At long last, sync iPhone/iPod Touch with Google Calendar over-the-air (with multiple calendars)!

As some of you may know from my previous posts, I have been an outspoken complainer about the lack of wireless over-the-air (OTA) calendar synchronization options for the iPhone.  Simply put, unless you have access to a Microsoft Exchange server (medium to large corporations do) or pay for MobileMe (with which you can’t share calendars with friends and family), there is no easy, intuitive, or otherwise streamlined method to synchronize a web-based calendar such as Google Calendar with the iPhone.  Luckily for us iPhone users, this has finally changed thanks to one company: NuevaSync.  Hit the Read More link to find, well, more!

NuevaSync is a service that synchronizes your iPhone with Google Calendar.  You give it your Google username and password and then configure the iPhone to sync via Exchange to the NuevaSync servers.

Yet here is where NuevaSync really shines: whereas in months past the service lumped all of your calendars into one “main” calendar which was blue in color, the new killer feature released a few days ago

color-codes your calendars the way Google Calendar or iCal do!  So you can now view, add, or delete appointments by calendar.  This is a welcome addition to those like myself who have many calendars.  I have three calendars for work, one for family, one as a main schedule, and one for working out.

Currently, NuevaSync is only able to synchronize a maximum of eight calendars this way, but support for more calendars is coming.  Because NuevaSync uses the Exchange system built into the iPhone, changes are pushed to your phone!

I’ve been using it ever since the service was released (around summer of 2008) and was gleefully surprised when my calendars had color all of a sudden!  The service is currently in beta and free for everybody, although a paid version might be on the way in the future.  The NuevaSync FAQ states that there will always be a free version.

How it works

Just in case you were curious, the service works in a creative way: it pulls in your GCal data into its servers and outputs it OTA to the iPhone.  This process is reversed for changes made from the iPhone.  NuevaSync also has the ability to sync Google and Plaxo contacts and works on the iPod Touch as well as some Windows Mobile® based devices.

I will be discussing this post along with the “state of sync” topic on the TechNest Report podcast this Friday.  So please tune in for more in-depth commentary on the subject.  Show is out at 3:00pm EST every Friday!  Live shows coming soon!

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Posted in Calendaring, Cloud Computing, MobileMe, Software, Solution, Synchronization, iPhone