The Attivo Blog

In this modern age of internet capable "Smart-Phones" like iPhones and Blackberries, instant access to sports scores and facebook accounts, and linked email, calendars and other applications - one problem existed for all smart phone owners - until just a little while ago.  What happens to all that saved information when you lose your phone?  Contacts. Phone numbers. Addresses. Calendar Entries. Chat Usernames. All need to be re-entered into your new phone! (unless you remembered to manually backup this information to a computer).  A small application from Google (who else?) now exists that solves this problem as well as several others.  Sync automatically logs into your GMAIL (account required) online email service and synchronizes your contacts from your phone with the contacts on your GMAIL.  It will even carefully search for names that appear to be similar in order to prevent duplication. If duplication does occur, you can easily log into GMAIL from a computer at your convenience and merge similar contact records. The contact records themselves are extraordinarily detailed; affording you the ability to save unlimited Phone Numbers and Email Addresses for each contact name. Because most smart phones afford you the same luxury, all those detailed contacts are now updated on your phone the very next time the Sync application runs. Google Sync also updates your phone's calendar entries with your Google Calendar application - saving your appointments and reminders and alerting them on your phone instead of waiting for you to sign into a computer terminal to be alerted. Imagine, your own rolodex, personal reminder service and datebook - automatically updated - right in your pocket. Then, when someday the inevitable happens and you lose your phone, break your phone, or just decide to replace it: just re-install Google Sync on your next phone and let Sync update your contacts! No more fancy cord transfers and downloads! No more backups! It's all online!  I can't express to you enough how valuable this service can be. Just think about all the times you've had to send an email out to everyone you know letting them know you've "lost" their phone numbers and email addresses, and to please send them to you as soon as they can.  Now it all occurs wirelessly and in moments. To get this incredibly useful feature on your phone, visit http://m.google.com from your phone's browser and select the "Sync" application.  Then, choose your phone's make and model and begin the download. After you install with all requested permissions, sign into the application one time with your GMAIL username and password, and let Sync do the rest.