Synchronising Nokia, Panasonic, Sony Ericsson, Siemens and Windows phones

Once you have connected your phone to your computer via USB cable, Bluetooth or infrared, it's time to synchronise. Here's how to do it with these 5 phone types…

 

So what is synchronisation? A common problem for mobile workers is having two versions of important data. There might be appointments scheduled in Microsoft Outlook on a PC for example, and different appointments scheduled on their mobile phone. With synchronisation, the data stored in the mobile device and the data in the Personal Information Manager (PIM) on the PC are compared and modifications made to each to make them identical.

While connecting your phone to your computer is relatively generic and simple for most phones, carrying out the synchronisation process is not a ‘one size fits all’ event, as most mobile manufacturers fit their phones with proprietary operating software. This means that if you know how to synchronise a Nokia phone, for example, then you may have some idea how to synchronise a Panasonic or a Siemens phone, but because their operating systems are all different, the process won’t be exactly the same.

This is true in the case of almost every phone in New Zealand, except those that are running the Windows Mobile operating system, which are the i-mate SP3 & PDA2K, some Motorola and Samsung phones and Telecom’s Falcon and Harrier phone/PDAs.

In the case of phones running Windows, the steps are the same, no matter what brand of phone you’re using, in the same way as switching between a Dell, HP or Acer PC would pose no learning curve problems, as they will all be operating some version of Windows. The same is true for phones running the Symbian OS – which is essentially the same whether on a Nokia, Sony Ericsson or Panasonic phone.

In very simple terms, however, a few things are common across all mobile phone synchronisation solutions. Inexpensive phones (under $300) are unlikely to be able to synchronise at all. For most synchronising phones the synching software will either come with the device at purchase, or be downloadable from the manufacturer’s web site. The software will be called different things – PC Suite, Hand Set manager, File Manager SmartSync or Sync Station are some examples. It will require installation on a PC.

It will probably connect with your phone using either USB cable, infrared or Bluetooth. It will usually synchronise calendar entries, contacts, tasks and notes. Some will also synchronise email but this is not that common (or wise) given the limited storage space on mobile phones. Most sync systems will alert users to clashes, for example if two appointments are booked at the same time.

The first sync usually takes several minutes as all data is loaded across. After that the process is rapid as only the updated information is changed. Following are brief profiles of the synchronisation software of some common mobile phones.

Relevant Reading

  • Infrared & Bluetooth: How to plug in
    Two of the greatest synchronisation and file transfer technologies incorporated into mobile phones these days are Bluetooth and infrared. Read on to find out how to install both to get files off and on to your phone quickly – and wirelessly...
    READ MORE

For more information on leading Mobile Business solutions click here

January 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Windows Phones

Any phone that runs the Windows Mobile operating system will ship with Microsoft ActiveSync. ActiveSync allows you to create a synchronisation partnership between your mobile and desktop computer. The install process is painless, simply run the install program from the CD ROM on your PC. Once the install is complete, connect your phone to your computer via any of the methods mentioned above, launch Microsoft ActiveSync and select Synchronise. All your calendar entries, contacts, tasks, and notes within Outlook will automatically be mirrored on your mobile phone. And it’s a two way street. Make any changes on your phone while you’re out, and they’ll be made on your computer the next time you sync up. You can also easily move files between your PC and your mobile device, using the Microsoft ActiveSync user interface on your computer.

Nokia

Nokia PC Suite and PC Sync allow you to create, edit, store, and synchronise Nokia phone data on a compatible PC. You can synchronise calendar and contact data with Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Schedule, Lotus Organizer and Lotus Notes using Nokia PC Sync. It works with either Bluetooth, infrared or USB cable. When PC Sync is ready for synchronisation you will see an icon on the task bar at the bottom right hand corner of your PC screen. You can begin synchronisation from the user interface of PC sync by clicking the ‘synchronise now’ button or by right clicking your mouse on the PC sync icon on the task bar and selecting synchronise from the menu.

Panasonic

Panasonic’s X70 syncs using infrared or USB cable. Called SyncCalendar, the Panasonic sync software is included in Panasonic’s Handset Manager application. Before you use SyncCalendar you must have Microsoft Outlook installed on your PC. SyncCalendar allows you to synchronise the information of Outlook’s calendar to your X70 handset calendar selectively. Remember to synchronise the date and time of your PC and the handset before you select SyncCalendar. Also included in the package is a Panasonic File Manager which allows you to organise handset files and back them up to your computer using drag and drop.

Siemens

Siemens SmartSync is included with Siemen’s Mobile Phone Manager software. It is designed to work on a Windows PC to synchronise data between two data sources and it manages contacts, calendar, tasks, notes and email (all are optional – the user selects which fields to update). For each data type selected to synchronise, SmartSync copies the data from one source to the other. Once synchronised, SmartSync tracks the changes to the individual entries and merges only those changes in future synchronisation sessions. You can start synchronisation in different ways:
  • From the Start menu: Click Programs, and then select the synchronisation program.
  • From the system tray application: If available, click the system tray application, and then select synchronise.
  • From within most PIMs: When available, click Synchronise within the PIM’s menu bar.

Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson’s SyncStation may come with your phone, or if not, is available online as a 35MB download from www.sonyericsson.com. It is a PC program for synchronising your Microsoft Outlook calendar, contacts, notes and tasks with a Sony Ericsson mobile phone. Depending on your model of Sony Ericsson phone, you may alternatively need to download Sony Ericsson’s Communications Suite or a copy of XTNDConnect PC which many Sony Ericsson mobiles use for PC synchronisation
To launch
1. Connect the mobile phone to your PC using an applicable connection – cable, infrared or Bluetooth.
2. Start synchronisation either from the icon in the system tray or from the Start/Programs/Sony Ericsson folder.

site by doubleclique