BlackBerry Desktop Manager support for Outlook 2010 32/64-bit

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Rushang

RIM announced they will support Outlook 2010 32-bit some time in August 2010. They will release support for Outlook 2010 64-bit in 2011.

BlackBerry owners who need to sync their Outlook contacts, calendar, tasks and notes rely on BlackBerry Desktop Manager to do this. People looking for an immediate solution can use CompanionLink Express. It supports both Outlook 2010 32 and 64 bit. In addition to Outlook, CompanionLink can sync from other PC software like Palm Desktop, Lotus Notes, GroupWise, ACT! by Sage and Goldmine. CompanionLink Express costs $49.95, one-time, and comes with free phone support.

Alternatively, CompanionLink also develops a $9.99 product called O2g, which will sync Outlook to your Google account. The Google Sync service (offered by Google) will then sync Google Contacts and Calendar over-the-air with BlackBerry devices.

How to get subscription-free wireless sync between ACT! and your phone

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Rushang

Need your ACT! data on your phone? Don’t want to pay monthly fees to get it there? Here’s how to do it.

Sync ACT! to Google to phones

Using a Google or Gmail account and CompanionLink, you can get subscription-free wireless sync between ACT! and BlackBerry, Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows Mobile, and Palm devices. This is possible courtesy of a free over-the-air sync service called Google Sync (offered by Google).

Total cost: $49.95, one-time. (Free phone support included)

How to set it up:

1. Download a free 14-day evaluation version of CompanionLink Express.

2. Create a free Google/Gmail account, if you don’t already have one.

3. Configure CompanionLink Express to sync ACT! to your Google/Gmail account.
4. If you want to sync with an iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, or Windows Mobile device, set up the free Google Sync service with your device. If you have an Android or Palm webOS device you don’t need to set up Google Sync because those devices automatically sync with your Google account.

That’s all there is to it. We have setup guides and free support if you need it. Happy syncing!

BlackBerry, webOS and iPhone deflectors going to HTC EVO 4G

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Rushang

AndroidCentral.com ran a poll on who was planning to buy the EVO 4G (for which CompanionLink provides complete two-way sync). Turns out that most of the folks are coming from the BlackBerry platform. The EVO 4G arrives June 4 on Sprint’s network.

iPhone, webOS and Windows Mobile all tie for a distant second place. The surprising element to the poll is the number of people buying their first smartphone (roughly the same number as those migrating away from other existing smartphones).

There seems to be a lot of people still sitting on the sidelines, waiting for just the right smartphone before buying their first one. AT&T’s new (lower) pricing for data plans may help bring these people into the smartphone world. The cost of entry is now just $15/month. If history is any indication, other carriers will follow AT&T’s price shuffle to attract new customers.

DejaOffice is Bump-compatible

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Rushang

DejaOffice is fully compatible with the Bump app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. If you store contacts in DejaOffice, you can exchange them with others using Bump. It works great!

We are working to integrate the Bump API to exchange other DejaOffice data like calendar appointments, tasks and notes. For example, a manager can use this as a great tool to delegate tasks to an assistant.

1. Create a task in DejaOffice

2. Every morning, walk into the office and bump fists with your assistant to transfer the tasks. (Plus, you’ll actually look more sociable!)

3. Your assistant can work off the list on their device, or use CompanionLink to sync that list from DejaOffice to PC software like Microsoft Outlook.

40% of iPhone purchases by business users

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Rushang

A CNET blog post cites AT&T’s Business Solutions unit claiming 4 out of 10 sales of the iPhone are made to “enterprise users”. The iPhone has come a long way since its inception as a consumer-centric device.

Not surprisingly, CompanionLink is witnessing similar trends.

More and more business professionals are asking how they can make their iPhones and Android-based smartphones work more like business-friendly devices. They recognize these devices are powerful mini-computers, but they need help leveraging that power so it works for their business.

The DejaOffice app does just that. DejaOffice transforms iPhone, iPad and and any Android device into a business-friendly tool. The app makes the phone work more like your PC software.

For example:

– contacts, calendar, tasks and notes can be organized into categories that match and link with your PC

– appointments can be created with people from your address book

– view company name right next to each name in your address book

– create custom fields and label them whatever you want

– search functionality works even with your custom fields

The mobile world has moved on since the first PalmPilot devices arrived in the 90s. However, the timeless business productivity principles are still in effect today. CompanionLink and DejaOffice lets mobile professionals have a suite of tools on their phones and tablets to be as productive as they are when using their PCs.

Duplication checking for sync

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Rushang

CompanionLink products have robust duplication-checking built right into the software. We’re working to update our algorithm to catch many new cases that arise when synchronizing between PC and the latest smartphones, tablets and mobile devices in the market.

Why does duplication occur?

Duplication is commonly seen when data is previously imported into a contact management or CRM database. For example, let’s say you want to sync Outlook to Google. If you have already imported data from Outlook into Google, the first “sync” you engage using CompanionLink for Google or using O2g will combine everything in Outlook with everything in Google.

Other times, there are issues with name matching. Are “John Smith” and “John R. Smith” the same person? CompanionLink contains logic to try to match names. However, we still find cases where Prefix, Middle Name or Suffix can throw things off. In addition, CompanionLink looks at phone numbers in duplication checking. The presence or absence of a number can impact whether a name is duplicated.

Updated duplication checking is coming soon to a CompanionLink and O2g build near you!

USB sync of Contacts between iPhone and Google

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Rushang

If you’re looking to sync only contacts between iPhone and Google, and don’t want to use the free Google Sync wireless service, use the built-in sync feature in iTunes. The latest versions of iTunes have the option to do a USB sync of Google contacts with iPhone.

If you’re looking to do a USB sync of Google calendar with iPhone, CompanionLink can help.

Tech Tip: Contacts automatically merging on Android phones

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Rushang

Some users report that not all PC contacts sync to their Android device. Or, contacts with similar names are not synchronizing at all.

Here’s what one user reported:

For instance, in Outlook contacts, I have a Jon Lewis, a Jonathan Lewis, and a John Lewis — all with different organizations and different contact info. But CompanionLink only sends the “Jonathan Lewis” info to my Droid.

This might be due to one of the “features” of Android. The device automatically merges similar contacts with the goal of merging potential duplicates.

Here’s how to fix for contacts you feel are missing or automatically merged by Android:

1. Go to the contact in question on the device.
2. Select the “Menu” option.
3. Select the “Separate contacts” option.

This will separate each contact as its own entity. In the John Lewis example above, you will now have three contacts: 1) Jon Lewis, 2) Jonathan Lewis, and 3) John Lewis.

Sort order for names on Android phones

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Rushang

Name sort options for Google and Android phones

Google combines the the first and last names into one “Name” field. For example, if you had a contact record with a first name of “Bob” and last name of “Smith”, Google will combine that into Bob Smith.

Android phones (like Droid, Nexus One, CLIQ, etc.) also do this. But what if you need to sort by “last name, first name” format?

CompanionLink has a new Name Order feature that addresses this with Google and Android-based phones. Users can choose which format they’d like contacts to appear on their Android phone.

Ford SYNC for contact and calendar management

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Rushang

Credit: Ford Motor and CNet.com

Ford announced widespread availability of their Ford SYNC technology in vehicles in 2010 and beyond. The innovation puts contact management, multimedia, and apps on the dashboard of vehicles. Voice-activated commands ensure your hands aren’t distracted while driving.

Included in the Ford SYNC suite of software is a phone book. At the moment, it’s not clear if other productivity apps like calendar, tasks and notes will be included. However, Ford is giving access to their API to 3rd-party developers to create custom apps in vehicles that have Ford SYNC. For example, CompanionLink could use the APIs to build a business-like suite of office productivity tools that includes custom calendar, tasks, and notes modules. Using the voice-activated features of Ford SYNC, users could then dictate calendar events, tasks and notes.

Another neat feature of Ford SYNC is its built in Wi-Fi and hot-spot capabilities. Passengers can use Wi-Fi to access the internet when the car is parked.

Using this built-in Wi-Fi capability, CompanionLink will be able to synchronize data between office PC software (like Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, etc.) and the in-vehicle dashboard. For example, if a new contact or calendar event is created on the office PC, CompanionLink could transfer that data to the phone book or calendar app in the vehicle. And vice-versa.

CompanionLink will sync PC with Nexus One

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Rushang

CompanionLink announces two-way PC sync with Nexus One on the same day Google unveils the device to customers. PC users who need to get their contacts, calendar, tasks and notes onto the device have two options – wired USB sync and wireless sync.

Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, GroupWise, ACT!, GoldMine, and Palm Desktop are support.

Visit companionlink.com/android for full details on the sync options available.

Android’s growth