Free Alternative to MobileMe: Sync Calendar, Contacts and Files
Google and SugarSync. They will be be our "cloud in the sky."
If you don't already have a Gmail account, Sign Up for one. You will not have to use the account for e-mail. We need it for it's calendar and contact features.
You can use all or parts if this article. Just want calendar synced? Just follow the Calendar part.
On the computer:
Email: .Keeping e-mail in sync between all of your devices is easy with the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP). The other commonly used protocol is POP3. POP3 downloads each message locally which is an advantage in case of outages and archival purposes. However we want synchronization. IMAP is great because all the messages are stored and retrieved from the server when requested. If you use a web based email provider then IMAP is already set up although it may need to be enabled in the settings. If you don't, check with your e-mail provider for IMAP settings. When you create an account in Outlook you have the option to select POP3 or IMAP as the protocol, choose IMAP.
Contacts: GO Contact Sync is a free open source program that will automatically sync all of your Outlook contacts with Gmail. Download and install the program. It's use is self explanatory. Enter your account information and which Sync option you would like. I have Sync Deletion on. My sync option is set to "Merge Prompt" to prompt me before syncing the modifications.
Note: Although the Contact Sync works functionally the Merge options are a bit confusing. I personally don't use it anymore because Google automatically formats contact names (Last, First) which annoys the formatting on the iPhone.
Calendar: Google Calendar Sync. This program automatically syncs your Outlook calendar with Google.
Hard Drive: SugarSync is a website which provides a free 2GB of online space. Their have a utility for Mac, PC and the iPhone. This allows you to share between computers and the iPhone.
the iPhone:
Email: The account will already be using IMAP if it's web based. If not, set up the account as you normally would and select the IMAP protocol. Or if you already configured Outlook to use IMAP, sync the iPhone e-mail accounts with your computer.
Calendar and Contacts: Google has a great guide on setting up the iPhone for Calendar and Contacts Sync.
Note: The phone defaults to show you all of your contacts. That includes ones already on your iPhone, so you may be seeing double. You want to make sure you are using and modifying the Exchange contacts.
When viewing contacts, click the Groups button in the top left corner. You will see your Exchange account listed and select Contacts. Now any adding you do will be synced with your computer.
Hard Drive: Download SugarSync from the appstore.