Filed under: OS, Internet, Internet Tools, Software Update
10.5.3: Sync your iPhone contacts with Google
If you have an iPhone synced with Address Book.app, then you've been able to sync your contacts with Yahoo for a while now, but something that has been missing is Google sync. Sure, you can always use Spanning Sync, but we all want something free and built-into the OS. Well, those dreams are now true according to a new Google blog post and the introduction of Mac OS X 10.5.3. On the Mac you normally sync your iPhone with, you will see a new option when you open the "General" tab in Address Book preferences. When you check "Synchronize with Google" you can enter your Google credentials and syncing will proceed. Apple and Google did leave some people out, however, as this new feature works only on Macs that have an iPhone synced with iTunes.
Thanks, Nathan and Ryan!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Brandon Martinez said 4:23PM on 5-28-2008
What about the iPod touch? I don't remember if Yahoo! syncing is even supported with that... anyone?
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Mo said 5:27PM on 5-28-2008
Both Y! and Google are supported if you have an iPod touch, though I don't know if it requires the Software Upgrade (mine has it, and all of this stuff works fine for me).
Brandon Martinez said 10:20AM on 6-04-2008
Yep, works great :)
Maxx said 4:32PM on 5-28-2008
It doesnt show for me after the update!
Do I need to have my iphone connected when I do this?
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Kyle said 4:48PM on 5-28-2008
i had the same problem
Chris G. said 4:37PM on 5-28-2008
It is too bad you need an iPhone or iPod touch to use this. I can think of many legit reasons to do it when you don't own one of those. Like the fact that I like to use Mail at home and use the GMail web site when I'm at work. This sync would fix the problem I have of keeping my address books synced (I have to enter in update/new data in two places right now).
Why make an iPhone the requirement for this feature to work?
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Elliot said 4:39PM on 5-28-2008
"Apple and Google did leave some people out, however, as this new feature works only on Macs that have an iPhone synced with iTunes."
Thats a nice understatement. Come on Apple, don't treat us as second class citizens just because we can't drop $400 on a phone.
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dylan said 4:44PM on 5-28-2008
Cool feature, but why cant I also do this with my iCal calendar? Why must I buy a 3rd party program to do this?
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dave said 5:22PM on 5-28-2008
You can sync your cal with google cal (at least on the iphone you can) and it is free.
http://www.modmyifone.com/forums/native-iphone-ipod-touch-app-launches/159681-nemussync-wireless-sync-google-calendar.html
dylan said 8:12PM on 5-28-2008
I dont want to have to jailbreak my iPhone to do that.
Dalton said 4:40PM on 5-28-2008
So awesome, now just do this for Gcal to iCal to iPhone and I would be so darn happy.
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Kyle said 4:48PM on 5-28-2008
I don't see it. odd i just upgraded but i love that!
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dagamer34 said 4:48PM on 5-28-2008
Only problem is that this creates a lot of clutter in Address Book because every person that you've mailed using Gmail's web interface shows up as a contact in Address Book. I spent about 10 minutes just pruning my Address Book back to where it should be.
That leads me to a second point. Time Machine backs up individual files, but it can't auto-restore the system back to a certain point without a re-install.
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Michael Rose said 5:46PM on 5-28-2008
Actually you can roll back your system to any Time Machine backup -- boot from your Leopard DVD to do so.
Björn Hesthamar said 1:42AM on 5-29-2008
It's much much simpler. You just start Address Book, launch Time Machine and go back in time with Address Book as the active window. And you can restore any file with Time Machina as long as you know the original position on the disk (eg. the path).
shane said 4:49PM on 5-28-2008
This makes no sense. Google has been offering Google sync with Outlook for PC users for a couple of months now, and no phone is required. So obviously this is all Apple's doing.
I understand that they want to push iphone sales and .Mac users, but is removing features from your core OS unless you have a iphone the best way to accomplish that? Why treat non-iphone Mac users as second class citizens, and try to guilt them into buying an iphone? Are they trying to force us to use .Mac instead of Google?
My company gives us free blackberries and pays for the service, so I don't need to buy another personal phone. So why am I now considered a lesser Apple customer not worthy of a basic feature like this?
How about offering a discount on a iphone when you buy a Mac?
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Ryan said 4:50PM on 5-28-2008
Sorry, guys, no-go for me. I updated to 10.5.3, and still just the old Yahoo! sync option.
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Ryan said 4:56PM on 5-28-2008
Just a guess, but I'm thinking the feature is actually installed with the new iPhone SDK, and not the OS update?
Ryan said 5:05PM on 5-28-2008
Ah, got it. You have to enable it in the Address Book preferences, not in iTunes.
Brandenburg said 5:05PM on 5-28-2008
Nope, it's part of the OS update. No SDK on my machine, but an iPhone and 10.5.3 and the option appeared