Sync Outlook with G-Mail?

[Gavin Allan]

I am trying to figure out how I can sync my Outlook files at work with my Android phone. The IT adminstrators will not allow me to use the Exchange server sync that the Android has built-in.



For my last phone, I was able to use a little program called "BlackBerry E-mail Re-Director) that sat in my taskbar tray and it constantly did 2-way syncing between my office PC and my BlackBerry phone of the e-mail, contacts, calendar, tasks, etc.



I did find a program called Google Calendar Sync that syncs the outlook calendar, but not the e-mail or other items. It works great-syncs with the G-mail calendar, and I get it on my phone just fine. I cannot use the Google Apps Sync program because I do not have an education or enterprize g-mail account- it doesn't work on the free ones.



Thanks for any advice.

 

[MikeSondra Grossen]

I have mine set up similair, with 2 email accounts being sent to my Android. You wont be able to access past emails with it, just start accepting new emails. I have the Droid 3, under settings..click accounts..then add new account.

Also, LOVE my google calendar. Good luck~

 

[Gavin Allan]

Not sure I understand svt. Are you saying you just forward your Outlook email to a gmail account?



I would rather have a 2-way sync.

 

[MikeSondra Grossen]

I have an Outlook account and gmail account. You wont be able to sync them together. They will stay seperate, I'm not using an exchange server. If you cant get permission to access their server, you might be out of luck.

 

[Gavin Allan]

Thanks. I was thinking if it was so easy to do so with my BlackBerry that surely Android would have something similar. However I have not found it (yet).

 

[Richard L]

Gavin,

svt1848 is probably right. If you cannot get access to the Exchange server you probably will not be able to send your Outlook email to gmail. When I was working as an IT Administrator (before I retired) My BlackBerry received all my corporate Outlook Email but they used a BlackBerry server to do that...which is what I suspect your company is using, or I should say, Not Using. Either way, for security reasons, they are not going to direct email to your private BlackBerry phone. My BlackBerry was a company issued phone (I got a new one every year) but I always had to have our Corp IT set up my email account on the BlackBerry Server.



It's pretty easy to set up your Gmail to go to your BlackBerry or for that matter, most any other email account...I have 3 personal email accounts going to my personal BlackBerry.... When I was working, I had my Outlook email going to my company BlackBerry as well as all my personal email.



I don't use regular email accounts from my ISP, so I currently only have my Gmail going to my Outlook account and my BlackBerry. My other accounts are webmail and just go to my BlackBerry.



....Rich

 

[Gavin Allan]

Nope, Rich, I was not using BlackBerry Enterprise server. My employer wouldn't install it or support it, even though it was free to them and it would have benefited other employees with BlackBerries.



I was using a program on my work PC called "BlackBerry Desktop Redirector". The only thing I had to do after installing it was to keep my work PC on and awake for it to work. Here is the details. Was hoping I could find something similar for Android:

 

[Richard L]

Gavin,

I think most companies that do NOT provide BlackBerry phones for certain key employees, will not install the BlackBerry Server to support employee's personal BlackBerrys....Yes, even though it may not cost them anything or even the phone service, they typically don't want to get involved with privately owned equipment for security reasons.



Can't say much about Androids since I never had one or worked with one. I do know that Outlook has the ability to Foward all your emails to another email account, and that may be your best option if your company refuses to deliver your company email to your phone.



...Rich

 

[TrainTrac]

I was not using BlackBerry Enterprise server. My employer wouldn't install it or support it, even though it was free to them

It's not free for the employer. They have to buy the app, then pay for a license for each user/phone accessing their BB-E , no matter whether it's a business-owned or personal BB.



My previous employer paid for/set up a BB-E server, and then anyone with a personal BB phone just had to pay $100 for the user license in order to use the work BB-E server to access their work e-mail on their personal BB phone.

 

[Richard L]

TrainTrac,

The price for BlackBerry Enterprise server depends upon the negotiating power of the company? I worked for a Fortune 500 corporation that included 3 separate corporations with some having over 20 companies. Like anything else, it's possible for larger companies to negotiate some deeply discounted deals. We had the BlackBerry Server and did not pay anywere near $100 per email user. My company also did a deal with one of the national cellular service where we purchased 320 new BlackBerry phones for only 99 cents each and we did not have to pay any service fees until the phone was activated...These phones were purchased to issue to new employees, or to replace older model BlackBerry phones when the old phone died and the cellular company did not want to lose our huge account.



Actually, we had a lot of different arrangements with different cellular services based on where we intended to use the cell phones since certain areas of Texas had better cellular service from different cellular companies. We operated in a large area ranging from Tyler to Beaumont, and from north of Waco to San Antonio with everything in between. We had Administrative offices in Waco, Beaumont, and Bryan, TX.



...Rich

 

[TrainTrac]

Rich,



You're right, I guess it just depends on the employer/organization. In my case, the employer was the University of Illinois' Housing Division. A much smaller employer with significantly fewer employees than your company. Housing didn't buy/issue phones to employees, but instead offered a small stipend towards employees' personal cell plans for using the for business purposes. This ended up being a cheaper option, because the stipend was based on what was presumed to be a small amount of cell plan time used for business as compared to personal purposes.



Housing purchased BB-E server and set it up, but since employees had a plethora of different types of personal smart phones, it was cost-prohibitive for Housing to buy a number of BB user licenses; instead simply charging employees for the license as the need arose.