How To Sync Just About Anything, Anywhere

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When it comes to syncing your personal information (or some call it PIM), it can be a headache. Using a Windows Mobile device on a Windows desktop? You’ll need ActiveSync and Outlook. But what if you want to use a Linux desktop? Or sync the same PIM with your BlackBerry or Palm or even Symbian phone? What if you could use one form of sync, be it on Linux or Windows, be it for Windows Mobile, Palm, BlackBerry or the iPod? Would you be interested? Then read on my friends.

Introduction

Funambol’s the service you want to take note of and it’s bigger. Claiming to be mobile 2.0 messaging, powered by open source, it has served 1.5 trillion phones (that’s 1,500,000,00o for those who like numbers). They’ve been around since 2001 and not many users know about it. In fact, until today, not many still do. But if you have been encountering sync problems or are looking for a better way to sync, then Funambol is the one you want.

What You’ll Need

There are several ways to use Funambol, from installing the server on a computer to using their server. While the former gives you more control, the latter us easier to set up and is what I will cover today. To begin, here are the services/applications you’ll need:

• An account with the myFunambol portal (it’s free)
• Outlook Client Software (3.5MB)
• Windows Mobile Pocket PC Client Software (783KB)

While I say you need the Outlook and Windows Mobile Pocket PC client software, it all depends on what your needs are. If you are using a Windows Mobile Smartphone, then you’ll want to download the Windows Mobile Smartphone Client Software (776KB) instead. Or if you want to use it with your Mozilla Suite instead of Outlook, you’ll download the Funambol Mozilla Synchronizer. There’s a list of supported devices and their client software here and a larger list of the supported applications and platforms here.

The thing with Funambol is that, even though there are a lot of applications out there, they all use the same credentials and server to log in and sync. So don’t fret if you are going to use a different application. It’ll ask you for the same information as what I will cover shortly and you can just use them as well.

Once you’ve downloaded the files required, install them on the appropriate devices and I’ll walk you through the configuration shortly.

Configuring the Outlook Client Software

After installation, your Outlook Client Software should be running. If not, you’ll need to do so before continuing. From the application, select Tools > Options. This is what you would see:

If you want to automatically synchronize your data with the server, you can put a tick in the Scheduler and choose how often it should sync. Unfortunately, I do not see an option to only sync when changes are detected.

The tick means you want to synchronize those items. If for some reason you do not want to, just remove it. When you click on details, you can choose how the synchronization is done. For example, I’ve clicked on the details for contacts and this is what I get:

You can generally leave this as it is unless you have a very strong reason to change it. Synchronization should be two way so that whatever changes happens on your device, it would be reflected in Outlook shortly.

The part you’ll want to configure is under Accounts. Click on that and enter the following URL in the Location field:

http://my.funambol.com/sync

For username and password, enter the credentials that you used when you signed up for the myFunambol portal. If you need to configure your proxy settings, this is the place to do it as well. The completed screen should look something like this:

Click OK and you’re Outlook is all ready to be synced with the myFunambol portal.

Configuring The Windows Mobile Pocket PC Client

Installation will be done through ActiveSync so your device will need to be connected to the computer. If you prefer to not use ActiveSync, you can always opt for the CAB version of the file. Whatever you choose, installation is pretty straightforward.

Once install, go to Start > Programs > Funambol to launch the application. Tap on Menu > Account and you’ll be brought to a screen that is similar to the one when you configured Outlook.

Remember how I mentioned that it did not matter which application you were using, the credentials would be similar? Well this is just one perfect example. You’ll enter the same URL (http://my.funambol.com/sync) that you used for the Outlook setup and for username and password, it would be your credentials for the myFunambol server.

That’s it. You’re all done. That is if you want to sync everything that’s highlighted on the main screen. If you prefer to only selected portions of your PIM, then you’ll need to go to Menu > Settings and make your selection. Just tick the ones you want to sync. Like its Outlook counterpart, you can also choose if you want one or two way synchronization. Even better, if you save your Notes in another directory besides the default My Document, you can point to it within the settings as well. For those looking for fuss-free, automated syncs, you can choose between Push Service or Scheduled Synchronization (minimum is every 15 minutes and up to every 24 hours). You can also choose to have the data manually synced if you do not have an unlimited data plan or no data plan at all.

Synching Outlook With myFunambol Portal

Now that everything is configured, you’ll want to sync between your Outlook and myFunambol portal. If the application is not launched, you’ll have to run it. Then go ahead and click Sync All.It will start to sync and you’ll see something like the screen shot below (depending on how what you’ve set up to sync):

Depending on how big your PIM data is and your connection, it can take anything from a few minutes to slightly longer. Once completed, you should see the screen on your left below which means all PIM were properly synced. If you see the screen on your right below, then it means something’s wrong. Click on it to try again.

What if you just want to sync one portion of your PIM, say just the contacts? Well you can. Just click on Contacts and only that portion will be synced. Perfect for when you only made changes to one part of the PIM and don’t want to waste time with the rest.

Synching Windows Mobile With myFunambol Portal

Like the Outlook synchronization, if you have set up scheduled synchronization of push service, you can skip this step. If you’re using manual synchronization, then be sure to read this up.

To sync, all you have to do is tap the left softkey which corresponds to Sync All. As the name implies, it will sync all the components of your PIM that you’ve set up earlier. Once sync is complete, it will show you the date and time last synced so you can keep track and decide when you should sync next.

What About Push Mail?

Well email (or push mail) can be set up easily on the myFunambol portal. Just log into the server and go to Profile > Email. You’ll be presented with a screen below:

From there, you can enter your credentials and set up your email and get it pushed to your device. It’s a bit more work but nothing complicated.

If you are unable to configure your Email option from Windows Mobile, you might have to download the latest CAB file from their server. When you’re setting up your email, it will point you in the right direction so don’t worry about searching for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q) I had set up for my tasks to be synced by I don’t see them in myFunambol.
A) Your tasks are synced but they do not show up. It’s how the server has been configured. Not to worry because the next time you sync, any changes made will be reflected on the device(s).

Q) Can I still use ActiveSync for sync?
A) Yes you can still use ActiveSync if you want to. Funambol does not use ActiveSync so there are no changes made there.

Q) Is Funambol really free?
A) Yes it is. There has been no news of any payment required for the use of their application.

Q) Why doesn’t Funambol sync my email from Outlook?
A) Good question. I am not sure as to why but I guess myFunambol overcomes this by allowing for push mail on your device. Hopefully a future version will support this.

Q) What platforms does Funambol support?
A) As of now, it runs on Palm, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, iPod and Java-enable phones like Nokia and SonyEricsson.

Q) Why not use an Exchange server?
A) That is an option but most offerings are not free. And those that are free have some limitations (supported by ads, limited space, etc). However, it still uses ActiveSync and might cause you some problems when you try to sync with other platforms. Or it might not even sync with other platforms at all for that matter.

I am not saying you should not use Exchange because it does have it’s advantages, but if you’ve tried it and don’t like it, give Funambol a shot.

Q) Why would I want to use Funambol?
A) I guess this would be the biggest question for you. Why fix something that is not broken? Well the answer all depends on your situation. If you only have one device and are using a Windows desktop with Outlook, you should not be having any problems and would probably have no need for Funambol.

But if you are one of those with multiple devices or you want to use Linux and you want to keep all your devices synced across all platforms, it can be a bit of a headache. With that, you have Funambol to help you out.

Or if your ActiveSync connection is causing you problems and you can’t find a solution, Funambol could just be the answer you’re looking for because it does not rely on ActiveSync.

The reasons are endless and in the end, only you can answer this question best.

Conclusion

So there you have it. How to set up and sync from just about any device from just about anywhere. What’s even better is that if you do not want to use myFunambol portal, you can actually set it up on your desktop. This might seem like an overkill to some but it’s just another way to keep all your data in one place. If there is enough request for it, I’ll cover it in another tutorial. Feel free to leave your comments below.

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