used to track tasks by date, place, person or project. OminFocus ensures professionals balance life and work by helping them stay on top of projects and goals.

Evernote (note-taking)

Create a collaborative hub for team brainstorming, organize your notes, or save snippets from webpages with Evernote. This is among the most popular Notes and Organization apps. Evernote offers a single workspace that can be accessed from any location at any time. By keeping all documents, presentations and photos close at hand, the app makes it easy for people to work remotely, give presentations that were created in the office, and collaborate with their teams.

LogMeIn (remote desktop control)

Want to take your PC anywhere you go? Use the LogMeIn app on your smartphone or tablet to access and control your PC from anywhere you have a data connection. The app includes file management features that allow you to download files from the desktop. File transfer, file sharing and remote printing capabilities allow a remote worker can stay connected with their office from anywhere they have a data connection. Plus, LogMeIn offers 24/7 app phone support.

CloudOn (document-editing)

With great power comes great responsibility, especially for executives who use the CloudOn document-editing app. To date, 8 million registered CloudOn users have edited 85 million documents, thanks in part to the CloudOn app’s user-friendly design and interface. This simple yet powerful document editor features a gesture-first design that encourages users to tap, type, pinch and swipe to edit documents stored in the cloud or in emails. CloudOn also features a spacious interface with room to edit documents on the challenging form factor of smartphones.

CloudOn supports the ubiquitous-for-business Microsoft Word document format.

Google Drive (cloud storage)

Keep your files handy from any computer or mobile device with the Google Drive app. A  professional can store their documents and presentations in the Google cloud, which can serve as a backup. This app also allows users to collaborate with peers on documents, and executives can invite co-workers to view, edit or leave comments on any files or folders that are stored in Google Drive.

Google Drive users start with 15 GB of free Google storage, so business professionals receive plenty of complimentary storage space for documents, files, folders and much more.

InFocus Pro (all-in-one suite)

Want a flexible app suite that will help you get organized? Check out InFocus Pro, an all-in-one productivity app suite that features:

  • Calendar
  • Checklist
  • Notes
  • Projects
  • To Do

InFocus Pro makes it easy for business professionals to create to-do lists, take notes and find better ways to manage projects – it even allows users to handwrite custom notes in any color they choose and includes a calendar that syncs with iCal, Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar and other popular calendar programs.

Microsoft Office (document-editing)

The Microsoft Office app is a business user’s dream come true. It allows access to files stored on OneDrive, OneDrive for Business or SharePoint, and view and edit Office files, including those that are attached to emails. In addition, Word, Excel and PowerPoint have been optimized for smartphones, ensuring business professionals can view crystal-clear versions of files and make edits on their smartphones as needed.

DejaOffice (all-in-one productivity app suite)

Looking for a single app to hold all of your client data like Notes, Phone numbers, Emails, Tasks, Documents, Meetings, and CRM History? DejaOffice CRM holds all this data and connects with the most popular CRM and productivity systems like Salesforce CRM, Act!, Microsoft Outlook, IBM Lotus Notes, GoldMine, and Novell GroupWise.

DejaOffice holds the following CRM data in one integrated app:

  • Calendar
  • Contacts
  • Categories
  • Journal
  • Memos
  • Tasks
  • Documents and Images

This app offers advanced features that the built-in apps that ship with smartphones and tablets don’t have. Organize tasks, contacts, and calendar into color-coded categories, link calendar events to contacts and their documents, log outgoing phone calls as a history item under the contact, set task alerts, and much more. DejaOffice lets businesses manage CRM on their smartphones and tablets in an efficient and device-agnostic manner. The app is available for Android, iPhone and iPad, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry.

Dropbox (cloud storage)

There’s a reason 4 million businesses use Dropbox – this file backup, sync and sharing app lets users bring all their documents, photos and videos anywhere they go.

Dropbox provides easy-to-manage cloud storage that any busy executive will appreciate. Anything you add to Dropbox will automatically show in the Dropbox app on your smartphone, so travelling business professionals can access files from any device. Dropbox also makes it easy to share files, and since these files are safely stored in the cloud, executives never have to worry about losing them.

Lastly, Dropbox acts like a time machine that lets you undo mistakes and even undelete files.

Things (task management)

Wait, you’ve never heard of Things? Well, this task management app can help any business professional become more productive in no time at all.

For example, Things allows executives to use tags to assign contexts, priorities, time and much more– whatever fits a business professional’s personal workflow. The app also is designed to make it simple for users to quickly filter a list to find relevant, time-sensitive tasks so they can complete them on schedule.

Things even enables business professionals to brainstorm on the go, as it features a Quick Entry window that they can use to record new ideas instantly and add tasks without interrupting their work.

Things stores all of an executive’s to-dos and updates them regularly, and with this app, business professionals can take a step-by-step approach to their daily tasks.

Are there any apps you feel should have made the list? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below or on Twitter @companionlink.

How to sync Outlook Color Categories to iPhone 6

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Current iPhone Outlook sync options simply don’t work for business professionals using a PC. Apple ships iTunes and iCloud as two ways to sync Microsoft Outlook with iPhone and iPad. The problem is neither product supports sync of Outlook Categories.

Why are categories important on phones?

Business users who have hundreds of contact records, notes, and appointment details need a way to organize info for quick lookup. Organization is inherent in their PC Outlook database courtesy of the Color Categories feature. Each category has a name and color in Outlook. This offers quick sort and view options on the PC.

But what about the iPhone and iPad?

CompanionLink solves this problem by mapping Outlook Color Categories to iOS devices. This means business users can rely on color recognition to view data on their iPhone or iPad. They can sort and view the device’s contact list the same way they did on the PC. They can assign categories as they create new Notes or Tasks on the device. These new items will sync back to the correct Outlook Category on their PC.

CompanionLink supports Outlook Categories for Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Notes, and Journal. Outlook calendar alarms, task alerts, and contact photos also sync to iPhone and iPad. Basically, you get everything iTunes and iCloud offers with support for additional Outlook data like Categories and Alarms. This is a perfect paid utility for business users who need to organize hundreds of Outlook records on their phone.

How Outlook categories on iPhone look

How Outlook Categories look on iPhone

You have two options to view Outlook categories on your iPhone: use our DejaOffice mobile app or use the phone’s Contacts app. There are pros/cons to each approach.

CompanionLink relies on our DejaOffice iPhone app to store Outlook data on the device. Our app is designed for a one-to-one map with Outlook fields, which is why we can handle more Outlook data than iPhone’s Contacts app.

If, however, you prefer to use iPhone’s Contact app, you have that option. Go to Settings > Sync > Sync to native iPhone Contacts. This will create and transfer DejaOffice Outlook Categories to the iPhone’s Contacts app as Groups. You can then use the Contacts app to view your rolodex by Group (which is Apple’s name for Category).

Click here for more information about Outlook iPhone sync.

iHotsync USB – direct sync with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

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We’d like to introduce iHotsync USB, our newest direct sync technology for iOS devices. It synchronizes all the data iTunes and iCloud handles as well as Categories, Notes, Tasks, and Contact Photos. Our iHotsync USB works like the reliable utility with a similar name from the days of PalmPilot. You can sync PIM data from PC apps like Microsoft Outlook, Palm Desktop, Lotus Notes, Act!, and many others.

Security took priority when designing iHotsync.
1. Connect your iPhone to the PC using the Lightening USB cable.
2. Tap Sync in the DejaOffice iOS app that comes with CompanionLink.

A complete setup guide is available here. A list of fields and benefits that iHotsync supports beyond the fields supported by iTunes and iCloud is available here.

iHotsync does not require iTunes, nor does it transfer or store your data in iCloud.

Carrier policies for unlocking devices

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Many people will be selling their current Android or iPhone device to make room (and cash) for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. An unlocked unit will earn more money on sites like Gazelle that pay cash for your old phone or in the private market.

Here are links to the Device Unlock Policy for each major US carrier.

AT&T: click here.
T-Mobile: click here.
Sprint: click here.
Verizon: click here. (Most Verizon LTE devices come unlocked.)
O2 (UK Carrier): click here.
Virgin Mobile (USA): click here.

A cheatsheet of iPhone 6 Plus features for business users

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Here’s a list of iPhone 6 Plus features announced by Apple today that directly impacts or improves productivity for business users.

  • Bigger screens mean more readable content. The iPhone 6 Plus has 1920×1080 resolution to fit more lines of information. Apple offered a great side-by-side visual that shows how much more content is visible on iPhone 6 Plus compared to iPhone 6. [Image source: iphonehacks.com]
  • More battery life means fewer intra-day trips to the outlet. Traveling sales people are free to use their GPS without fear of their battery dying by mid day. The iPhone 6 Plus offers 12 hours of LTE browsing (2 more hours than iPhone 6) and 16 hours of standby (6 more hours than iPhone 6). Here’s a chart comparing battery capacity from the keynote. [Source: iphonehacks.com]
  • Wider keyboard layout with more keys means the iPhone 6 Plus will be a business user’s device of choice for an easier typing experience. (This does beg the question – does the iPhone 6 Plus cannibalize iPad mini sales?) The extra keys offered comprise of an important tap-saving group: cut and paste, highlight, undo, bold, and common punctuation; period, comma, question mark, and exclamation mark. These keys will save business users from tapping and dragging pins for copy/paste, and from long-pressing the Shift key to access punctuation and rich markup. [Image source: WCCFtech.com]
  • The iPhone 6 Plus’s dual-pane view for email, scheduling, and messaging is godsend. Email will undoubtedly be the biggest beneficiary as you will never have to swipe Back to see the email list.
  • Wi-Fi calling and VoLTE hold promise for mobile warriors who journey to areas with shaky cell connectivity. Hop in a cafe or restaurant that offers Wi-Fi and you are free to make calls. Of course, TBD is whether carriers need to update their towers to support this. (If anyone has more info about this, please chime in under the Comments section for everyone to benefit.) The consumer crowd really benefits by not requiring peak-hour cellular minutes to place/receive calls. I sense mobile carriers already dusting off their business plans to make daytime minutes unlimited.
  • NFC and Apple Pay will make carrying personal and business desirable and a breeze. Business people will no longer have to use their personal card and then remember to credit their business account. The NFC ecosystem looks like an infrastructure-intense endeavor and one that will take time for the world to adopt. However, Apple has added (significantly) more water to the NFC seeds already harvesting. We know how this story ends for the famed plastic rectangle we love so dearly.
  • Repeatedly mentioned during the keynote was the phrase “optimizations for one-hand use”. It appears Apple was bent on promoting the fact that they optimized their 5.5-inch offering for one-hand use. I must see this to believe it; but it sounds great! More details about this will arrive as people get their devices on September 19.

The real story behind today’s keynote is that Apple is heeding the call for larger screens by an audience (viz. business users) that is willing to pay for features that make their workday easier. While Apple is a consumer-driven organization, larger screens directly benefit business professionals in a way that is tangible to productivity.